Tournament Rules and Policies

The rules listed below are set for the 2013-2016 Tournament seasons. These rules are to help create an atmosphere of fair and competitive play. All rules apply to both Wasatch Beach Doubles League AND Wasatch Beach (Weekend) Tournaments, unless otherwise noted. Any concerns/questions should be brought to the attention of the Wasatch Beach Board; however, as a standard practice rules will not be changed mid-season.

Wasatch Beach underlying rules are the FIVB International Beach Volleyball Rules 2013-2016.
Rules of the Games 2013-2016: Most pertinent changes from previous version.

1. Each match will be best-of-three sets (games) using rally scoring
2. The first two sets are played to 21 points and the third set, if needed, is played to 15 points
3. A team must have a 2 point advantage to win a set and there are no caps (unless time dictates a need to cap, event director shall decide)
4. There are two 30 second timeouts allowed per set
5. Only one timeout per player per match is allowed for injuries
6. Teams will change sides every 7 points during the first two sets and every 5 points during the third set. Side changes will occur without delay
7. Time between sets will be one minute
8. Let serves are in play
9. Players are responsible for being present for all games and matches. Once a game/match has ended, oncoming teams have 6 minutes to warm up on the court; game time will begin at the conclusion of the 6 minute warm up. A team will forfeit its 1st game at 10 minutes after game time begins. A team will forfeit its 2nd game 10 minutes thereafter.

Teams will only be listed as two people.

Players who place 1st in TWO Wasatch Beach Events* are required to move up a division. Players will not be allowed to play in a division lower than the division in which their current points were earned. Players with points from the previous season must continue to play in that division or higher until previous season points are dropped (which typically happens after June 1).

*Wasatch Beach Events are defined as Wasatch Beach League or Wasatch Beach (Weekend) Tournaments.

In order to provide better planning, strict deadlines will be followed. No "day of" signups or late registrations will be accepted. See specific tournament for exact deadline dates.

Each Wasatch Beach Doubles Tournament will be capped as needed on an individual basis. See website for updated information.

Only points acquired from Wasatch Beach Doubles League and Wasatch Beach Tournaments will be used for seeding. A combination of 2011 and 2012 WBV points will be used for seeding purposes from the start of the season through June events. For WBV events beginning July 1st and going through the rest of the season, ONLY 2012 points will be used for seeding.

Points will be assigned based on the number of entering teams per division, then minus 1 point per placement. Teams finishing in
1st–5th place in each division will receive points. If there is a tie for 5th, both teams will be awarded points. See example below.

10 Teams:
1st Place = 10 points
2nd Place = 9 points
3rd Place = 8 points
4th Place = 7 points
5th Place = 6 points

No substitutions will be allowed during weekend tournaments. Once a doubles team has started a tournament, they must play the entire tournament together, regardless of injury or illness.

Open divisions will play a Double Elimination tournament format, unless there are fewer than 8 teams registered in the Open division (7 or less). In this case, the Open division would follow the A & B division’s format (pool play, seeding, top 4 teams advance, Single Elimination tourney).

A & B divisions will do a pool play round (which should guarantee a minimum of 6 games played per team), then seeded accordingly. The top teams will advance to the tournament and complete a Single Elimination tournament; 4-6 teams will advance to tournament depending on the number of teams registered within the division. Teams that lose in the tournament brackets will stay and ref the following match. WBV reserves the right to adjust the format based on day-of conditions.

Once a match has ended, oncoming teams have 6 minutes to warm up on the court; game time will begin at the conclusion of the 6 minute warm up. A team will forfeit its first game at 10 minutes after game time begins. A team will forfeit its second game 5 minutes after that. Players will use the Wasatch Clock for official start times; the Wasatch Clock is located north of Wasatch Beach on the wall of the Sports Mall.

Each team is allowed one time-out for 60 seconds per game. Time-outs that exceed this will result in a loss of a rally. Be respectful of your opponents and keep time-outs concise.

Each player is allowed one 5 minute injury time-out per match. After 5 minutes the player must return to play or forfeit the game and/or match.

Any request for an Exception to the Rule due to "special circumstances" must be presented to the Wasatch Beach President in a timely manner. The President will share the request and any information needed with the Wasatch Beach Board Members. The player/team making the request should not notify/explain the request to board members; this communication will come from the President. Each board member will have an opportunity to vote to either allow the Exception to the Rule request or to deny it. Decisions made by the board are final, confidential and on a case by case basis; they will have no bearing on any future requests or decisions. If a board member, or team on which a board member plays, is making the request, that board member will be excluded from voting and a proxy representative will be asked by the President to cast a vote.

In the event of bad weather, good judgment, common sense and the following thinking will guide our actions in the interest of player and spectator safety.

1. If we have to cancel an event in advance, we will do our best to notify participants using the contact information provided.
2. On event days, competition will be delayed in the event of lightning or other unsafe conditions. Should such conditions persist and force the cancellation of the event, the procedure will be the same as in paragraph 1.
3. If the unsafe conditions are of short duration, play will resume as soon as it is safe to do so. Format of play will be adjusted as necessary to complete play within the event day(s). Any adjustments to the format or schedule will be made by the Wasatch Beach Player Representatives and Wasatch Beach Volleyball.