Volleyball

Volleyball is an official sport of the Paralympic Games, Special Olympics World Games, and Deaflympics. Paralympic competition includes both standing and sitting volleyball.

Athlete Eligibility and Classification

Paralympic Games. Athletes with amputations, les autres conditions (including dwarfs), cerebral palsy, and spinal injuries are eligible to play volleyball in Paralympic competition. The brief description of the volleyball classification system given below is from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Further information about these classifications can be found on the IPC web site at http://www.paralympic.org. Click on "sports" then "classification."

Special Olympics World Games. Athletes must have a primary diagnosis of mental retardation. They are classified according to a process called divisioning in which athletes are grouped by ability level for competition. Divisioning in volleyball is based upon players' scores from the Volleyball Skills Assessment Test, i.e., serve, forearm pass, spike, and bump-set, and by the results of early round tournament play. For more information on volleyball divisioning, go to the SOI web site at http://www.specialolympics.org. Click on "sports" then choose "volleyball" from the drop-down rules menu.

Deaflympics. Players who are deaf compete under CISS rules which require a minimum hearing loss of 55 dB in the better ear. Classification procedures and criteria are described on the CISS web site at http://www.ciss.org. Click on "about," then "regulations," then scroll down to Article 1.3 on eligibility.

Events

Playing Area

The volleyball court dimensions for Paralympic standing, Special Olympics, and Deaflympics games are in compliance with Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) rules.  The court is 18m x 9m, with an 8m free zone at the ends of the court, a 5m free zone at the sides of the court, and 12.5m free space above the court. Boundary, center, and attack lines are marked on the court as specified in the FIVB rules. The FIVB rules may be accessed at http://www.FIVB.ch.

Paralympic sitting volleyball is played on a smaller court that is 10m x 6m, with a 3m free zone on all sides, and 7m free space above the court. Whereas attack lines are 3m from the center line in FIVB play, in sitting volleyball the attack lines are 2m from the center line.

The height of the net for Paralympic standing, Special Olympics, and Deaflympics games is 2.43m for men and 2.24m for women in compliance with FIVB rules.  The height of the net for Paralympic sitting volleyball games is 1.15m for men and 1.05m for women.

Rules

Volleyball is a dynamic sport played by two teams of six players each on an indoor playing court divided by a net. The ball is put into play by one team serving to another. At that point the receiving team has three hits to return the ball back over the net. The play continues until the ball hits the ground, goes out-of-bounds, or is illegally hit. When a team wins a rally they win the point. The receiving team wins the right to serve after winning a rally. Games are played to fifteen and must be won by at least two points. Recent changes to the international rules include continuous rally scoring and the use of a "libero" defensive player.

© Prezioso

The international governing body for volleyball is the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIBA). FIBA rules can be accessed at http://www.FIVB.ch. The volleyball rules for Paralympic Games, Special Olympics World Games, and Deaflympics are based upon the FIVB rules.

Equipment

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