- The court is 8 by 8 meter, not 9 by 9 as in indoor volleyball
- Overhand finger passes are not allowed when receiving
or attacking. Exceptions are receiving a hard smash or
when attacking and the trajectory of the ball (both before
and after the pass) is perpendicular to the passing player's
shoulders.
- The standards of double hits when using overhand finger
passes is much stricter than in normal volleyball.
- The block always counts as the first contact
- The disallowance of the dink play where a player
uses their finger tips to redirect the ball into the
opponent's court instead of a hard spike
- Stricter rules around double-contacts during hand setting
- Looser rules on serve return
One of the facets of beach volleyball is the use of hand signals
by players to indicate to their partner what sort of play they intend
to make. These signals are made behind the back, to avoid the opposition
seeing the signals. Generally, a closed fist means the player will
not attempt a block, one finger means the player will attempt to
block an opponent's spike down the line, and two fingers means the
player will attempt to block an opponent's spike into the angle.
The standard attire of female competitors makes beach volleyball
events popular with editors of tabloid newspapers,
as well as TV.
Learn more about Beach Volleyball: