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Official rules
Beach Chair Soccer Game rules
Everything you need to run a game on the sand, as played at Tiana Beach in Hampton Bays, New York. Print it, screenshot it, or argue about it. First to 21 wins.
What you need
- Two low beach chairs with a fabric back and a real seat. The back is the target, the seat is the goal.
- One volleyball. A volleyball is best because it is light, soft on bare feet, and gets real air off packed sand. A soccer ball works in a pinch.
- Flat sand and something to draw a line with. Your heel is fine.
- A beverage in your non-kicking hand. This is not optional.
Setting up the court
- Open the two chairs and face them toward each other, about ten big steps apart.
- Draw a line in the sand halfway between the chairs. That is the midline. It decides whether a bounce counts.
- Singles is one player at each end. Doubles is two teams of two, with one teammate at each end, so every kick has a partner behind the target chair to fetch and return.
Playing
- Kick from beside your own chair, aiming at the back of the far chair.
- Call the points out loud. Then the other team kicks. Keep alternating.
- The first team to reach 21 wins. Going past 21 still counts. There is no bust rule and no drop back to 15.
Scoring
| What happened | Points |
|---|---|
| Air shot. The ball hits any part of the chair without touching the sand first. | 2 |
| Bounce shot. The ball bounces on the sand past the midline, then hits the chair. | 1 |
| Sink. The ball comes to rest in the seat of the chair. | 3 |
| Knockover. A hard shot hits the back of the chair and the whole chair goes over. | 3 |
| Short hop. The ball touches sand before the midline. Dead kick, whatever it hits after. | 0 |
The midline rule
A bounce only counts if the ball first touches sand on the far side of the midline. Bounce short and the kick is dead, no matter what it hits afterward. Legs, seat edge, back: any part of the chair counts as a hit.
The death kick
If you are down by more than 12 points, you may call the death kick. You get one attempt to sink the ball in the chair. Sink it and you win the game on the spot, regardless of the score. Miss it and you lose immediately, shame is brought upon your entire family, and you have to marry your mother-in-law. A knockover does not count on a death kick. Only a sink does.
House rule
- Wind rule. If the flag is standing straight out, one bounce is allowed on either side of the midline.
Quick answers
- How far apart are the chairs? About ten big steps for a regulation game. Closer for kids or wind, farther if someone is showing off.
- Does hitting the legs count? Yes. Any part of the chair. In the air it is two, off a legal bounce it is one.
- Can you play on grass? You can. The bounce is livelier, so consider playing to 15.
- How long is a game? Usually 15 to 25 minutes. One swim, one beer, or one reapplication of sunscreen.