
#REDIRECT Volleyball
Volleyball is a popular sport where teams separated by a high net hit a ball back and forth between the teams. Every team is allowed three hits to get the ball over the net to the other half. A point is scored if the ball hits the opponents' court, if the opponents commit a fault, or if they fail to return the ball properly. == History == On February 9, 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director, created a new game called ''Mintonette'' as a pastime to be played preferably indoors and by any number of players. The game took some of its characteristics from tennis and handball. Another indoor sport, basketball, was catching on in the area, having been invented just ten miles away in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts only four years before. Mintonette (as volleyball was then known) was designed to be an indoor sport less rough than basketball for older members of the YMCA, while still requiring a bit of athletic effort. The first rules, written down by William G. Morgan himself, called for a net 6 feet 6 inches high; a 25 x 50 foot court; any number of players; a match composed of 9 innings with 3 serves for each team in each inning; and no limit to the number of ball contacts allowed each team before sending the ball to the opponents’ court. In case of a serving error, a second try was allowed (as in tennis), and a ball hitting the net was to be considered a foul (with loss of the point or a side-out)--except in the case of the first-try serve (as in tennis). To protect the fingers of the ladies, they were allowed to catch the ball and then throw it again. After an observer noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896 played at the Springfield YMCA, the game quickly became known as ''volleyball'' (originally spelled as two words). Volleyball rules, along with rules for basketball, were slightly modified by the Springfield YMCA and spread around the country to other YMCA locations. An international federation, the FIVB (FIVB), was founded in 1947, and the first World Championships were held in 1949 (men) and 1952 (women). Volleyball was added to the program of the Olympic Games in 1964, and has been part ever since. Beach volleyball became a FIVB-endorsed variation in 1986 and was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The first foreign country to adapt volleyball was Canada, in 1900. The sport is now popular in Brazil, Europe, Russia and neighboring countries including China and the rest of Asia, as well as the United States. The FIVB estimates that 1 in 6 people in the world participate in or observe indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, or ''backyard'' (recreational) volleyball. == Volleyball in the United States == The game is popular with both male and female participants of all ages; however, almost all high schools and colleges have female volleyball teams; signifigantly fewer have male teams. Some claim this is due in part to the provisions of Title IX requiring institutions to fund men's and women's sports equally overall but not necessarily equally for an individual sport. As a professional sport, volleyball has had limited success. Numerous attempts have been made to start professional indoor women's volleyball leagues. In 1987, the latest attempt went bankrupt due to lack of fan interest and hence advertiser interest. Two-man and two-woman professional beach volleyball leagues have done better, most notably the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), but none have gained a wide following that would get them coverage by the major television networks. It is thought that one of the reasons for this failure is the small stadium audiences that beach volleyball competition attracts, which convey a degree of unpopularity to television audiences. Part of the reason for such small stadium audiences is the difficulty of erecting high stands on loose sand. Those trying to make beach volleyball succeed as a professional sport are trying to pattern it after professional tennis. Those seeking to make indoor volleyball a professional sport are trying to pattern it after professional basketball. Some think a possible breakthrough for professional indoor volleyball will come with the new emergence of #Indoor sand volleyball. Today volleyball is the one of the most popular girls sports, and strong high school and club programs are found throughout the country. Arguably the biggest event in high school-age sports, the annual Volleyball Festival in Reno, NV, (formerly in Sacramento, CA) draws over 10,000 players for its five-day tournament. Boys volleyball is popular on a regional basis, and by far the greatest number of boys teams are in Southern California. == Rules == === Equipment === The game is played on indoor courts 18 metres long and 9 metres wide, divided into two 9 x 9 metre "team courts" by a one-metre wide net placed such that its highest point is 2.43 metres above the ground in men's competition, and 2.24 metres for women's competition (these heights are varied for veterans and junior competitions). There is a line 3 metres from and parallel to the net in each team court termed the "attack line". The team courts are surrounded by an area called the free zone which is a minimum of 2 metres wide and which the players may enter and play within after the service of the ball. All lines denoting the boundaries of the team court and the attack zone are drawn or painted within the dimensions of the area and are therefore a part of the court or zone and a ball touching the line is considered in. An antenna is placed on each side of the net perpendicular to the sideline and is a vertical extension of the side boundary of the court. A ball passing over the net must pass completely between the antennae (or their theoretical extensions to the ceiling) without contacting them. The ball (a volleyball), is made of leather or synthetic leather and inflated with compressed air. It is round, almost the size of a soccer ball, but softer and lighter. === Game play === Each of the two teams consist of six players, three located in front of the attack line and three behind. To get play started, a team is chosen to serve by coin toss. A player from the serving team (the ''server'') throws the ball into the air and attempts to hit the ball so it passes over the net on a course such that it will land in the opposing team's court (the ''serve''). The opposing team must use a combination of no more than three contacts with the volleyball to return the ball to the opponent's side of the net. These contacts usually consist first of the ''bump'' or ''pass'' so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards the player designated as the ''setter''; second of the ''set'' (an over-hand pass using finger-tip action) by the setter so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards one or more players designated as the ''attacker'' and third by the ''attacker'' who ''spikes'' (jumping, raising one arm above the head and hitting the ball so it will move quickly down to the ground on the opponent's court) to return the ball over the net. The team with possession of the ball and that is trying to attack the ball as described is said to be on ''offense''. The team on ''defense'' attempts to prevent the attacker from directing the ball into their court by having players at the net jump and reach above the top (and if possible, across the plane) of the net in order to ''block'' the attacked ball. If the ball is hit around, above or through the block, the defensive players arranged in the rest of the court attempt to control the ball with a ''dig'' (a fore-arm pass of a hard-driven ball). After a successful dig, the team transitions to offense. The game continues in this manner until the ball touches the court within the boundaries or until an error is made. === Errors or faults === * The ball lands out of the court, in the same court as the team that touched it last, or the ball touches the net "antennas". The ball also may not pass over or outside the antennas even if it lands in the opponents court.1 * The ball is touched more than three times before being returned to the other team's court.2 * The same player touches the ball twice in succession.3 * A player "lifts" or "carries" the ball (the ball remains in contact with the player's body for too long). * A player touches the net with any part of the body or clothing while making a play on the ball (with the exception of the hair). * The players of one team do not manage to touch the ball before the ball lands in their half of the court. * A back-row player spikes the ball while it is completely above the top of the net, unless he or she jumped from behind the attack line (the player is allowed to land in front of the attack line). * A back-row player attempts to block an opposing teams attack by reaching above the top of the net. * The ''libero'', a defensive specialist who can only play in the back row, makes an "attacking hit", defined as any shot struck while the ball is entirely above the top of the net. * A player completes an attack hit from higher than the top of the net when the ball is coming from an overhand finger pass (set) by a Libero in the front zone. * A player is not in his right position at the moment of serve, or serves out of turn. * When hitting, a player makes contact with the ball in the space above the opponent's court (in blocking this is allowed). * A player touches the opponent's court below the center line with any part of his body except his feet or his hands.4 * When serving, a player steps on the court or the endline before making contact with the ball. * A player takes more than 8 seconds to serve. * At the moment of serve, one or more players jump, raise their arms or stand together at the net in an attempt to block the sight of the ball from the opponent (''screening'').5 1If the ball passes outside the antennas at the first hit of team, e.g. as the result of a bad pass or dig, a player is allowed to go after the ball if he does not touch the opponent's court and if the ball travels back to his court also outside the antennas. 2 Except if a player ''blocks'' (touches a ball sent over the net by the opposing team, while reaching above the top of the net) a ball that stays in the blocker's side of the net. In such an instance the blocker may play the ball another time without violating the rule against playing the ball twice in succession. Also, contacts as part of a block do not count against the three allowed touches. 