4-on-4 Beach Volleyball Rules – DC
Markets: DC Metro
Format: Volleyball
SUMMARY
- Format is 4-on-4. Maximum 3 men, minimum 1 women on the court
- Each match consists of 3 games (to 21, rally scoring, win by 2 or first to 23). Matches must be completed within the allotted time (45 minutes)
- No warm-up time on the court. Please come early and warm up on the side
- Teams forfeit 1 game for first 10 minutes past game time that they do not have enough players. Teams forfeit all games if not enough players after 20 minutes
- A team may rotate any number of players into the game in set order or choose to have a designated sitter for each game
- Carrying is illegal. A carry generally is any use of an open hand(s) while making contact with the ball that is not in a firm manner, but can be called with a closed fist at the referee’s discretion
- Any unsportsmanlike behavior will result in that player/team being suspended/removed from participating in all ZogSports leagues for one year
FORFEITS
- Please don’t forfeit. Your teammates and opponents count on you to have a full team and competitive game. Each team must have at least 2 (two) players including 1 (one) woman to start a game.
- Teams receive a forfeit for Game 1 if they do not have enough players by 10 minutes after the scheduled start time
- Teams receive a forfeit for all 3 games if they do not have enough players by 20 minutes after the scheduled start time
- No one may play without signing the waiver. If it is found that you are playing with someone who has not signed a waiver, your team will receive a forfeit
FUNKY COURT RULES – OBSTRUCTIONS
- Players may not touch the adjacent court or its imaginary extension while attempting to play a ball
- If the ball from the other court enters your playing area, it will be a do over to avoid injury
- CO-ED RULES
- A team may never have more than 3 men on the court at one time
REVIEW OF BASIC VOLLEYBALL RULES
Carrying- is illegal. A carry generally is any use of an open hand(s) while making contact with the ball that is not in a firm manner, but can be called with a closed fist at the referee’s discretion.
Hitting the Ball – You can use any part of your body as long as it is not a carry. Exception is that a serve must be put into play with your arm
Touching the net – Player can never touch the net while ball is in play
Underneath the net – If player’s hand or foot remains in contact with plane of centerline it is legal, but if half or more is beyond the line it is a violation. If any other part of your body touches the opposing court, it is also a violation
Reaching over the net – You can reach over the net as long as you do not touch the net, but the ball must break the plane of the net before you can make contact with it.
Reaching over to block a set is a violation.
USA Volleyball Rules apply unless stated otherwise
- The team wearing more ZogSports shirts automatically wins the toss
- If both teams have a comparable number of team shirts, the referee will have the two captains shoot odds/evens or rock/paper/scissors
- The winning captain will select to serve first or choose which side they prefer to play on, (not both)
- Teams will switch sides and serve for the additional games against each other
- Each match will consist of three games (not best of three). Each game will count in the overall standings for regular season standings (if you win all 3 games in a match, your record is recorded as 3-0 for the evening, not 1-0)
- All games are played to 21, rally scoring
- One time-out per game is allowed
NUMBER OF PLAYERS / TEAM SIZE
- A team may rotate any number of players into the game in set order or choose to have a designated sitter for each game.
- Rosters are limited to 8 players, but extra players can be added for an additional fee. However, no additional players will be added to the roster after the 4th week. Waivers must be signed by all players and handed in before the start of the first game.
- PLAYERS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY GAME WITHOUT SIGNING THE WAIVER.
PICKING UP PLAYERS
Since occasionally, teams may be short players and ZogSports wants everyone to be able to play every game possible, we permit teams to pick up non-roster, ZogSports players for your game. Before you get too excited, there is a limit to the number of players you can pick up and there is a limit to 2 times/season; after that it’s a forfeit. Here are the guidelines:
- 0 women -> official forfeit, play a scrimmage
- Less than 2 players -> official forfeit, play scrimmage
- Team has 2 players -> can pick up 2 if the other team has 4, 1 if the other team has 3
- Team has 3 players -> can pick up 1 if the other team has 4, 0 if the other team has 3
- Team has 4 players -> cannot pick anyone up
All pickups must be identified at the start of the game. Teams can never pick-up non-ZogSports players. If it is found out that you did not inform the referee about picked up players prior to the start of the game, your team will receive a forfeit. DURING THE PLAYOFFS, ONLY PLAYERS ON YOUR ROSTER ARE ALLOWED TO PLAY
GAME TIMES
Teams will receive a schedule that will list when their team will play each week. Teams will be given 60 minutes to play 1 match (3 games). There is no designated “warm-up” time. “Warm-up” time is to be included in the allotted amount of time that teams will have for their match. Teams will decide if they wish to “warm-up” or not. The longer teams take/choose to “warm-up” the less time they may have to complete their match. If a game is stopped early due to time constraints the score at the time of stoppage will be final and reflected in the standings. Teams will have 10 minutes to field a team before they receive their first forfeit.
RULES OF PLAY
Serving
The serve receive may not be blocked or spiked or attacked with an overhand gesture towards the ball.
