Volleyball

IMG_9167.JPG

Introduction

Volleyball is a tactical team sport that involves hitting a ball over a net using closed hands. The object is to keep the ball volleying over the net without permitting it to touch the ground. A point is earned each time a player grounds a ball in the opponents’ court.

There are three disciples of volleyball for athletes with a physical disability: deaf, sitting and standing beach.

Deaf volleyball is played by athletes with a hearing impairment. Sitting volleyball is played by athletes who have a disability that severely impacts the function of their lower limbs. Standing Beach volleyball is played by athletes with milder impairments, who are able to stand, run and lunge without assistance.

How to PLAY Volleyball

Deaf Volleyball can be played indoors or outdoors. The rules are near identical to the able-bodied sport, played in the Olympic Games. The only difference is a red flag is used for signalling instead of a whistle.

Sitting Volleyball is a modified version of able-bodied indoor volleyball for people with impaired lower limb function. The game is played on a smaller court with a lower net. For this reason, it is a faster game than able-bodied volleyball. Players must keep one buttock in contact with the floor at all times during play. Sitting volleyball is scored by a game, set and match system. A game is the first to 25 points. There are five games in a set, so a match is best-of-five.

Standing Beach Volleyball is played on sand with much the same rules and conditions as able-bodied Beach Volleyball. There are two small differences:

  1. The team is comprised of three players; and

  2. There are special rules relating to time-outs for repair of prostheses.

Who can play Volleyball

Classification

Deaf Volleyball can be played both indoor and outdoor under the same rules as able bodied volleyball. A person may compete in Deaf Sports if they have permanent hearing impairment.  Classification and criteria are at http://www.ciss.org
 
Sitting Volleyball is played sitting on the floor with lowered net heights (men = 1.15m, women = 1.05m) and a smaller court size (6mx 10m). This makes for a quicker game to both play and watch. There are 2 main rule differences; players can block the serve and players cannot lift off the floor when playing the ball. Players are classified according to the degree of disability (Disabled or Minimum Disability). 
 
Standing Volleyball is played under the same standards as able-bodied Volleyball played with net and court size as per Olympic Volleyball. Players are classified according to the degree of disability (A, B or C with the latter having most disability). There is a maximum of one A class player and a minimum of one C class player on the court.   

How Do I Get Classified?

To learn more about classification and how to get classified, click here.

If you have further questions on classification please contact the head of discipline you wish to compete in: 

Sitting Volleyball
Contact: Heather Brown (Sitting Volleyball Program Manager)
E: crheatherbrown@yahoo.com.au

Standing Beach Volleyball
Contact: Nic Kaiser (Sport Development Manager)
E: nic.kaiser@avf.org.au

Deaf Volleyball Australia
Contact: John Eagle
E: john@rosevalet.com.au
W: https://www.facebook.com/DeafVolleyballAustralia/ 

Where can you participate?

AUSTRALIA

STATE / TERRITORIES

NSW.png

New South Wales

Volleyball NSW
P: +61 2 8736 1264
E: eventsvnsw@gmail.com
www.nswvolleyball.com

QLD.png

Queensland

Volleyball Queensland
P: +61 7 3367 1991
E: members@vq.org.au
www.vq.org.au

SA.png

South Australia

Volleyball SA
P: +61 8 8363 1265
E: info@volleyballsa.com.au
www.volleyballsa.com.au

WA.png

Western Australia

Volleyball WA
P: +61 8 9228 8522
E: participation@volleyballwa.com.au
www.volleyballwa.com.au

TAS.png

Tasmania

Volleyball Tasmania
P: +61 418 104 457
E: info@volleyballtasmania.com.au
www.volleyballtasmania.com.au

NT.png

Northern Territory

Volleyball NT
P: +61 484 061 610
E: info@volleyballnt.com.au
www.volleyballnt.com.au

ACT.png

Australian Capital Territory

Volleyball ACT
P: +61 2 6100 6418
E: admin@volleyballact.com.au
www.volleyballact.com.au

 

Resources

Videos

Intro to Sitting Volleyball from International Paralympic Committee 

How to play Sitting Volleyball from Holiday Inn UK & Ireland

Documents

International Rules (Sitting) from World ParaVolley 

International Rules (Beach) from World ParaVolley

Referee Pathway from Volleyball Australia

Sitting Volleyball Coaching Activities for Kids from Australian Sports Commission