3 At the first hit of the team, the ball may be contact various parts of the body consecutively provided that the contacts occur during one action. 4 Penetration under the net with hands or feet is allowed only if a portion of the penetrating hands or feet remains in contact with the player's court or the center line. 5 Screening is only a fault if the players stand directly next to each other in a way that clearly impedes vision, and the serve is a low line drive over their heads. (This is a judgement call by the referee.) === Scoring === When the ball contacts the floor within the court boundaries or an error is made, the team that did not make the error is awarded a point, whether or not it served the ball. The team that won the point is awarded the right to serve for the next point. If the team that won the point served the previous point, the same player serves again. If the team that won the point did not serve the previous point, the players of the team rotate their position on the court in a clockwise manner. The game continues, with the first team to score 25 points (and be two points ahead) awarded the set. Matches are best-of-five sets and the fifth set (if necessary) is usually played to 15 points. (Scoring differs between leagues, tournaments, and levels; high schools sometimes play best-of-three to 30.) Before 2000, points could be scored only when a team had the service (''side-out scoring'') and all sets went up to only 15 points. In, 2000, this rule was changed to the current scoring (formerly known as ''rally point system''), primarily to make the length of the match more predictable and to make the game more spectator- and television-friendly. === The Libero === In 1998 the libero player was introduced. The libero is a player specialized in defensive skills: he must wear a different colored jersey and cannot block or attack. When the ball is not in play, the libero can replace any other player without prior notice to the referees. His substitutions also do not count against the 12-substitution limit each team is allowed per set. The libero may function as a setter only under certain restrictions. If he makes an overhand set, he must be standing behind (and not stepping on) the 3-meter line; otherwise, the ball cannot be attacked. A bump set is allowed from any part of the court. Furthermore, a libero is not allowed to serve, according to the official rules. An exception is the National Collegiate Athletic Association women's volleyball competition, where a 2004 rule change does allow the libero to serve. === Other recent rule changes === Other rule changes enacted in 2000 included the introduction of the net serve which allows play to continue even if a served ball touches the net as long as it continues into the opponent's court. Also, the service area was expanded and now players may serve from anywhere behind the end line but still within the theoretical extension of the side-lines. Other changes were made to lighten up calls on faults for carries and double-touches, such as allowing a "hard-driven ball" to be slightly carried. Until 1998, it was a foul if the ball contacted any part of the body below the waist. However, modern rules allow any part of the body to hit the ball, including the legs and feet. Kick volleyball, where the ball is primarily contacted with the feet, is a popular variant, particular in South American countries. == Skills == At international level, competitive teams are supposed to master six basic skills: serve, pass, set, spike, block and dig. Each of these skills comprise a number of specific techniques that have been introduced along the years and are now considered standard practice in high-level volleyball. === Serve === The serve marks the beginning of a rally in volleyball. A player stands behind the baseline and hits the ball, in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court. His main objective is to make it land inside the court; it is also desirable to set the ball's direction, speed and acceleration so that it becomes difficult for the receiver to handle it properly. A serve is called an "ace" when the ball lands directly onto the court or travels outside after being touched by an opponent. In contemporary volleyball, many types of serve are employed: * Underhand and Overhand Serve: refers to whether the player strikes the ball from below, at waist level, or first tosses the ball in the air and then hits it above shoulder level. Underhand serve is considered very easy to receive and is not generally employed in international competitions. * Sky Ball Serve: a specific type of underhand serve, where the ball is hit so high it comes down almost in a straight line. This serve was invented and employed almost exclusively by the Brazilian team in the early 80's. It is now considered outdated. *Line and Cross-Court Serve: refers to whether the balls flies in a straight trajectory parallel to the side lines, or crosses through the court in an angle. * Spin Serve: an overhand serve where the ball gains topspin through wrist snapping. * Floater: an overhand serve where the ball is hit with no spin so that its path becomes unpredictable. Can be administered while jumping or while grounded. * Jump Serve: an overhand serve where the ball is first tossed high in the air, then hit with a strong downward movement of the arm, as in a spike; there is usually much topspin imparted on the ball. This is the most popular serve amongst college and professional teams. * Round-House Serve: the player stands with one shoulder facing the net, tosses the ball high and hits it with a fast circular movement of the arm. Usage of this serve in indoor volleyball is today restricted to a few Asian women's teams. === Pass === Also called reception, the pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent's serve or "free ball". Proper handling includes not only preventing the ball from touching the court, but also making it reach the position where the setter is standing quickly and precisely. The skill of passing involves fundamentally two specific techniques: underarm pass, or bump, where the ball touches the inside part of the joined forearms, at waist line; and overhand pass, where it is handled with the fingertips above the head. === Set === The set is usually the second contact a team makes with the ball. The main goal of setting is to put the ball in the air in such a way that it can be driven by a spike into the opponent's court. The setter coordinates the offensive movements of a team. He is the one who ultimately decides which player will actually attack the ball. As with passing, one may distinguish between an overhand and a bump set. Since the former allows for more control over the speed and direction of the ball, the bump is used only when the ball is so low it cannot be properly handled with fingertips, or in beach volleyball where rules regulating overhand setting are more stringent. In the case of a set, one also speaks of a front or back set, meaning whether the ball is thrown in the direction the setter is facing or not. Sometimes a setter refrains from raising the ball for a teammate to perform a spike and tries to throw it directly onto the opponent's court. This movement is called a "dump". === Spike === The spike (or attack) is usually the third contact a team makes with the ball. The object of spiking is to handle the ball so that it lands on the opponent's court and cannot be defended. A player makes a series of steps (the "approach"), jumps and then projects his body forward, thus transferring its weight to the ball when contact is made. Contemporary volleyball comprises a number of attacking techniques: *Backcourt attack: an attack performed by a player not standing at the net. The player cannot take off on or beyond the 3-meter line before making contact with the ball, but may land in front of the 3-meter line. *Line and Cross-court Shot: refers to whether the ball flies in a straight trajectory parallel to the side lines, or crosses through the court in an angle. A cross-court shot with a very pronounced angle, resulting in the ball landing near the 3-meter line, is called a cut shot. *Kill: a hard driven ball that successfully lands on the opponent's court. *Dink/Tip/Cheat: the player does not try to make a kill, but touches the ball lightly, so that it lands on an area of the opponent's court that is not being covered by the defense. *Tool/Wipe: the player does not try to make a kill, but hits the ball so that it touches the opponent's block and then bounces off-court. *Off-speed hit: the player does not hit the ball hard, reducing its acceleration and thus confusing the opponent's defense. *Quick hit/"One": an attack (usually by the middle hitter) where the approach and swing begin before the setter contacts the ball. The set (called a "quick set") is placed only slightly above the net and the ball is struck by the hitter almost immediately after leaving the setter's hands. *Slide: a variation of the quick hit that uses a low back set. The middle hitter steps around the setter and hits from behind him. === Block === Blocking refers to the actions taken by players standing at the net to stop or hinder an opponent's spike. A block is performed by jumping and raising one's arm over the net shortly before the ball is hit in an attempt to intercept its trajectory. A block that is aimed at completely stopping an attack, thus making the ball remain in the opponent's court, is called offensive. By contrast, it is called defensive if the goal is merely to make contact with the ball so that it slows down and becomes more easy to be defended. A "roof" is a successful offensive block. Blocking is also classified according to the number of players involved. Thus, one may speak of single (or solo), double, or triple block. === Dig === Digging is the ability to prevent the ball from touching one's court after a spike. In many aspects, this skill is similar to passing: overhand dig and bump are also used to distinguish between defensive actions taken with fingertips or with joined arms. Some specific techniques are more common in digging than in passing. A player may sometimes perform a "dive", i.e., he throws his body in the air with a forward movement in an attempt to save the ball, and lands on his chest. When he also slides his hand under a ball that is almost touching the court, this is called a "pancake". Sometimes a player may also be forced to drop his body quickly to the floor in order to save the ball. In this situation, he makes use