The purpose of this investigation was to detect whether differences exist concerning the dynamic and kinematic parameters of vertical squat jump (SJ) on rigid (RS) and sand (SS) surface. Fifteen elite male beach volleyball players (age: 25.6±6.2 years; height: 188.0±3.5cm; body mass: 83.2±6.0 kg; mean ±SD, respectively) performed SJ. Force platform and kinematic analyses were used with paired sample T‐tests to evaluate the differences. Vertical jump height was significantly smaller (p < .001) on SS than RS. Maximal force and maximal power were significantly higher on RS than SS (p < .05 and p < .01 respectively). Impulse time was larger in SS but with no significant difference (p = .286). Kinematic analysis revealed significant differences between the values of ankle joint during starting posture (p < .01) and of hip joint at the moment of take‐off (p < .05). Ankle joint range of motion and angular velocity was larger in SS (p < .05). In conclusion, SJ height on SS was smaller than on RS because of the compliance and the instability of the sand. This resulted in a reduction in maximum force and take‐off velocity. Furthermore, the compliance of SS made it hard for the ankle to push along the vertical axis of the movement of the body and as a result it slipped behind in an attempt to maximise propulsion. As a result, the body tries to balance and equalise this movement and move the hip to larger extension.

(2001). Using Principal Components Analysis to Identify Individual Differences in Vertical Jump Performance. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport: Vol. 72, No. 1, pp. 63-67.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible arm swing effect on the biomechanical parameters of vertical counter movement jump due to differences of the compliance of the take-off surface. Fifteen elite male beach-volleyball players (26.2 ± 5.9 years; 1.87 ± 0.05 m; 83.4 ± 6.0 kg; mean ± standard deviation, respectively) performed counter movement jumps on sand and on a rigid surface with and without an arm swing. Results showed significant (p < .05) surface effects on the jump height, the ankle joint angle at the lowest height of the body center of mass and the ankle angular velocity. Also, significant arm swing effects were found on jump height, maximum power output, temporal parameters, range of motion and angular velocity of the hip. These findings could be attributed to the instability of the sand, which resulted in reduced peak power output due to the differences of body configuration at the lowest body position and lower limb joints' range of motion. The combined effect of the backward arm swing and the recoil of the sand that resulted in decreased resistance at ankle plantar flexion should be controlled at the preparation of selected jumping tasks in beach-volleyball.

The purpose of this study was to explore the match and technical indicators between winning and losing teams in the Olympics and World Championships (2016–2021) depending on the final score of the matches. A total of 273 volleyball match reports were analyzed from the Men's Olympics (2016 and 2021) and World Championships (2014–2018). Discriminant function analysis determined which skill(s) contributed significantly to winning in matches with various score types. This study showed that for 3- and 4-set matches attack was the best predictor for team's success, while block and serve had also meaningful contribution. In 5-set matches serve and block points were the main predictors of a team's success. The results on the importance of scoring skills highlight the necessity of sustained trainability of all match actions, not favoring one, such as attack, too much. The essential for this balance is confirmed by the fact that teams do not increase their probability of winning a match by success only in attack, but also in the other terminal actions such as serve and block.

The spike is the most frequent type of attack in elite beach volleyball. The aim of this study was to investigate the arm swing techniques during the spike of world elite beach volleyball players. Ninety-six male players were analysed using video recordings from the 2017 Beach Volleyball World Championship. The arm swing movement techniques (bow-and-arrow high and low, snap, and circular) of each player were classified by two experts. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability were analysed using Cohen’s Kappa statistic. Absolute and relative frequencies of the techniques were recorded and their relation to performance parameters was calculated with χ² test or multinomial distribution. Intra-rater reliability of both experts (κ = .965, p < .001 and κ = .947, p < .001, respectively) and inter-rater reliability (κ = .930, p < .001) were very high. Analyses revealed that the two predominant techniques were bow-and-arrow low (51.6%) and bow-and-arrow high (37.4%). However, 11% of the players utilise other techniques (circular: 6.6%; snap: 4.4%). There were no differences (p > .05) in performance between players predominately utilising the various arm swing techniques. Although the observed techniques seem to not affect performance, future studies should investigate their effect on injuries in beach volleyball.