RULES 

🏐 GENERAL RULES

• All matches are 25 minutes. A horn will sound at the end of every match across all courts.

• If the score is tied at 25 minutes, play one final point to determine the winner.

• DO NOT play past 25 minutes — it delays the entire tournament!

• After each game, both teams must report the exact score and clearly state who won.
  
  
  

• 👀 COACH & PLAYER RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coaches: Please stay visible and help manage any student issues, on or off the court.

• Players: You’ll have access to:

• A water bottle refill station

• An outdoor hose to rinse off sand

• The Richcraft Sensplex is genrally off limits, but they are offering us limited access to the bathrooms on the Potvin or North side of the arena complex (see site map) — please be respectful of the facilities.

• Dress Code: Keep it simple. No need to worry about spaghetti straps, but shirts and shorts must be worn at all times.
  
  
  

• ⏱️ GAME TIME RULES

• All matches are self-refereed. If in doubt:

• Re-serve

• Ask a coach

• Visit the scorer’s table

• Find a tournament volunteer

• Look up the rules on the Instagram tournament site: the.sandstorm.tournament

• No offensive language or behavior — zero tolerance.

• Use rock-paper-scissors, coin flip, or ball spin to decide serve or side.

• Switch sides every 5 or 7 points.

• No stepping in on serve.
  
  
  

• 🧮 SCORING & PLAYOFFS

• Games are one set to 25 points straight — no need to win by 2.

• Stop playing when the horn sounds to keep the schedule on track.

• After pool play, teams are ranked by:

• Wins

• Point differential

• Most teams advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket in the afternoon.

• Both winning and losing teams must report results to ensure accuracy.
  
  
  

• 🏐 DIVISION-SPECIFIC RULES

• 🟦 All Divisions

• No open-hand tipping (jousts/knuckles = OK)

• No rotation needed, but all players must take turns serving

• No designated frontcourt/backcourt positions
  
  
  

• 🟨 FOURS

• Follow indoor rules, plus the modifications above

• 🟩 DOUBLES

• Official beach rules apply

• You may only set a hard-driven ball

• A block counts as a touch

• 🟥 COED SPECIFIC

• Boys may only attack from behind the 3-meter line (self-marked in the sand)

• Girls can hit and block freely

• Boys cannot block girls

• Boys may block boys only if they attack from behind the 3-meter line

• Boys may contact/joust at the net, but the ball must go up, not down
  
  
  

📅 FINAL REMINDER

Know your schedule and be on time!
Miss your game? That’s a default loss.