of a specific rolling technique to minimize the chances of injuries. == Strategy == === Player specialization === Players do not usually master all six skills, but rather focus on one or more of them in connection with the tactics employed by each team. The most common specialization comprises three positions: attacker/blocker, setter and defensive specialist. Generally, tall players with the ability to jump high are utilized as attackers/blockers, where they attempt to block or spike opponents initial hits and return the ball at high speed on steep trajectories so that the ball lands before the other team has time to react. Setters are responsible for coordinating the offense and taking the second contact in an attempt to place the ball in the air where an attacker can hit the ball into the opponent's court. Defensive specialists, especially the libero, are responsible for receiving the attack or serve (the ''dig'') and are usually the players on the court with the quickest reaction time and best passing skills. Liberos do not necessarily need to be tall, as they never play at the net, allowing for shorter players with strong passing skills to still excel. Further specialization terminology is also employed to distinguish between different kinds of offensive players: *Middle blockers are players that can perform very fast spikes that usually take place near to the setter. They are specialized in blocking, since they must attempt to stop equally fast plays from their opponents and then quickly set up a double block at the sides of the court. *Outside hitters do quick spikes at the sides of the court. They are specialized hitters and must also master pass, since they generally help the libero in receiving the opponent's serve. ===Formations=== The 6-2 and 5-1 are commonly used formations in competitive volleyball. ====6-2==== In the 6-2 formation, a player always comes forward from the back row to set. The three front row players are all in attacking positions: strong-side (court-left), middle-hitter (court-middle), and weak-side (court-right). A 6-2 lineup must therefore have two setters, who line up opposite to each other in the rotation. In addition to the setters, a typical lineup will have two middle hitters and two outside hitters. By aligning like positions opposite themselves in the rotation, there will always be one of each position in the front and back row. After service, the players in the front row move into their assigned positions. ====5-1==== The 5-1 formation has only one setter, who assumes setting responsibilities regardless of his position in the rotation. The team will therefore have three front-row attackers when the setter is in the back row, and only two when the setter is in the front row. The player opposite the setter in a 5-1 rotation is called the opposite hitter. In general, opposite hitters do not pass; they stand behind their teammates when the opponent is serving. The opposite hitter may be used as a third attack option (backrow attack) when the setter is in the front row. == Variations == === Beach volleyball === A newer variation of the game, beach volleyball, has evolved from the popular social games of volleyball played on many beaches around the world. This version, rather than played on indoor hard courts, is played on sand courts which may either be formed naturally or built specifically for the purpose. Instead of a team of six, each team consists of only two players, but otherwise the rules are almost identical with some exceptions including: * The size of the court (16 x 8m) (though many recreational players and regional organizations use the old 18 x 9m court) * The block always counts as the first contact * The disallowance of the open-hand ''dink'' or ''dump'' plays where a player uses their finger tips to redirect the ball into the opponent's court instead of a hard spike. A dink may be performed with a closed hand or knuckle * Stricter rules around double-contacts during hand setting * The disallowance of the first contact being an open-hand contact (i.e. a set) === Indoor sand volleyball === This is an even newer variation than beach volleyball. As beach volleyball took volleyball outdoors, indoor sand volleyball takes beach volleyball indoors. In the United States, a growing number of colleges are now considering switching from hard court indoor volleyball to sand court indoor volleyball. The biggest reason for the possible change is the reduced rate of injury of players. Secondary reasons are 1) bad weather doesn't cancel play as what commonly happens with beach volleyball and 2) it enable the game to be more appealing to spectators since sand courts do not need players to wear nobbing elbow and knee pads nor shoes. Still another reason for the expected success is the assumption that indoor teams will wear bikinis as beach volleyball teams do and thus increasing the sex appeal of the sport to male audiences. Indoor sand volleyball teams vary from two to six members, with college teams being six. An indoor sand volleyball court normally doesn't have its own special arena, but uses an indoor basketball court. A protective tarp covers the floor of the basketball court and then "soft" sand is brought in and laid a foot deep over the tarp. The boundaries are commonly marked off with lines in the sand. However, a recent innovation uses colored lasers that illuminate the lines in the sand. === Sitting volleyball === Sitting volleyball for locomotor-disabled individuals was first introduced in 1956 by the Dutch Sports Committee. International competition began in 1967, but it would be 1978 before the International Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD) sanctioned the sport and sponsored an official international tournament in 1979 at Haarlem, Netherlands. Players in this variation typically are amputees or paraplegics. The game is played on a smaller 10 x 6 meter court and with a .8 meter-wide net set to a height of 1.15 meters for men and 1.05 meters for women. When hitting or attacking the ball, players may not lift or raise the buttocks from the floor surface. Men's sitting volleyball was introduced to the Paralympic Games in 1980 and has grown to be one of the more popular Paralympic sports due to the fast and exciting action. Women's sitting volleyball was added to the program for Athens 2004. The international governing body for the sport is The World Organisation Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD). Another attraction of sitting volleyball is how it eliminates the height of the players as a determining factor for team success. Blocks, spikes and overhand serves are easier to do for tall people thus they have a major advantage over short people during a normal volleyball game. Making all players sit removes this advantage. === Blind Volleyball === Another variation that tries to remove height of players as a determining factor in team success is blind volleyball. Ad-hoc blind volleyball is where sheets are draped over the net so one side cannot see the other side. A more formal type of blind volleyball removes the traditional volleyball net and replaces it with a thick tarp. The tarp being thick enough that shadows cast on it cannot be seen from the other side. Blocks, spikes, and overhand serves are prohibited. Blocks are almost impossible to do since it is difficult to know where the ball is going to come over the net. Spikes and overhand serves are prohibited because it is already very difficult for the receiving team to react to any incoming ball that to increase the speed of it would make returning it almost impossible. An additional attraction for blind volleyball is that the spectators have an advantage over the players as they see what is taking place on both sides. It creates a higher level of suspense for spectators that no other variation of volleyball can. Another unique feature of blind volleyball is how it can make the back row the row that hits the ball over the net. In regular volleyball, the back row tends to receive the volleyball and then move it to the front row. In blind volleyball, moving the ball to the back row makes it harder for the other team to see where the ball is and by hitting the ball on a more flat trajectory, the back row can more surprise the receiving team on where the ball will be coming over the net. However, this variation of volleyball is unknown to most people. === Nine-man volleyball === A variation of volleyball utilizing nine players and a slightly larger court originated in Asia in the 1920s when American missionaries introduced the game there in China. The variant became popular within the Chinese-American communities in large US cities (Chinatown) and continues with a rotating popular tournaments called the North American Chinese Invitational Tournament. === Co-ed teams === Most competitive volleyball is played with same-sex teams (exclusively so at the elite levels). Mixed teams for indoor play with both male and female players operate under co-ed rules requiring alternating male and female players in the rotation or service order. The net is at a height halfway between men's and women's height. (Other variants include reverse co-ed, with a women's-height net and men prohibited from spiking inside the three-meter line, and co-ed on a men's-height net, in which one man may come from the back row to block, but not hit.) Additionally, in many leagues at least one contact of a team's possible three contacts must be made by a female player. Based on this rule, strategically, the setter on a co-ed team is usually a female player. == External links == *[http://www.Volleyball.org/ Volleyball.org] *[http://www.fivb.ch International volleyball] *[http://www.bvbinfo.com/default.asp Beach volleyball] *[http://www.avp.com Professional beach volleyball] *[http://www.volleyballcity.com/ Volleyball Hall of Fame] *[http://www.nacivt.com Nine Man Chinese Volleyball] *[http://www.wovd.com The World Organisation Volleyball for Disabled] *[http://www.tewebe.com Official Website of the Tours Volley Ball, French champion 2004] *[http://www.volleycentral.com VolleyCentral - Volleyball News in the U.S.] *[http://www.cvu.com Collegiate Volleyball Update - Collegiate Volleyball News in the U.S.] Volleyball Olympic sports Team sports Ball games fa:والیبال
