Sun, Sand and Sweat: Beach Volleyball Quiz

Answer: Sand court, 2 players per side

Beach volleyball is played by 2 players on a sand court. Players still have three shots to hit the ball over the net to ground the ball in the opponents' court. Having only two people instead of six, as in a regular volleyball side increased athleticism required.. A player that returns the service has to get into a favourable position so that the second person can set the ball into a good position for the first player to spike the ball over the net to make it difficult for the opposing side. There are other minor differences between the two sports.

Answer: True

Beach volleyball is played on a 15 metre x 8 metre court which is only slightly smaller than 16 meter x 9 meter standard volleyball court. Given the uneven surface, traction problems, difficulty moving across sand and four less players per side, the slightly smaller court size seems little compensation for the other extraneous factors.

Answer: 21-18, 21-23, 18-16

1. Scoring is a best of three sets so 21-12, 21-15, 15-10 would never be played.
2. The third set is only played to 15 (in the first instance) so 22-24, 21-6, 21-9 should have stopped when the first team reached 15 not 21.
3. Games need to be played until one team is two points clear in each set so 21-19. 21-20 needs to keep going until team A is two points in front or Team B gets two points in front and forces a third set.
4. The only legitimate score is 21-18, 21-23, 18-16, where scoring continues beyond the "normal" endpoints of 21 in the second set and 15 in the third set to ensure one team wins each set by at least two points.

Answer: Punt

When the ball is served over the net, the first hit is usually a dig, simply a hit to stop the ball from touching the ground. This is followed by the second shot, a set, where the ball is positioned well for the the third hit, the spike, which is a a hard downward blow, over the net, usually hit from a jump to ground the ball in the other team's court or, at least, make the ball harder to return.

Answer: Santa Monica, CA, USA

OK, the hint was meant to represent Route 66 which ends at Santa Monica Pier. When the Santa Monica piers were built in the 1920s, beaches in the area became wide. Volleyball was soon played on the beach. In 1930, whilst waiting for other players to turn up, Paul (Pablo) Johnson started a two aside game.

Whilst six a side volleyball was still played, two aside has became the standard for beach volleyball. Where regions had a strong beach culture, California, Brazil and Australia, beach volleyball soon became popular.

The Horse Guard Parade, situated between Downing St and St James' Park in London is where Beach Volleyball was held during the 2012 Olympics. This was a tiltyard used for jousting in the early 1500s.

Answer: True

The height of the net in both forms of the game is 2.43 meters for men and 2.24 metres for women.

Answer: The non-server makes hand signals behind their back

The non-server is in front of the server, so the non-server uses hand signals behind their back (usually behind the buttocks). The signals can describe the type of block, who will move where for the return and where the serve should be aimed.

Answer: Top Gun

"Top Gun" (1986), starring Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards, featured a beach volleyball match. There were lots of bare chests, sweat and testosterone which resulted in a new interest in the game of beach volleyball. If you look closely, the match features a lot of serving but there are few scenes where you actually see a full dig-set-spike play.

Answer: 1996 Atlanta

Beach volleyball was introduced in Barcelona in 1992 as a demonstration sport. At the next Olympics, held in Atlanta in 1996, 24 men's teams and 18 women's teams competed for medals.

Answer: Switzerland

Switzerland won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. (I would like to know on which Swiss beach they practiced,) China, Latvia, Canada, and Spain have all won medals (though not gold) in the 1996-2012 time period. In the same period Germany has won 2 medals including one gold.