OPEN TOURNAMENT

Last year's edition signed another success for the Mizuno Beach Volley Marathon®, as the largest sporting event in the world dedicated to Beach volleyball reached extraordinary numbers! This is an event that never ceases to grow and evolve in exciting new ways and boasts an important participation of athletes from all over Europe, Russia, the U.S., Asia, Australia, China and Japan. The 2019 edition will once again be an event not to be missed, with a new record of participants. If you haven't experienced it at least once, you simply can't miss it!

Event App

By downloading the "Beach Volley Marathon" application free of charge from the Apple Store or from Google Play, each player can view the match calendars, the results of their own matches, general ranking, the layout of the courts, tournament rules or evening events, etc

Participation

Participation is open to teams of athletes of all levels, divided into the following categories: 2x2 Female, 2x2 Male, 3x3 Female, 3x3 Male and 4x4 Mixed (two men and two women on the court). For the 2x2 M/F teams, one reserve is allowed per team, while the 3x3 M/F and the 4x4 Mixed are allowed two reserves per team. Athletes which are part of one team cannot be part of other teams in the same category. Participation in the tournament requires agreeing to the "General Regulations".

M/F 2x2 formats

The 2x2 M/F matches will take place on Friday and Saturday. The game formula includes a qualifying phase (on Friday) and a final phase (on Saturday) through 32 team match tables with double elimination matches: after the first defeat a team will pass to the losing scoreboard; after two defeats a team is disqualified. The matches will be played as a single set to 21 points, with a maximum of 23 points; the only final matches on Saturday (1st -2nd and 3rd -4th places) will be played using the two out of three format, set to 21 points, with a maximum of 23 points and any third set will be played to 15 points with a difference of two points, (without any score limit). In May, the best 64 teams of the qualifying round for both categories will make it to the final round on Saturday, which will be divided into two separate award levels: Gold (1 °-32 °) and Silver (33 °-64 °). In September, the best 32 teams of the qualifying round for both categories will make it to the final

3x3 M/F and 4x4 Mixed formats

The match of the 3x3 M / F and 4x4 Mixed categories will compete on Saturday and Sunday. The match formula includes a qualification stage (on Saturday) within groups of five teams. At the end of the qualifying round, a provisional ranking will be drawn up based on the points quotient earned by each team for each category; with the same points quotient, the best positions are assigned on the basis of registration date.

The final round (on Sunday) takes place on the basis of the aforementioned classification with knockout matches up to the final. Saturday and Sunday matches are played in a single set to 21 points with a limit of 23; the only final matches (1st-2nd and 3rd-4th place) are played in a single set to 21 points with a gap of two points without any score limit. For the 3x3 M / F and 4x4 Mixed categories, the best 768 ranked teams in the qualifying phase enter the final round and are divided into four different award levels: Platinum (1st -192 °); Gold (193 ° -384 °); Silver (385 ° -576 °); Bronze (577 ° -768 °). In the event that a match draw of the final round present less than 32 teams, those teams will be included in the award level that precedes it (for example: a Bronze level with 30 teams entered will be included in the Silver level).

Match program

Category 2x2 M/F: Friday (Qualifying round) from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday (Final round) from 8:30 and with final matches starting at 3:30 p.m. Categories 3x3 M/F and 4x4 mixed: Saturday (Qualifying round) from 8:30 to 6:30 p.m; Sunday (Final round) from 8:00 and with final matches starting at 5:00 p.m. Schedule for the final match may be subject to change.

Refereeing

Refereeing will be performed in rotation by the same athletes according to the competition program downloaded here and available in the Beach Volley Marathon App. The final matches will be supervised by federal referees. All matches must be played in accordance with the rule of “fair play". All athletes must accept the referee’s decisions and be respectful of all the other participants, otherwise the Tournament Director has the right to decide, (at his own discretion), to exclude the participant from the tournament without any obligation of refund.