Part of the history for this page is now at Talk:Volleyball/pagehistory; see Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/6-2. User:Mindspillage User talk:Mindspillage 18:20, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC) I did not edit it, but I believe liberos in womens NCAA volleyball are now allowed to serve. User:CasualSax 00:51, 3 June 2005 (ET) -- I concur with Elf's history comment about the questionable nature of the content on the Chinese Nine-man (person?) volleyball variant. On balance, roughly 75% of the article now covers this relatively unknown variant. The addition was by an unregistered or un-logged-in user: 207.176.190.4. Any comments or suggestions regarding deletion of this content? User:Autiger 06:19, 13 Aug 2004 (UTC) -- I see RickK has deleted without discussion the sentence "In the United States, volleyball is viewed as a female sport in high school, college, and largely at the professional level." calling it "nonsense". No, it's a social fact. Almost no high school or college fieldss a male volleyball team , but almost all high schools and colleges fields a female volleyball team as part of a league. I will return the deleted section and elaborate it with this fact. -- Again, RickK has deleted the sentence and the new accompanying fact backing it up and without basing his deletion on any fact. :I responded on your Talk page. Your interpretation that over 17,000 Google hits for boys' or men's volleyball teams is minute is skewing the numbers a tad, but I will not quibble over the new wording, though I still don't like it, nor believe it. User:RickKUser talk:RickK 09:54, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC) :Calling a sport "female" or "male" is inherently POV; it's a statement that is at best, unnecessary, and at worst, pejorative. The 'facts' you cite do not justify your conclusion since there are a variety of reasons why various NCAA and HS sports in the US have differing participation rates, not the least of which is Title IX, the unfortunate side-effect of which was the elimination of many Olympic-style mens sports by NCAA institutions. If you look at NCAA participation rates you'll see women's teams outnumber men's teams in soccer, water polo, tennis, fencing, golf - are these all to be considered women's sports as well? User:Autiger 16:18, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC) See [http://www.gendercenter.org/sports.html] for sports gender statistics for the USA. --User:Dittaeva 10:15, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC) : More current NCAA data here[http://www.ncaa.org/library/research/participation_rates/1982-2003/2003ParticipationReport.pdf] User:Autiger 01:47, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC) -- First, I meant to type "This is not specious..." in my edit summary remark. Second, to state a fact without giving why it is the case is meaningless and uninformative. Not to mention appearing odd. Third, in American culture, volleyball is considered a female sport. It doesn't mean men cannot or don't play it. Not anymore than women cannot or don't play basketball though it is considered a male sport in the US. Fourth, Dittaeva's stat page clearly shows colleges overwhelming view volleyball as a female sport. At the high school level, it is even more so. Now there might be certain parts of the US where this might not be the case (such as California) but it is the case with the nation as a whole. Personally, I do not know a single high school that has ever fielded a male volleyball team in the Midwest. I'm not saying it hasn't or doesn't happen, but I am saying it would be in the small minority. Fifth, to PREVENT this fact from being added to the page on volleyball is simply wrong. You might not like this fact, but it is nevertheless a fact. I was under the impression that Wikipedia is to fully inform and not selectively inform .. though my experiences with Wikipedia as of late seems to indicate otherwise. Not just here but elsewhere. People not liking facts and deleting them because they do not like them speaks VERY poorly of this information source and I am now questioning my involvement with this project as I am questioning its value given this reality. Currently, it is ever-increasingly appearing that only vanilla facts have any chance of staying and if that's true, then Wikipedia is of limited value as a source and cannot be trusted as a factual source. But then again, maybe Wikipedia was never intended to be a good source but simply a source of least objection. A "safe" source. One that no one will be offended by. Perhaps not, but it is increasingly appearing to be the case. : (Please sign your posts) There are many, many variables related to high school and college team sponsorships; limited budgets, well-established very popular existing team sports, lack of facilities, etc. Stating that the reason for the lack of teams is that a sport is considered to be a "female" sport is a fallacy. A characterization of volleyball as being considered male or female in the US is strictly opinion and one I have never heard verbalized (male volleyball player here). Unless you can cite specific verifiable research (surveys, polls) for the US assigning this gender perception, it will continue to be an opinion. User:Autiger 01:47, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC) -- Sorry, I've just edited this page to correct the years of the first Wolrd Championships (1949 for men) but I wasn't logged in. . Vlad_mv, 03 Feb 2005 ---- I removed the following from the lead section: :"It [volleyball] was created in Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States, and is now played around the world. It is particularly popular in East Asia, including China and Japan, and in Brazil." I think it is not that important where it was invented. Furthermore, I'd say it is also popular in (continental) Europe, both from personal experience and from medal tables at e.g. the Olympics. -- I added some items to the list of errors and faults and a note explaining that a ball that travels outside the antenna may still remain in play as described in the page. User:Vmv 18:23, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC) -- I added a large section on volleyball skills. I also moved and expanded most of the subsection entitled "Player Specialization" to this new subsection. I believe this subsection was originally misplaced under the section "Rules". Except in the case of the libero, player specialization is not covered in any way by the rules: it is perfectly legitimate - though not advisable :) - for a professional team to employ the amateur "6-0" system where no player is specialized in anything. Of course, the libero is a specialized player that is, in fact, covered by the rules. I retained a couple of sentences from the former "Player Specialization" subsection and expanded it. The result was a new subsection to "Rules" entitled "The Libero". By the way, I'm truly sorry for (once more) forgetting to provide an edit summary. User:Vmv 15:06, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :Thanks for your contribution; I think the article is much more balanced now. The picture of the volleyball court is useful, but the width of the court should be 9m instead of 6m. Minor quibbles: it might also be useful to draw a net in the middle, and I would remove the text "1.75m" near the extension of the attack line. But I am very happy to see the article improved. -- User:Jitse Niesen 15:46, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :: I'm really happy you found these contributions have improved the page. Thanks a lot for your support and your comments. I still find it difficult to forgive myself for making that blatant mistake with the 6m. It's corrected now. I also followed your suggestion about the 1.75 m text. I deliberately avoided drawing the net for two reason: (1) I'd have to draw on perspective, and I'm not sure I can do that; (2) I would have to indicate the differences in height for women's and men's volleyball, and I'm not capable of doing that without rendering the image cluttered. Please, do that if you can, the image was uploaded to commons. User:Vmv 02:46, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) I took the liberty of removing a sentence in the introduction because of a word missing or something. There was an example of how a team could commit a fault, namely make a tip, and I just don't think it worked very well, even with the missing word put in, so I tried to make a clearer, more general explanation. User:Vmv ==Most popular== "making volleyball the most popular sport ever invented"--say what? What about soccer (and that's just off the top of my head)? This sentence needs a source and some explanation; I've removed it accordingly. Of course, I'll be happy to re-include if a source is given. Best, User:Meelar User talk:Meelar 22:01, Apr 15, 2005 (UTC) :I guess the idea was that football/soccer is not an invented sport. However, the whole concept of ''invented sport'' seems rather ambiguous to me, so I agree with the removal. Incidentally, I would be very interested to see an independent estimate of the number of players, particularly when compared to other sports. -- User:Jitse Niesen 22:27, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC) ::Concur with Jitse Nielsen about the removal. I also believe "most popular" is too vague a term. If a sentence like that should be included, it would sound better with a more specific evaluation of volleyball's notability, say number of affiliated national federations, number of players, public attendance, budget in prize money awarded in international competitions, etc, when compared to other sports. VladMV">User:Vmv ٭ talk">User_talk:Vmv 03:37, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
:::The problem with some of your criteria is they measure spectator popularity rather than player popularity. The original statement refered to an estimate of those who had played (I'm sure including a range from professional to organized amateur to completely unskilled backyard and beach volleyball) and not to the popularity among spectators. Those are widely different with volleyball and that is the to varying degrees with most sports. User:Autiger 23:26, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
==6-2==
No one knew what to do with the article 6-2 on VfD; many suggested it ought to be merged here. I have pasted the text below to let interested editors decide what to do with it; as mentioned at the top of the page, it has been moved to Talk:Volleyball/pagehistory to retain attribution and the redirect deleted. User:Mindspillage User talk:Mindspillage 18:20, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
''The 6-2 is a formation in 6-person volleyball.
