The competition shall be held in accordance with the Official Beach Volleyball Rules 2017-2020 approved by the 35th FIVB Congress 2016 (fivb.org), except where the general competition rules provide otherwise.
- A team is composed exclusively of two players, either men, women, or a mixed couple.
- Only the two players recorded on the score sheet have the right to participate in a match. One of the players is the team captain.
- The competition shall be held in accordance with the general rules of the games but without “technical time out”. Each team is entitled to a maximum of one time-out per set which lasts for 30 seconds.
- At the beginning of the Games, each team shall submit to the host organization a list of its players.
- The host organization shall designate an umpire and scorer for each match. However, on request from the discipline coordinator, a referee/scorer from one of the teams may be assigned for the game. On the court the referee’s decision shall be final.
- Each team shall provide one regulation-size ball for each encounter.
- No player may participate in more than one team.
- Players must play barefoot except when authorized by the referee. The referee may authorize to play with socks and/or shoes.
- If there are 7 teams or less participating in the competition, each team shall play against each other team. The team gaining the most points shall win the competition, and the final ranking of the other teams shall be according to their total of points.
- If there are 8 teams or more participating in the competition, the teams shall be divided into two groups; within each group, each team shall play against every other team, and the ranking of the teams shall be according to their total of points. There shall then be a semifinal in which the winning team from pool A shall play against the second in pool B, and the winning team of pool B shall play against the second in pool A. the winners of the semi-finals shall play against each other for the first and second places, whereas the losers of the semifinals shall play against each other for the third and fourth places.
- At the end of each encounter, the referee shall report the results in writing to the discipline coordinator together with the match records duly signed by the team captains.
- The team captain is responsible for maintaining team conduct and discipline.
- The teams switch sides after every 7 points (Sets 1 & 2) and 5 points (Set 3) played.
- If a team refuses to play after being summoned to do so, it is declared in default and forfeits the match with the result 0-2 for the match and 0-21, 0-21 for each set.
- A team that does not appear on the playing court on time is declared in default.
- The weather must not present any danger of injury to the player. The referee and discipline coordinator shall jointly decide if such a danger exists and the action to be taken.