Service Receive
Players can return the serve by:
- Bump pass
- Clasping their hands together
- A closed fist
- Open-hand receive– You are allowed to set the serve
Players cannot return the serve by:
- Attacking the ball on the first hit. Contact with the ball must be made below the height of the net if it is to be directed back into the opponent’s side of the court
- Blocking
Hitting/Blocking
- There is no male/female hitting rule/order
- A defensive block does not count as one of the allowable contacts. A player may reach over the net to block a ball if:
- Any portion of the ball breaks the plane of the net
- After the offense has come in contact with the ball on the third attempt
- Contact of the ball when spiking is legal only if a portion of the ball is in contact with the plane of the net or on the hitter’s side of the net. Hitters may follow through over the net after legal contact as long as they do not make contact with the net. The ball must be cleanly hit when spiking with an open or closed hand. Guiding or carrying is illegal
- No part of the body may touch the net at anytime
Rotation
- Teams must rotate after every side out
- This includes the first side out of the game. A team is not allowed to decide not to rotate for their first service
- Teams may rotate in one of the following manners which must remain consistent for the entire game (teams may change rotation method from game to game within a match)
Player for Player – A player who is out may substitute for a player who is on the court. These two players may only substitute for each other during the course of the game. Once you substitute in for someone, you may not substitute for anyone else. These two people may substitute an unlimited number of times
Rotating In – All of your substitutes may rotate into one position on the court. You may not skip anyone unless it is to adhere to male/female ratio which limits it to no more than 4 men on the court at a time but as many females as you want. You cannot have a separate male and female rotation. Players usually rotate into the service position. Rotation must do so in the same order throughout the course of the game
Game Time
- Matches will be played within the allotted time (45 Minutes)
- All games are played to 21
- Rally score will be used for all games
- One time-out (1 minute in length) per game is allowed
Rules
Referees will have a copy of the rules with them at each location. If there is a question or discrepancy, please ask the referee to check the rules if necessary. We also urge all teams to bring their own copy of the rules with them just in case.
STANDINGS
The updated standings will be posted weekly. The standings will display each team’s rank within its skill level. Rank is based on winning percentage.
PLAYOFFS
- Playoffs begin immediately following the end of the regular season
- Typically last between 1 and 2 weeks
- Possible for teams to have more than one match in a given night
- No players will be allowed to be picked up during playoffs
- All players must have signed the waiver by the first week of the season and be on your roster in order to be eligible for playoffs
- Teams that have violated the forfeit policy during the course of regular season (2 forfeits) will not be eligible for playoffs
- Playoffs are single elimination and games are a best 2 out of 3. Games will be played to 21 with rally scoring
Teams are seeded according to winning percentage. The tie breaker procedure is as follows:
1. Head-to-head competition (among all tied teams)
2. Record against other teams in or tied for playoffs (winning percentage – i.e., 0-1 is same as 0-2, but 1-3 is better than 0-1)
3. Number of wins
4. Record against next best common opponent
5. If team forfeited loses tie breaker if others don’t resolve seeding
6. Coin toss
Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility of players must be addressed before the start of the game. Any team that would like to challenge the eligibility of an opposing player must do so before the start of the game. No protests will be considered valid after a game has started.
WAIVERS
In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before participating. Players must sign the waiver in order to be eligible for playoffs.
GAME CANCELLATION
Games may be cancelled due to dangerous weather conditions, facility constraints or other unforeseeable reasons. ZogSports will not cancel games unless absolutely necessary so you should always assume games are on unless you receive an email. If the games are cancelled, ZogSports will post it on the Weather Page of the website (https://play.zogsports.com/weather-alert-hotline) and post an alert on the ZogSports Weather Alert Hotline at (332) 213-9023. ZogSports will email all of the captains to let them know. It is then the captain’s responsibility to inform all teammates of the cancellation.
SPORTSMANSHIP
In ZogSports leagues you are playing for your cause (a charity) and for fun. This is a social league and our goal is to have a good time. We hope that everyone keeps this in mind when playing. We know that some games will become very intense, but you can still be competitive and be a good sport. Thus, any behavior deemed unacceptable by us may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league. Abuse of staff and/or referees will not be tolerated. ZogSports reserves the right to remove a player from a game or a league if we think that they are bringing down the quality of the league. No fighting will be tolerated. Fighting will result in an automatic ejection from any game and in most cases ejection from the league for the rest of the season.
FORFEIT PENALTIES AND NOTIFICATION
Penalties
First Offense: Loss of match (all 3 games) and warning issued
Second Offense: Loss of game and removal from the playoffs
Third Offense: Loss of match and possible removal from the rest of the schedule
NOTIFICATION
If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, you MUST contact us by at least 12pm the day before at the league manager’s email or forfeits@zogsports.com. It is not considered notification unless you receive a reply. If your decision is not made until after 12pm, you should still try to reach ZogSports, and we will make efforts to contact the other team. If we can reach them in time to keep them from showing up, no penalty. If you do not do this, and no one from your team shows up for the game, your team can be eliminated from the rest of the schedule.
There is no additional penalty if you show up short-handed (and need to add other ZogSports players to field a full team) and have to forfeit the game, since you did make an effort to get a team to play. Once ZogSports is notified you are forfeiting, it is official (you cannot change your mind), and the other team will be notified.
CODE OF CONDUCT: The Participant’s Code of Conduct applies to all ZogSports participants. You can access the ZogSports Participant’s Code of Conduct HERE.