In this formation, the setter sets from the back row, thereby giving 3 hitters: a strong-side (court-left), middle-hitter (court-middle), and weak-side (court-right).
Typically, two players out of the 6 are considered setters, two are middle hitters, and two are strong hitters. By aligning like positions opposite themselves in the rotation, there will always be one of each position in the front and back row. After service, the front row moves into their assigned positions.''
--
The 6-2 formation is now described in the newly added ''strategy'' section. User:Kymacpherson 05:39, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Olympic sports Team sports Ball games
{| style="margin:0 auto;" align=center width=75% class="toccolours" |- ! bgcolor="#ccccff" align="center" | Volleyball |- | align="center" style="font-size: 90%; padding : 4px" | Governing Bodies: Fédération Internationale de Volleyball | Asian Volleyball Confederation | Confédération Africaine de Volleyball | Confédération Européenne de Volleyball | North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation | Confederación Sudamericana de Voleibol |- | align="center" style="font-size: 90%; padding : 4px" | Competitions: Volleyball World League | Volleyball Grand Prix | Volleyball World Cup | Volleyball Olympic Tournament | Volleyball World Championship |}Volleyball
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Volleyball
Volleyball is a popular sport where teams separated by a high net hit a ball back and forth between the teams. Every team is allowed three hits to get the ball over the net to the other half. A point is scored if the ball hits the opponents' court, if the opponents commit a fault, or if they fail to return the ball properly. == History == On February 9, 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director, created a new game called ''Mintonette'' as a pastime to be played preferably indoors and by any number of players. The game took some of its characteristics from tennis and handball. Another indoor sport, basketball, was catching on in the area, having been invented just ten miles away in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts only four years before. Mintonette (as volleyball was then known) was designed to be an indoor sport less rough than basketball for older members of the YMCA, while still requiring a bit of athletic effort. The first rules, written down by William G. Morgan himself, called for a net 6 feet 6 inches high; a 25 x 50 foot court; any number of players; a match composed of 9 innings with 3 serves for each team in each inning; and no limit to the number of ball contacts allowed each team before sending the ball to the opponents’ court. In case of a serving error, a second try was allowed (as in tennis), and a ball hitting the net was to be considered a foul (with loss of the point or a side-out)--except in the case of the first-try serve (as in tennis). To protect the fingers of the ladies, they were allowed to catch the ball and then throw it again. After an observer noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896 played at the Springfield YMCA, the game quickly became known as ''volleyball'' (originally spelled as two words). Volleyball rules, along with rules for basketball, were slightly modified by the Springfield YMCA and spread around the country to other YMCA locations. An international federation, the FIVB (FIVB), was founded in 1947, and the first World Championships were held in 1949 (men) and 1952 (women). Volleyball was added to the program of the Olympic Games in 1964, and has been part ever since. Beach volleyball became a FIVB-endorsed variation in 1986 and was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The first foreign country to adapt volleyball was Canada, in 1900. The sport is now popular in Brazil, Europe, Russia and neighboring countries including China and the rest of Asia, as well as the United States. The FIVB estimates that 1 in 6 people in the world participate in or observe indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, or ''backyard'' (recreational) volleyball. == Volleyball in the United States == The game is popular with both male and female participants of all ages; however, almost all high schools and colleges have female volleyball teams; signifigantly fewer have male teams. Some claim this is due in part to the provisions of Title IX requiring institutions to fund men's and women's sports equally overall but not necessarily equally for an individual sport. As a professional sport, volleyball has had limited success. Numerous attempts have been made to start professional indoor women's volleyball leagues. In 1987, the latest attempt went bankrupt due to lack of fan interest and hence advertiser interest. Two-man and two-woman professional beach volleyball leagues have done better, most notably the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), but none have gained a wide following that would get them coverage by the major television networks. It is thought that one of the reasons for this failure is the small stadium audiences that beach volleyball competition attracts, which convey a degree of unpopularity to television audiences. Part of the reason for such small stadium audiences is the difficulty of erecting high stands on loose sand. Those trying to make beach volleyball succeed as a professional sport are trying to pattern it after professional tennis. Those seeking to make indoor volleyball a professional sport are trying to pattern it after professional basketball. Some think a possible breakthrough for professional indoor volleyball will come with the new emergence of #Indoor sand volleyball. Today volleyball is the one of the most popular girls sports, and strong high school and club programs are found throughout the country. Arguably the biggest event in high school-age sports, the annual Volleyball Festival in Reno, NV, (formerly in Sacramento, CA) draws over 10,000 players for its five-day tournament. Boys volleyball is popular on a regional basis, and by far the greatest number of boys teams are in Southern California. == Rules == === Equipment === The game is played on indoor courts 18 metres long and 9 metres wide, divided into two 9 x 9 metre "team courts" by a one-metre wide net placed such that its highest point is 2.43 metres above the ground in men's competition, and 2.24 metres for women's competition (these heights are varied for veterans and junior competitions). There is a line 3 metres from and parallel to the net in each team court termed the "attack line". The team courts are surrounded by an area called the free zone which is a minimum of 2 metres wide and which the players may enter and play within after the service of the ball. All lines denoting the boundaries of the team court and the attack zone are drawn or painted within the dimensions of the area and are therefore a part of the court or zone and a ball touching the line is considered in. An antenna is placed on each side of the net perpendicular to the sideline and is a vertical extension of the side boundary of the court. A ball passing over the net must pass completely between the antennae (or their theoretical extensions to the ceiling) without contacting them. The ball (a volleyball), is made of leather or synthetic leather and inflated with compressed air. It is round, almost the size of a soccer ball, but softer and lighter. === Game play === Each of the two teams consist of six players, three located in front of the attack line and three behind. To get play started, a team is chosen to serve by coin toss. A player from the serving team (the ''server'') throws the ball into the air and attempts to hit the ball so it passes over the net on a course such that it will land in the opposing team's court (the ''serve''). The opposing team must use a combination of no more than three contacts with the volleyball to return the ball to the opponent's side of the net. These contacts usually consist first of the ''bump'' or ''pass'' so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards the player designated as the ''setter''; second of the ''set'' (an over-hand pass using finger-tip action) by the setter so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards one or more players designated as the ''attacker'' and third by the ''attacker'' who ''spikes'' (jumping, raising one arm above the head and hitting the ball so it will move quickly down to the ground on the opponent's court) to return the ball over the net. The team with possession of the ball and that is trying to attack the ball as described is said to be on ''offense''. The team on ''defense'' attempts to prevent the attacker from directing the ball into their court by having players at the net jump and reach above the top (and if possible, across the plane) of the net in order to ''block'' the attacked ball. If the ball is hit around, above or through the block, the defensive players arranged in the rest of the court attempt to control the ball with a ''dig'' (a fore-arm pass of a hard-driven ball). After a successful dig, the team transitions to offense. The game continues in this manner until the ball touches the court within the boundaries or until an error is made. === Errors or faults === * The ball lands out of the court, in the same court as the team that touched it last, or the ball touches the net "antennas". The ball also may not pass over or outside the antennas even if it lands in the opponents court.1 * The ball is touched more than three times before being returned to the other team's court.2 * The same player touches the ball twice in succession.3 * A player "lifts" or "carries" the ball (the ball remains in contact with the player's body for too long). * A player touches the net with any part of the body or clothing while making a play on the ball (with the exception of the hair). * The players of one team do not manage to touch the ball before the ball lands in their half of the court. * A back-row