5 Things You Need To Know About Beach Volleyball
Beach Volleyball is making its second appearance at a Commonwealth Youth Games and with 18 countries competing at this summer’s Games, it is sure to be an exciting display of raw talent and power. The beautiful Pigeon Point Beach will be the competition’s home for the six days of competition, from 5-10 August.
For part two of our Beach Volleyball Sport Focus, here are 5 things you need to know about the sport at the Games and in Scotland:
1. Beach Volleyball is only a recent addition to the Commonwealth Games programme, making its Youth Games debut at Bahamas 2017 and senior Games debut at Gold Coast 2018.
2. A Beach Volleyball team is made up of two players, and the first team to reach 21 points, with a two-point lead, wins the set. Matches are best of three sets with third sets played to fifteen. Teams switch sides every seven points (five in the third set) so that any advantage from the wind is split.
3. While a Beach Volleyball side has two players instead of the six per side of the Indoor game, the court is just one metre shorter, and one metre narrower than an Indoor Volleyball court – that’s a lot of ground to cover per player!
4. Beach Volleyball is played all over Scotland on beaches in Troon, Ayr, St Andrews, Portobello, Aberdeen, as well as on inland (fake) beaches in Perth, Edinburgh, and Ayr.
5. Iona Bell and Sasha Clegg-Mckeown, the duo representing Team Scotland in Beach Volleyball at Trinbago 2023, both play out of West Coast Beach Volleyball Club, one of the four Beach Volleyball clubs in Scotland.