Key facts
Venue: Horse Guards Parade
Dates: Saturday 28 July – Thursday 9 August
Gold medals up for grabs: 2
Athletes: 96
In the 1960s, The Beatles appeared at the legendary Sorrento Beach in Los Angeles for a quick hit on the beach volleyball court.A total of 384 athletes will compete for four gold medals in the sport of Volleyball at the 2012 Games.
A volleyball ball weighs between 260g and 280g. It is made of synthetic leather.
Volleyball: a history of the sport
Beach volleyball first appeared in the early 1920s in Santa Monica, California. What started as just family fun became a sport spreading rapidly across the world. By the 1930s, the game had reached countries like Czechoslovakia, Latvia and Bulgaria.
The first official two-man tournament took place in 1947, and the first beach volleyball circuit, involving hundreds of players and five California beaches, began in the 1950s.
Volleyball at the Olympic Games
Beach Volleyball made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Atlanta Games. USA and Brazil shared all the gold medals in the subsequent four Games, except in Sydney where the Australian women’s team dominated.
How to play
Beach volleyball is based on the same idea as the indoor game, with teams of two players. It is played on an outdoor sand court (16 x 8 metres) divided by a net set at the same height as volleyball. Players display amazing agility and exceptionally sharp reflexes.
Matches are the best of three sets, with 21 points needed to win a set (15 in the third and deciding set).
In 2012, the Olympic Beach Volleyball competition will consist of 24 teams, divided into six pools of four teams each during a preliminary round.
A total of 108 matches will be played during 14 days of competition, 54 matches each women and men.
Jargon buster
Spike: To smash the ball overarm into the opponent's court.
Dig: The act of passing the ball underarm, normally on service receive and back court defence
Setter: A specialist player who acts as the link between the passer and the attacking hitters.
Libero: A specialist back court player for service reception and retrievals from opposition attacks.
Block: Preventing the attacking ball to come over the net by forming a ‘wall’ of hands at the net.
Wipe: Where players intentionally hit the ball into the opposition block so that it goes out of play to win a point for the attackers.
Shoot: A very fast attack where the setter plays the ball out to the wing attacker as fast as possible to beat the opposition blockers.
Tomahawk: an emergency defensive play used in Beach Volleyball where both hands contact the ball above head height.
Get involved
If you want to get started in this fast and exciting team sport, contact your home nation’s federation:
National Governing Bodies:
British Volleyball Federation
English Volleyball Association
Scottish Volleyball Association
Northern Ireland Volleyball Association
Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB)
