Kiraly's beach volleyball tour reinstates side-out scoring

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — Volleyball great Karch Kiraly is reinstating side-out scoring and other traditional beach volleyball rules for his grass-roots Corona Light Wide Open tour this summer. Kiraly said side-out scoring and returning the court to its original size of 30 by 60 feet will help restore the mystique of beach volleyball. He stressed the changes are for the Wide Open tour only. "We feel strongly beach volleyball needs a return to the lifestyle vibe that is the foundation of the sport," Kiraly said. "Somewhere along the way we lost track of what the legends of the sport had in mind when they started playing on the beaches of Southern California. I was fortunate enough to share in that experience and I hope we can bring it to today's players and fans." In side-out scoring, only the team serving can score a point. In rally scoring, which was implemented in 2001, every serve leads to a point for the team that wins the rally. The change was made for television, because side-out scoring can have long stretches with no points. "People who've been around volleyball longer know the advantage to rally scoring is that every serve is bringing you closer to the end of the game," Kiraly said. "But in side-out scoring, there is something to be said for the beauty, and to me, the elegance, of actually having to serve the ball to the other team and to figure out a way to stop that team to score a point. That's how it was for 100 years." In 2001, the size of the court was reduced in order to promote longer rallies. But Kiraly said that change meant it was important to have a big blocker, which isn't always possible at the grass-roots level. The rules will be applied for all professionals competing in the open divisions and the amateurs who will be playing in the various grassroots divisions. Kiraly, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, co-founded the tour last year and will be the chief volleyball officer this year. The nine-stop Wide Open tour, which opens May 15-16 at South Beach Park in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is the official qualifying tour for the 2010 US Open of Beach Volleyball Sept. 17-19 in Manhattan Beach. The other stops are Galveston, Texas, May 22-23; Siesta Key, Fla., June 19-20; Huntington Beach, Calif., June 26-27; Santa Cruz, Calif., July 10-11; Chicago, July 31-Aug. 1; Long Island, N.Y., Aug. 7-8; Breckenridge, Colo., Aug. 14-15; and Point Pleasant, N.J., Aug. 21-22. – AP