player spikes the ball while it is completely above the top of the net, unless he or she jumped from behind the attack line (the player is allowed to land in front of the attack line). * A back-row player attempts to block an opposing teams attack by reaching above the top of the net. * The ''libero'', a defensive specialist who can only play in the back row, makes an "attacking hit", defined as any shot struck while the ball is entirely above the top of the net. * A player completes an attack hit from higher than the top of the net when the ball is coming from an overhand finger pass (set) by a Libero in the front zone. * A player is not in his right position at the moment of serve, or serves out of turn. * When hitting, a player makes contact with the ball in the space above the opponent's court (in blocking this is allowed). * A player touches the opponent's court below the center line with any part of his body except his feet or his hands.4 * When serving, a player steps on the court or the endline before making contact with the ball. * A player takes more than 8 seconds to serve. * At the moment of serve, one or more players jump, raise their arms or stand together at the net in an attempt to block the sight of the ball from the opponent (''screening'').5 1If the ball passes outside the antennas at the first hit of team, e.g. as the result of a bad pass or dig, a player is allowed to go after the ball if he does not touch the opponent's court and if the ball travels back to his court also outside the antennas. 2 Except if a player ''blocks'' (touches a ball sent over the net by the opposing team, while reaching above the top of the net) a ball that stays in the blocker's side of the net. In such an instance the blocker may play the ball another time without violating the rule against playing the ball twice in succession. Also, contacts as part of a block do not count against the three allowed touches. 3 At the first hit of the team, the ball may be contact various parts of the body consecutively provided that the contacts occur during one action. 4 Penetration under the net with hands or feet is allowed only if a portion of the penetrating hands or feet remains in contact with the player's court or the center line. 5 Screening is only a fault if the players stand directly next to each other in a way that clearly impedes vision, and the serve is a low line drive over their heads. (This is a judgement call by the referee.) === Scoring === When the ball contacts the floor within the court boundaries or an error is made, the team that did not make the error is awarded a point, whether or not it served the ball. The team that won the point is awarded the right to serve for the next point. If the team that won the point served the previous point, the same player serves again. If the team that won the point did not serve the previous point, the players of the team rotate their position on the court in a clockwise manner. The game continues, with the first team to score 25 points (and be two points ahead) awarded the set. Matches are best-of-five sets and the fifth set (if necessary) is usually played to 15 points. (Scoring differs between leagues, tournaments, and levels; high schools sometimes play best-of-three to 30.) Before 2000, points could be scored only when a team had the service (''side-out scoring'') and all sets went up to only 15 points. In, 2000, this rule was changed to the current scoring (formerly known as ''rally point system''), primarily to make the length of the match more predictable and to make the game more spectator- and television-friendly. === The Libero === In 1998 the libero player was introduced. The libero is a player specialized in defensive skills: he must wear a different colored jersey and cannot block or attack. When the ball is not in play, the libero can replace any other player without prior notice to the referees. His substitutions also do not count against the 12-substitution limit each team is allowed per set. The libero may function as a setter only under certain restrictions. If he makes an overhand set, he must be standing behind (and not stepping on) the 3-meter line; otherwise, the ball cannot be attacked. A bump set is allowed from any part of the court. Furthermore, a libero is not allowed to serve, according to the official rules. An exception is the National Collegiate Athletic Association women's volleyball competition, where a 2004 rule change does allow the libero to serve. === Other recent rule changes === Other rule changes enacted in 2000 included the introduction of the net serve which allows play to continue even if a served ball touches the net as long as it continues into the opponent's court. Also, the service area was expanded and now players may serve from anywhere behind the end line but still within the theoretical extension of the side-lines. Other changes were made to lighten up calls on faults for carries and double-touches, such as allowing a "hard-driven ball" to be slightly carried. Until 1998, it was a foul if the ball contacted any part of the body below the waist. However, modern rules allow any part of the body to hit the ball, including the legs and feet. Kick volleyball, where the ball is primarily contacted with the feet, is a popular variant, particular in South American countries. == Skills == At international level, competitive teams are supposed to master six basic skills: serve, pass, set, spike, block and dig. Each of these skills comprise a number of specific techniques that have been introduced along the years and are now considered standard practice in high-level volleyball. === Serve === The serve marks the beginning of a rally in volleyball. A player stands behind the baseline and hits the ball, in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court. His main objective is to make it land inside the court; it is also desirable to set the ball's direction, speed and acceleration so that it becomes difficult for the receiver to handle it properly. A serve is called an "ace" when the ball lands directly onto the court or travels outside after being touched by an opponent. In contemporary volleyball, many types of serve are employed: * Underhand and Overhand Serve: refers to whether the player strikes the ball from below, at waist level, or first tosses the ball in the air and then hits it above shoulder level. Underhand serve is considered very easy to receive and is not generally employed in international competitions. * Sky Ball Serve: a specific type of underhand serve, where the ball is hit so high it comes down almost in a straight line. This serve was invented and employed almost exclusively by the Brazilian team in the early 80's. It is now considered outdated. *Line and Cross-Court Serve: refers to whether the balls flies in a straight trajectory parallel to the side lines, or crosses through the court in an angle. * Spin Serve: an overhand serve where the ball gains topspin through wrist snapping. * Floater: an overhand serve where the ball is hit with no spin so that its path becomes unpredictable. Can be administered while jumping or while grounded. * Jump Serve: an overhand serve where the ball is first tossed high in the air, then hit with a strong downward movement of the arm, as in a spike; there is usually much topspin imparted on the ball. This is the most popular serve amongst college and professional teams. * Round-House Serve: the player stands with one shoulder facing the net, tosses the ball high and hits it with a fast circular movement of the arm. Usage of this serve in indoor volleyball is today restricted to a few Asian women's teams. === Pass === Also called reception, the pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent's serve or "free ball". Proper handling includes not only preventing the ball from touching the court, but also making it reach the position where the setter is standing quickly and precisely. The skill of passing involves fundamentally two specific techniques: underarm pass, or bump, where the ball touches the inside part of the joined forearms, at waist line; and overhand pass, where it is handled with the fingertips above the head. === Set === The set is usually the second contact a team makes with the ball. The main goal of setting is to put the ball in the air in such a way that it can be driven by a spike into the opponent's court. The setter coordinates the offensive movements of a team. He is the one who ultimately decides which player will actually attack the ball. As with passing, one may distinguish between an overhand and a bump set. Since the former allows for more control over the speed and direction of the ball, the bump is used only when the ball is so low it cannot be properly handled with fingertips, or in beach volleyball where rules regulating overhand setting are more stringent. In the case of a set, one also speaks of a front or back set, meaning whether the ball is thrown in the direction the setter is facing or not. Sometimes a setter refrains from raising the ball for a teammate to perform a spike and tries to throw it directly onto the opponent's court. This movement is called a "dump". === Spike === The spike (or attack) is usually the third contact a team makes with the ball. The object of spiking is to handle the ball so that it lands on the opponent's court and cannot be defended. A player makes a series of steps (the "approach"), jumps and then projects his body forward, thus transferring its weight to the ball when contact is made. Contemporary volleyball comprises a number of attacking techniques: *Backcourt attack: an attack performed by a player not standing at the net. The player cannot take off on or beyond the 3-meter line before making contact with the ball, but may land in front of the 3-meter line. *Line and Cross-court Shot: refers to whether the ball flies in a straight trajectory parallel to the side lines, or crosses through the court in an angle. A cross-court shot with a very pronounced