Filling-out reports

All the participants refereeing the matches, have to fill-out reports (to be found on the courts) before the match starts. The final score must be clear, legible and must be signed by both teams for acceptance. In the case of non-validation, match results will still be considered valid and registered.

Verification of qualifying round results

During the qualifying round, teams must verify the accuracy of the final results of their matches displayed on the scoreboard and also in the section of the Beach Volley Marathon App. Results of the morning matches (8:30 am – 1:00 pm) have to be checked by 2:00 pm; results of afternoon matches (1:30 pm – 6:00 pm) by 7:00 pm. Once the qualifying rounds have been completed, requests for any results corrections will not be possible. Note: for classification purposes, match score results that are deemed unclear, illegible or are deemed to be unmistakably false, will not be taken into consideration.

Matches won and lost due to forfeit

In the qualifying round, for the 3x3 M/F and 4x4 Mixed categories, a score of 21 points suffered and 0 (zero) points achieved will be assigned to the losing team in the case of match results being concluded by forfeit. This score will be counted in the determination of the points quotient valid for the provisional ranking. No points will be counted or awarded to teams winning the match due to forfeit.

Rules regarding tardiness and concurrences

Teams that are “no shows”, teams with players missing or teams that arrive on the court with delays of more than 5 minutes over the scheduled match time - will forfeit the match with a score of 0-21. The referee will make the final decision and declare a team defeated by forfeit after being informed of their tardiness by the opposing team and/or the Tournament Director.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned, a maximum delay of 40 minutes will be granted, with respect to the times indicated in the tournament reports, to teams composed of one or more athletes who are engaged in playing matches in different game categories at the time of being called to the court. Beyond this 40 minute delay, the Tournament Director will ask teams to choose which match they wish to play in and therefore, which match they will forfeit.

The final round: program and refereeing

The rankings at the end of the qualifying round will be available in the appropriate section of the Beach Volley Marathon App and on the "classifications" page.

For the 3x3 M/F and 4x4 Mixed categories, a text message sent to all team managers will communicate the ranking position of their team at the end of the qualifying round. The Beach Volley Marathon App will allow you to deduce match times and the refereeing scheduled for the final round. The scheduled timetable for the final round can also be found on the page "Matchplay draw - Final Matches - Sunday."

Official tournament T-shirt

During the finals (1st -2nd and 3rd-4th places) and for all the matches played on the central main court, athletes must wear the official tournament T-shirt. If one or more players of a team do not respect this rule, the whole team will lose the match by forfeit and in the case of final rounds, will not be eligible to win the prize money.

Unfavourable weather conditions and other external events

The Mizuno Beach Volley Marathon® will usually take place under most weather conditions. Obviously, under certain extreme weather conditions (or other external events) the Tournament Director has the right to decide at his discretion, to provisionally or definitively suspend any of the matches and decree their resumption when and if external conditions allow it. In the event of the match’s resumption, the score set at the time of suspension will be maintained.

For 2x2 M/F categories, in the event of a definitive suspension of the match during the qualifying round, for the teams still in play, ranking positions not yet assigned will be determined on the basis of the date of enrollment. For 3x3 M/F and 4x4 Mixed categories, in the event of definitive suspension of a match during the qualifying round, provisional rankings will be drawn up on the basis of the results achieved by each team at the time of suspension; to those teams that have not yet played any match, a point ratio equal to the average of the points calculated on the matches played in the original category will be assigned by forfeit; in the event of an equal point ratio, the ranking position will be determined by the date of enrollment.

For all match categories, in the event of non-dispute of any of the matches during the qualifying round, the rankings will be determined on the basis of the date of enrollment. For all match categories, in the event of definitive suspension during the qualifying round, the prize money will be evenly distributed amongst the teams playing (for all of the award levels) according to the percentages already applied and based on the different ranking positions. In the event of definitive suspension during the final round, the prize money, with the exception of that which has already been awarded, will be evenly distributed amongst those teams (for all award levels) that were still playing at the time of the match’s suspension, as long as the amount per team is not equal to or less than €50.