1. The league is self-officiated, so please be honest with your calls. The league is more fun without disagreements. If there is a dispute, please consult the rules, or contact one of the league governors for rule clarifications. If an agreement cannot be reached in a timely fashion, replay the point and discuss it at a later time.
2. Reschedules must be approved by 2 PM on game day by the captains of both teams. Cancelling after 2PM is subject to a forfeit without makeup. See Captain's Info page for more detail.
3. Rescheduling a match on a make up week (as in already rescheduled) will be counted as a forfeit. This does not apply if matches are cancelled due to to weather.
4. During the regular season, each match will consist of three sets to 21 with rally scoring. If less than 15 minutes remain, the third set will be to 15. Must win by 2 points and there is never a point cap.
5. Open Hand passing over the net is not allowed at any time, in any fashion. Even if the player is squared to the net.
6. When contacting the ball with one hand, the ball must be cleanly hit with the heel or palm of the hand (roll shot), with straight, locked, touching fingertips (cobra), or knurled fingers (camel-toe), or with the back of the hand. One handed placement or redirection of the ball with the fingers (open-hand tip) is a fault.
7. Let serves (the ball hits the net and goes over) are allowed.
8. Only one toss is allowed on the serve. If the ball is caught or hits the ground, it is a side out. Noise pollution (people yelling/disputing score, train horn, etc) or other distractions can be grounds for a re-throw.
9. If the ball or player hits the barrier netting at any time during the course of play, the ball is dead and the opposing team receives the point and serve. Safety is a priority.
10. If you touch the net any time during play, it is a fault. There is no "incidental contact" with the net. Again, safety is priority.
11. There is NO PURSUIT ALLOWED under the net. Again, this is for safety reasons.
12. The first set will be considered a forfeit 15 minutes after the scheduled start time. The second and third sets will be forfeited 20 and 30 minutes respectively after the match is scheduled to start.
13. Each match's scheduled time includes a 5 minute warm-up time. If you wish to warm up more, please arrive before your game time and do so off the court.
14. If your match is complete, or you are playing pick-up during a cancellation/free period, please vacate the court 10 minutes before the next scheduled time. Please use courtesy when your time is up.
15. To be eligible to play in the tournament, a player must have played in at least one set of two separate matches during season play.
16. The ball must travel between the net standards (antennae) to be considered in play. If the ball goes over the top of or touches the standard, the ball is out.
17. Open Hand passing is NOT allowed on the serve receive.
18. Open Hand passing is only allowed for receiving the first ball if it is received as cleanly as a set. It may double contacted if it is hard-driven** or reactive in nature.
19. Open Hand passes or sets that cross over the net without being contacted or contested by the hitting team are also not allowed, incidental or not.

1. Each team consists of up to 4 players on the court. There must be at least 1 woman on the court at all times. There is no minimum number of men required (can play with 4 women). 
2. Players are not required to rotate positions during the course of play, but must serve in the correct order. If a player serves out of turn, it is a fault and the opposing team receives the point and the serve. If the server had previously served before the fault was discovered, any points scored are not deducted. Service order may change between sets.
3. All 4 players are considered front row and may hit and block at the net at any time.

1. Each team consists of at least three and up to six players on the court. If playing with three or four players, one woman must be on the court at all times. Playing with five or six players requires a minimum of two women. There is no minimum of number men enforced.
2. Players must rotate positions upon each side out returning service possession. Temporary switching of positions is allowed during points, but players must maintain their original positions until the ball is served.
   • Players switching from the back row to the front are still considered back row and may not make any "block" or "attack" attempts at the net.
   • Multiple players are allowed to rotate into play during upon side outs (I.E. if you have more than 6 people), so long as only one person rotates in at a time and the service order remains intact.
     • If a woman rotating off the court would violate the rule regarding minimum number of women on the court, the woman must stay on the court (this is allowed to break the service order ruling).

Unique "House" Rules:

      1.  On the nights of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays, teams are allowed to play with four players, with a minimum of one female on the court at all times.  Players do not have to rotate, only serve in order and all players are eligible to hit.  If a team wishes to play with five or six, two females are required, and players must rotate prior to serving.

2.  Substitutions for any given night is allowed, provided the minimum required quantity of players is not available. For example, if a team has three males and no females, a female player from another team may fill in (regular season only). However, if a team already has three or four males and one female, substitutions to create a team of five or six are not allowed.

This rule limits substitutions when a team already has a balanced gender composition. It aims to prevent teams from stacking their lineup with players from other teams, which could potentially disrupt the competitive balance of the league.

Since the ruling has caused some controversy in the past, we are turning to the USAV's official ruling:

USAV 9.2.3.2: Plays involving finger action require special attention. If the play is defensive and reactive in nature, as in the case of a hard-driven ball, momentarily held or double-contacted balls are not considered faults. Furthermore, this may apply to the second touch of a team if the block contact was slight and the ball is still a hard-driven attack, or to the defensive action (team first contact) after a ball has been blocked. If the player decides/intends to use finger setting action to contact an off-speed attack, the contact must be “clean.”

A hard driven ball is one that is defined as a ball that is travelling too fast to forearm pass or otherwise react to. The spirit of the rule is to keep the rally going and allow the defense some latitude in bringing up an otherwise play ending attack, not to allow sloppy play on a slow moving ball. It also means you're defending an opponent's attack on a ball that's moving fast enough such that a referee can judge that you didn't have time to play the ball any other way.

No open hand passes are allowed on the serve regardless of speed, defensive action, or quality of the resulting pass.

Be aware that our rules may differ from the official rules for purposes of continuation of play and safety.

2013 USAV Beach Volleyball rules (PDF)

Further resources for questions and info about proper open hand setting techniques:

 https://youtu.be/JTS917r8XVg