The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of the overhand pass in beach volleyball (BVB) by comparing it with the overhand pass in volleyball (VB). The following results were obtained：
(1) In the pull phase, wrist dorsiflexion occurred in VB. On the other hand, in BVB, the elbow was bent in addition to the wrist dorsiflexion. This finding suggests that there is a difference in the buffer action of the elbow between VB and BVB.
(2) In the push phase, the maximum angular velocities of knee and ankle joints were not during VB but during BVB. This finding suggests a timing difference in lower extension between VB and BVB. And, the largest angular velocity of the upper limbs was seen in the wrist during VB, whereas it was seen in the elbow during BVB. This suggests the segment of the body that accelerates the ball in VB is different from that in BVB. Besides, the timing for extending the upper and lower limbs differs in VB but is comparatively near in BVB.
These results suggest that the characteristics of BVB involve the buffer action of the ball with the elbow in addition to that with the wrist, and the acceleration of the ball with the knee and ankle and the simultaneous elbow extension.