angle, resulting in the ball landing near the 3-meter line, is called a cut shot. *Kill: a hard driven ball that successfully lands on the opponent's court. *Dink/Tip/Cheat: the player does not try to make a kill, but touches the ball lightly, so that it lands on an area of the opponent's court that is not being covered by the defense. *Tool/Wipe: the player does not try to make a kill, but hits the ball so that it touches the opponent's block and then bounces off-court. *Off-speed hit: the player does not hit the ball hard, reducing its acceleration and thus confusing the opponent's defense. *Quick hit/"One": an attack (usually by the middle hitter) where the approach and swing begin before the setter contacts the ball. The set (called a "quick set") is placed only slightly above the net and the ball is struck by the hitter almost immediately after leaving the setter's hands. *Slide: a variation of the quick hit that uses a low back set. The middle hitter steps around the setter and hits from behind him. === Block === Blocking refers to the actions taken by players standing at the net to stop or hinder an opponent's spike. A block is performed by jumping and raising one's arm over the net shortly before the ball is hit in an attempt to intercept its trajectory. A block that is aimed at completely stopping an attack, thus making the ball remain in the opponent's court, is called offensive. By contrast, it is called defensive if the goal is merely to make contact with the ball so that it slows down and becomes more easy to be defended. A "roof" is a successful offensive block. Blocking is also classified according to the number of players involved. Thus, one may speak of single (or solo), double, or triple block. === Dig === Digging is the ability to prevent the ball from touching one's court after a spike. In many aspects, this skill is similar to passing: overhand dig and bump are also used to distinguish between defensive actions taken with fingertips or with joined arms. Some specific techniques are more common in digging than in passing. A player may sometimes perform a "dive", i.e., he throws his body in the air with a forward movement in an attempt to save the ball, and lands on his chest. When he also slides his hand under a ball that is almost touching the court, this is called a "pancake". Sometimes a player may also be forced to drop his body quickly to the floor in order to save the ball. In this situation, he makes use of a specific rolling technique to minimize the chances of injuries. == Strategy == === Player specialization === Players do not usually master all six skills, but rather focus on one or more of them in connection with the tactics employed by each team. The most common specialization comprises three positions: attacker/blocker, setter and defensive specialist. Generally, tall players with the ability to jump high are utilized as attackers/blockers, where they attempt to block or spike opponents initial hits and return the ball at high speed on steep trajectories so that the ball lands before the other team has time to react. Setters are responsible for coordinating the offense and taking the second contact in an attempt to place the ball in the air where an attacker can hit the ball into the opponent's court. Defensive specialists, especially the libero, are responsible for receiving the attack or serve (the ''dig'') and are usually the players on the court with the quickest reaction time and best passing skills. Liberos do not necessarily need to be tall, as they never play at the net, allowing for shorter players with strong passing skills to still excel. Further specialization terminology is also employed to distinguish between different kinds of offensive players: *Middle blockers are players that can perform very fast spikes that usually take place near to the setter. They are specialized in blocking, since they must attempt to stop equally fast plays from their opponents and then quickly set up a double block at the sides of the court. *Outside hitters do quick spikes at the sides of the court. They are specialized hitters and must also master pass, since they generally help the libero in receiving the opponent's serve. ===Formations=== The 6-2 and 5-1 are commonly used formations in competitive volleyball. ====6-2==== In the 6-2 formation, a player always comes forward from the back row to set. The three front row players are all in attacking positions: strong-side (court-left), middle-hitter (court-middle), and weak-side (court-right). A 6-2 lineup must therefore have two setters, who line up opposite to each other in the rotation. In addition to the setters, a typical lineup will have two middle hitters and two outside hitters. By aligning like positions opposite themselves in the rotation, there will always be one of each position in the front and back row. After service, the players in the front row move into their assigned positions. ====5-1==== The 5-1 formation has only one setter, who assumes setting responsibilities regardless of his position in the rotation. The team will therefore have three front-row attackers when the setter is in the back row, and only two when the setter is in the front row. The player opposite the setter in a 5-1 rotation is called the opposite hitter. In general, opposite hitters do not pass; they stand behind their teammates when the opponent is serving. The opposite hitter may be used as a third attack option (backrow attack) when the setter is in the front row. == Variations == === Beach volleyball === A newer variation of the game, beach volleyball, has evolved from the popular social games of volleyball played on many beaches around the world. This version, rather than played on indoor hard courts, is played on sand courts which may either be formed naturally or built specifically for the purpose. Instead of a team of six, each team consists of only two players, but otherwise the rules are almost identical with some exceptions including: * The size of the court (16 x 8m) (though many recreational players and regional organizations use the old 18 x 9m court) * The block always counts as the first contact * The disallowance of the open-hand ''dink'' or ''dump'' plays where a player uses their finger tips to redirect the ball into the opponent's court instead of a hard spike. A dink may be performed with a closed hand or knuckle * Stricter rules around double-contacts during hand setting * The disallowance of the first contact being an open-hand contact (i.e. a set) === Indoor sand volleyball === This is an even newer variation than beach volleyball. As beach volleyball took volleyball outdoors, indoor sand volleyball takes beach volleyball indoors. In the United States, a growing number of colleges are now considering switching from hard court indoor volleyball to sand court indoor volleyball. The biggest reason for the possible change is the reduced rate of injury of players. Secondary reasons are 1) bad weather doesn't cancel play as what commonly happens with beach volleyball and 2) it enable the game to be more appealing to spectators since sand courts do not need players to wear nobbing elbow and knee pads nor shoes. Still another reason for the expected success is the assumption that indoor teams will wear bikinis as beach volleyball teams do and thus increasing the sex appeal of the sport to male audiences. Indoor sand volleyball teams vary from two to six members, with college teams being six. An indoor sand volleyball court normally doesn't have its own special arena, but uses an indoor basketball court. A protective tarp covers the floor of the basketball court and then "soft" sand is brought in and laid a foot deep over the tarp. The boundaries are commonly marked off with lines in the sand. However, a recent innovation uses colored lasers that illuminate the lines in the sand. === Sitting volleyball === Sitting volleyball for locomotor-disabled individuals was first introduced in 1956 by the Dutch Sports Committee. International competition began in 1967, but it would be 1978 before the International Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD) sanctioned the sport and sponsored an official international tournament in 1979 at Haarlem, Netherlands. Players in this variation typically are amputees or paraplegics. The game is played on a smaller 10 x 6 meter court and with a .8 meter-wide net set to a height of 1.15 meters for men and 1.05 meters for women. When hitting or attacking the ball, players may not lift or raise the buttocks from the floor surface. Men's sitting volleyball was introduced to the Paralympic Games in 1980 and has grown to be one of the more popular Paralympic sports due to the fast and exciting action. Women's sitting volleyball was added to the program for Athens 2004. The international governing body for the sport is The World Organisation Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD). Another attraction of sitting volleyball is how it eliminates the height of the players as a determining factor for team success. Blocks, spikes and overhand serves are easier to do for tall people thus they have a major advantage over short people during a normal volleyball game. Making all players sit removes this advantage. === Blind Volleyball === Another variation that tries to remove height of players as a determining factor in team success is blind volleyball. Ad-hoc blind volleyball is where sheets are draped over the net so one side cannot see the other side. A more formal type of blind volleyball removes the traditional volleyball net and replaces it with a thick tarp. The tarp being thick enough that shadows cast on it cannot be seen from the other side. Blocks, spikes, and overhand serves are prohibited. Blocks are almost impossible to do since it is difficult to know where the ball is going to come over the net. Spikes and overhand serves are prohibited because it is already very difficult for the receiving team to react to any incoming ball that to increase the