Hang 10 Volleyball

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Hang 10 Volleyball Rule Clarifications Reverse Coed 4s

Back Row Attacks - If the last team contact is by a male, the player's last court contact must be behind the 3m line or a portion of the ball must be below the height of the net when the ball is contacted, otherwise it is a fault. There is NO “clear upward trajectory” interpretation to this.

No Courtesy Rule - Any player can serve to any opposing player regardless of who was served previously. Seriously, stop it with this courtesy rule stuff.

Screening – Screening in 4s makes you a jerk and it is not allowed. Receiving team, hold your hand up if you are screened and catch the ball if it is served. Officiating team, make the screening team move and if they do not, it is a side out for illegal formation on the screening team.

No Gender Contact Rule – Just no. That’s dumb.

A Net is a Net - If you contact any portion of the net during play, it is a fault.

Block as a Touch - Block DOES NOT count as a touch in all divisions. So block, plus 3 contacts.

Court Boundary - Entering any adjacent court that is scheduled for competition during play is a fault. It doesn’t matter if you contact the ball first. Safety first.

No Centerline Violations - If a player goes under the net during play, it is not a fault, unless it interferes with the other team's ability to make an immediate play the ball.

Time Outs – A single one-minute time out per team per set is allowed, but with extreme heat additional water breaks are allowed (and encouraged).

Game Delay Forfeiture - Any delay longer than 5 minutes creates a forfeiture of the current set, including those caused by injury. The tournament director has discretion to extend injury time-outs.

Let Serves – Let serves are Good in 4s. No Brian Murray Rule (aka the Hang 10 Rule).

Hard Driven Ball - Finger action (beach dig) allowed for first contact on a hard-driven ball. Hard-driven is defined as a ball you don’t have time to think about to play with your hands. This is a judgment call by the ref. When it doubt, replay the point.

Hand Setting – Same standard as 2s. A double is a double and a lift is a lift. None of this “athletic play” bs from indoor.

Educational Section

Hand Setting – The calling of infractions on hand sets has historically been inconsistent in Raleigh and surrounding areas. There is a common misconception that hand sets can be judged based on the number of rotations by the ball in the air. No such criterion has appeared in any recognized beach volleyball rule set in recent history.

The FIVB Beach volleyball rule book clarifies this matter:

“Rotation of a set ball may indicate a held ball or multiple contacts during the set but in itself is not a fault.”

It's also worth noting that the AVP, FIVB and USA have followed the trend of loosening up on hand setting calls. The purpose of this change is to encourage longer rallies, and decrease the number of rallies decided by the officials. Even so, we encourage you to call your own mishandled sets! You know when you double or lift a set, so don’t be known as the person who doesn’t call their own faults.

Check out this very informative video from top AVP official John King (Head of AVP Officials). Here is a more in depth video:

Key takeaways:

You can call two infractions on any set: (a) a lift – whereby the ball comes to a noticeable rest in the players hand (hands come down with the ball then back up (in other words you re-direct the ball two times), which is different from the hands being low before receiving the ball in the hands – I asked John about this specifically when I had 20 minute discussion with him and you can “deep dish” a set without lifting it) or (b) a double, which is whenever the refs sees two discernible contacts of the ball when it enters or leaves the player’s hands.
Spin is an INDICATOR of a double, but it is not in of itself a double. There is NO RULE if a ball spins x number of times it is a double.
Stop watching for spin on the ball and start watching the hands and feet (you can usually tell when there will be a lift or double based on the base of the player) of the setter.
Be consistent and be fair. It is up to us as players to regulate ourselves. Do you want the reputation as the overly honest player or the player willing to cheat to win?
From what we see, the vast majority of players lift the ball rather than double it. It is not called because there is “no spin”, which is incorrect (a key to see if a lift is going to occur is watching a player’s feet; if he/she is late, he/she is very likely to lift the ball). If a player’s elbows are moving on his/her set, it almost always will be a lift. Do not be afraid to call a lift or a double.

Non-Drive Attacks Misconceptions: Please watch this short video to educate yourself on some of the most common incorrectly called infractions, including setting a non-driven ball, simultaneous contacts, etc.: Non-Driven Attacks Video.

What is a Hard Driven Ball Misconceptions: Please watch this short video to educate yourself on one of the most incorrectly called infractions: What is a Hard Driven Ball Video.

Wait, You Can Redirect an Overpass?: Please watch this short video to educate yourself on another one of the most incorrectly called infractions: Wait, You Can Redirect an Overpass?

