Beach volleyball tournament software and live scoring

Beach volleyball is played two against two on a sand court, with no substitutions and no fixed positions. Rally scoring applies, so a point is won on every rally whichever pair served. In the standard format a match is best of three sets: the first two sets are played to 21 points and a deciding third set to 15, and every set must be won by two clear points.

Because the game is played outdoors, sun and wind matter. Pairs change ends at regular intervals during each set so that neither side keeps a favourable end for long, and the deciding set changes ends more often. A match between evenly matched pairs can go well beyond 21 in a set, which affects how long each slot on a court needs to be.

Junior, school and recreational events often shorten the format, for example to a single set or a lower points target, so more matches fit into a day. The number of sets and the points target are set by the organiser for each event, and the results are recorded in the format that was actually played.

• Best of three sets. The first two sets to 21, a deciding set to 15, each won by two clear points.
• Pairs, no substitutes. The same two players play the whole match, so a withdrawal affects the pair, not just the player.
• Configurable formats. Single-set matches and shorter targets for junior and recreational events, set per event.

The usual shape of a beach volleyball tournament is pool play followed by a knockout. Pairs are seeded into pools, play each other in a round robin, and the leading pairs from each pool go through to a single-elimination bracket. Zeetius Tournaments generates the pools, the round-robin fixtures and the bracket from the entries, and carries the qualifiers forward automatically.

Formats vary with the size of the field and the number of days available. Some events use pools of three or four, some add a qualification tournament before the main draw, and some play the main draw as a straight knockout. The structure, the number of qualifiers from each pool and the pool ranking order are configured for each event.

Seeding in beach volleyball is usually built from both players' ranking points added together, because partnerships change so often. Zet AI can suggest balanced seeds from rankings and recent form and keep pairs from the same club or region apart in the early rounds, with the organiser deciding the final seeding.

• Pools. Round-robin groups with fixtures generated from the entries and seeding.
• Knockout bracket. Pool qualifiers drawn into a bracket through to the final and the bronze medal match.
• Pool rankings. Matches won, set ratio and point ratio applied in the order your rules publish.

Beach volleyball on Zeetius is scored live. The scorer at the side of the sand court enters each rally on the Zeetius multi-sport scoresheet, which is set up for sets and points, including the deciding set and the shorter formats used at junior events. Pairs, coaches, parents and spectators follow every court on the public live score page at zeetius.com/live/livescore, filtered to beach volleyball.

Zeetius Federation prepares rank lists from real results. Ranking points are awarded to each player for the finishing position of their pair, so a player keeps their points when they change partner, and a new partnership can be seeded from what both players have earned. The points table for each tier of event is set by the federation.

When a match ends, the score entered on court is confirmed by the officials and published as the official result, set by set. Pool tables update, qualifiers move into the bracket and pairs see their next opponent and court, while certificates for every participant are generated in bulk from the final results.