HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i is set to launch sand volleyball with a tournament at Queen's Beach in Waikiki on March 17^th. Here are a few important things to know about the school's newest sport.
 
 
NCAA Classification: Collegiate sand volleyball is an emerging sport. Once there are 40 sponsoring institutions for two straight years, it will be considered an NCAA championship sport. Sixteen schools are sponsoring the sport in this initial season. Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and USC are among those in the West who are currently offering sand volleyball.
 
Format: Sand volleyball is played with a two-player team and events will include both dual matches and tournament formats.
 

• In a dual meet, each school will field five doubles teams ranked by ability. Each doubles team plays against the corresponding team or teams from other schools with each doubles match worth one point. The team meet is won by the school capturing three of the five matches.

 

• NCAA sand volleyball uses a best-of-three rally-scoring format . A set is won by the doubles team that first scores 21 points with a minimum winnning margin of two points. In the case of a 1-1 tie, the deciding (third) set is played to 15 points with a minimum winning margin of two points.

 

• Tournament play will still employ flights. Points are awarded based on finish in each of the five brackets and a total team score determines the winner of the event.

 
 
Differences Between Sand and Indoor Volleyball: Beyond the obvious differences in number of players on a side and the surface for competition, here are some of the differences between the sand and indoor game:
 

• Sand volleyball is officiated much differently than court volleyball. No open handed tipping is allowed and setting is called so tightly in sand volleyball that the bump set is more popular than the overhead set.

 

• The block touch counts as the first of the three allowable contacts.

 

• Coaches may only speak to players or give them any kind of input or feedback during time-outs and between sets.

 

• To mitigate the impact of wind and sun, the players switch sides of the court every seven points in a 21 point set and every five points in a 15 point set.

 
Roster: The majority of the sand volleyball roster derives from the indoor team. This year's roster has 15 players, with 12 coming from the indoor squad. UH can offer a maximum of six equivalency scholarships for the sand team, beginning with a maximum of three in 2012 and adding one in each of the subsequent three years for a total of six.
 
Coaches: Scott Wong, an associate coach with the indoor team and former professional beach volleyball player, is the head coach of the inaugural UH sand volleyball team. He is assisted by volunteer coach Danny Alvarez.
 
Venue: UH is using the Sand Box at Queen's Beach in Waikiki as both a practice ground and home venue for its two competition dates in 2012. Two competition courts
are projected to be built by the end of 2012 in the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex and three additional practice courts adjacent to the complex will also be added by the end of 2012.
 
Uniforms: The uniform regulations are the same for sand volleyball as they are for collegiate track and field. Uniforms must cover the midriff of the body when the student-athlete is standing still. Numbering and logo regulations follow the same parameters as other NCAA sports.
 
Schedule: The playing season starts in March and lasts eight (8) weeks or unitl the end of the school year. UH will play the Division I minimum of eight (8) dates—five of dual matches and three tournaments and two home events on March 17 and April 7. As an emerging sport, the NCAA is not sponsoring a sand volleyball national championship in 2012. However the American Volleyball Coaches Association is sponsoring the 2012 Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championship, April 27-29, in Gulf Shores, Ala., consisting of both a team and pairs championship. Invitations to participate will be based on 2012 season results and tournament selections will be made by a committee.
 
 
Additional Sources: ACVA, NCAA and USA Volleyball
   
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