Let Service Rule aka the Brian Murray Rule (Hang 10 Rule) - DOUBLES ONLY – We will be implementing the let service rule for the entire 2023 season. This is in principle similar tennis service: if the serve hits the net in any way and lands in bounds (i.e., in the court or the line), the server will be permitted to re-serve. If on the re-serve (i.e., the second serve) the serve again hits the net in any way (even if the re-serve lands in bounds) or if the re-serve is served out of bounds, it is a fault and results in a side out under rally scoring rules (i.e., the team receiving serve is awarded a point and service). Of course, if the serve hits the net and goes out of bounds it is still a fault and results in a side out.

Myths Busted: We have realized that we have not done the best job debunking some of the myths that other tournaments play by such as you cannot redirect a block or your hands must be together when playing the ball overhand (without finger action) on serve receive. We are fully aware that other tournaments have what we refer to as “local rules” that make some of these plays illegal. However, at Hang 10 we play by established FIVB beach rules subject to the modifications noted above. In an effort to rectify our failure of not simplifying the rules (read them sometime, they are not simple) as much as possible, we will review and debunk many of the rules that are being applied incorrectly.

Myth Busting

Myth: Your hands must be together to play a ball overhead (without finger action) on serve receive.
Busted: This is not in the FIVB beach rules. Bottom line: your hands DO NOT have to be together when playing a serve overhead without finger action (finger action is never allowed when playing a serve).

Myth: Your hands must be together to play the first ball over overhead (without finger action).
Busted: This is not in the FIVB beach rules. Bottom line: your hands DO NOT have to be together when playing the first ball over overhead without finger action (see below for finger action clarification).

Myth: You can only play a ball with finger action if it is hard driven.
Busted: This is not in the FIVB beach rules. Bottom line: you can play a ball with finger action (other than a serve) that is not considered hard driven as long as it is not doubled or lifted (generally thought to be “set quality clean”).

Myth: You cannot redirect a block to open court or that you can only direct a block in the direction it was naturally going?
Busted: First, what the heck is the direction it was naturally going? That doesn’t even make sense, but yet I have been called for that as infraction in a tournament before (I was just told “that’s our rule.”). This is not in the FIVB beach rules. Bottom line: you can redirect a blocked ball as long as the action constitutes a block and the contact time is not prolonged.
Okay fine, so what is a block. A block is achieved when a player is close to the net (ref’s judgement but usually thought to be 3 feet or closer) and at the moment of contact a part of the player’s body is above the net and the player intends to intercept the ball. This means that two-handed or one-handed blocks are allowed to redirect the ball.

Myth: An attacked ball that is partially blocked or slightly hits the net or is returned from an opponent’s block can never be considered hard driven.
Busted: This is not in the FIVB beach rules. The FIVB rules make it clear that this is a subjective call and most of the criteria have to do with what the DEFENSIVE player does rather than the hit itself. Bottom line: if the play is reactionary in nature and the defensive player did not make a conscious decision to play the ball overhand with finger action, it is likely a hard driven ball.

Myth: If a player hand sets the ball and it has spin on it, then it is an illegal set.
Busted: This is not in the FIVB beach rules. Spin is an indication of an illegal set, but it is not in of itself a bad set. Bottom line: an illegal set is either doubled, lifted or an illegal open hand attack. The referee should consider how clean the contact was. Were the hands/finger simultaneous in contacting the ball, and was the ball played with one quick motion (i.e., not visibly resting in the player’s hand or was the player using a technique that involved a long and protracted contact time).

A lift generally occurs when the ball comes to noticeable rest usually occurring when a player either (a) catches the ball or (b) while contacting the ball, brings his/her hands down and then sets the ball up (i.e., there are considered two directions of the ball by the player, down and then up).
A double generally occurs when there are two discernable contacts, and this can occur either (a) when the ball is coming into the hands for a hand set or (b) leaving the hands after completing the set. If you can see one hand contacting the ball before the other, this is a double on a hand set.

Myth: If a player hand sets from his chin or shoulder level, it is a lift.
Busted: This is not in the FIVB beach rules. Rather, as long as the criteria in (6) are satisfied, it is a legal set regardless of where the contact actually occurs. In addition, you will often see players who track the ball downward BEFORE contacting the ball during a hand set, which is also legal as long as the criteria in (6) are satisfied. Bottom line: watch the bend in the elbows and whether there is noticeable rest. There is nothing in the rules that state that a hand set must be made above the head.

Myth: If a player intends to hand set his partner and the ball goes over the net, it is fault.
Busted: This is not in the FIVB beach rules. The rules clearly state that there is no fault if a player intends to hand set his partner and the ball goes regardless if the player’s shoulder are perpendicular (or square) to his target. The ref must judge the setter’s intent here. Bottom line: If you hand set the ball over the net and you intended to hand set your partner, there is no fault. If you attack with open hands (i.e., hand set the ball over as an attack) then your shoulders must be perpendicular (square) to your

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