speed of it would make returning it almost impossible. An additional attraction for blind volleyball is that the spectators have an advantage over the players as they see what is taking place on both sides. It creates a higher level of suspense for spectators that no other variation of volleyball can. Another unique feature of blind volleyball is how it can make the back row the row that hits the ball over the net. In regular volleyball, the back row tends to receive the volleyball and then move it to the front row. In blind volleyball, moving the ball to the back row makes it harder for the other team to see where the ball is and by hitting the ball on a more flat trajectory, the back row can more surprise the receiving team on where the ball will be coming over the net. However, this variation of volleyball is unknown to most people. === Nine-man volleyball === A variation of volleyball utilizing nine players and a slightly larger court originated in Asia in the 1920s when American missionaries introduced the game there in China. The variant became popular within the Chinese-American communities in large US cities (Chinatown) and continues with a rotating popular tournaments called the North American Chinese Invitational Tournament. === Co-ed teams === Most competitive volleyball is played with same-sex teams (exclusively so at the elite levels). Mixed teams for indoor play with both male and female players operate under co-ed rules requiring alternating male and female players in the rotation or service order. The net is at a height halfway between men's and women's height. (Other variants include reverse co-ed, with a women's-height net and men prohibited from spiking inside the three-meter line, and co-ed on a men's-height net, in which one man may come from the back row to block, but not hit.) Additionally, in many leagues at least one contact of a team's possible three contacts must be made by a female player. Based on this rule, strategically, the setter on a co-ed team is usually a female player. == External links == *[http://www.Volleyball.org/ Volleyball.org] *[http://www.fivb.ch International volleyball] *[http://www.bvbinfo.com/default.asp Beach volleyball] *[http://www.avp.com Professional beach volleyball] *[http://www.volleyballcity.com/ Volleyball Hall of Fame] *[http://www.nacivt.com Nine Man Chinese Volleyball] *[http://www.wovd.com The World Organisation Volleyball for Disabled] *[http://www.tewebe.com Official Website of the Tours Volley Ball, French champion 2004] *[http://www.volleycentral.com VolleyCentral - Volleyball News in the U.S.] *[http://www.cvu.com Collegiate Volleyball Update - Collegiate Volleyball News in the U.S.] Volleyball Olympic sports Team sports Ball games fa:والیبال
Volleyball
Part of the history for this page is now at Talk:Volleyball/pagehistory; see Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/6-2. User:Mindspillage User talk:Mindspillage 18:20, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC) I did not edit it, but I believe liberos in womens NCAA volleyball are now allowed to serve. User:CasualSax 00:51, 3 June 2005 (ET) -- I concur with Elf's history comment about the questionable nature of the content on the Chinese Nine-man (person?) volleyball variant. On balance, roughly 75% of the article now covers this relatively unknown variant. The addition was by an unregistered or un-logged-in user: 207.176.190.4. Any comments or suggestions regarding deletion of this content? User:Autiger 06:19, 13 Aug 2004 (UTC) -- I see RickK has deleted without discussion the sentence "In the United States, volleyball is viewed as a female sport in high school, college, and largely at the professional level." calling it "nonsense". No, it's a social fact. Almost no high school or college fieldss a male volleyball team , but almost all high schools and colleges fields a female volleyball team as part of a league. I will return the deleted section and elaborate it with this fact. -- Again, RickK has deleted the sentence and the new accompanying fact backing it up and without basing his deletion on any fact. :I responded on your Talk page. Your interpretation that over 17,000 Google hits for boys' or men's volleyball teams is minute is skewing the numbers a tad, but I will not quibble over the new wording, though I still don't like it, nor believe it. User:RickKUser talk:RickK 09:54, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC) :Calling a sport "female" or "male" is inherently POV; it's a statement that is at best, unnecessary, and at worst, pejorative. The 'facts' you cite do not justify your conclusion since there are a variety of reasons why various NCAA and HS sports in the US have differing participation rates, not the least of which is Title IX, the unfortunate side-effect of which was the elimination of many Olympic-style mens sports by NCAA institutions. If you look at NCAA participation rates you'll see women's teams outnumber men's teams in soccer, water polo, tennis, fencing, golf - are these all to be considered women's sports as well? User:Autiger 16:18, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC) See [http://www.gendercenter.org/sports.html] for sports gender statistics for the USA. --User:Dittaeva 10:15, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC) : More current NCAA data here[http://www.ncaa.org/library/research/participation_rates/1982-2003/2003ParticipationReport.pdf] User:Autiger 01:47, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC) -- First, I meant to type "This is not specious..." in my edit summary remark. Second, to state a fact without giving why it is the case is meaningless and uninformative. Not to mention appearing odd. Third, in American culture, volleyball is considered a female sport. It doesn't mean men cannot or don't play it. Not anymore than women cannot or don't play basketball though it is considered a male sport in the US. Fourth, Dittaeva's stat page clearly shows colleges overwhelming view volleyball as a female sport. At the high school level, it is even more so. Now there might be certain parts of the US where this might not be the case (such as California) but it is the case with the nation as a whole. Personally, I do not know a single high school that has ever fielded a male volleyball team in the Midwest. I'm not saying it hasn't or doesn't happen, but I am saying it would be in the small minority. Fifth, to PREVENT this fact from being added to the page on volleyball is simply wrong. You might not like this fact, but it is nevertheless a fact. I was under the impression that Wikipedia is to fully inform and not selectively inform .. though my experiences with Wikipedia as of late seems to indicate otherwise. Not just here but elsewhere. People not liking facts and deleting them because they do not like them speaks VERY poorly of this information source and I am now questioning my involvement with this project as I am questioning its value given this reality. Currently, it is ever-increasingly appearing that only vanilla facts have any chance of staying and if that's true, then Wikipedia is of limited value as a source and cannot be trusted as a factual source. But then again, maybe Wikipedia was never intended to be a good source but simply a source of least objection. A "safe" source. One that no one will be offended by. Perhaps not, but it is increasingly appearing to be the case. : (Please sign your posts) There are many, many variables related to high school and college team sponsorships; limited budgets, well-established very popular existing team sports, lack of facilities, etc. Stating that the reason for the lack of teams is that a sport is considered to be a "female" sport is a fallacy. A characterization of volleyball as being considered male or female in the US is strictly opinion and one I have never heard verbalized (male volleyball player here). Unless you can cite specific verifiable research (surveys, polls) for the US assigning this gender perception, it will continue to be an opinion. User:Autiger 01:47, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC) -- Sorry, I've just edited this page to correct the years of the first Wolrd Championships (1949 for men) but I wasn't logged in. . Vlad_mv, 03 Feb 2005 ---- I removed the following from the lead section: :"It [volleyball] was created in Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States, and is now played around the world. It is particularly popular in East Asia, including China and Japan, and in Brazil." I think it is not that important where it was invented. Furthermore, I'd say it is also popular in (continental) Europe, both from personal experience and from medal tables at e.g. the Olympics. -- I added some items to the list of errors and faults and a note explaining that a ball that travels outside the antenna may still remain in play as described in the page. User:Vmv 18:23, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC) -- I added a large section on volleyball skills. I also moved and expanded most of the subsection entitled "Player Specialization" to this new subsection. I believe this subsection was originally misplaced under the section "Rules". Except in the case of the libero, player specialization is not covered in any way by the rules: it is perfectly legitimate - though not advisable :) - for a professional team to employ the amateur "6-0" system where no player is specialized in anything. Of course, the libero is a specialized player that is, in fact, covered by the rules. I retained a couple of sentences from the former "Player Specialization" subsection and expanded it. The result was a new subsection to "Rules" entitled "The Libero". By the way, I'm truly sorry for (once more) forgetting to provide an edit summary. User:Vmv 15:06, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :Thanks for your contribution; I think the article is much more balanced now. The picture of the volleyball court is useful, but the width of the court should be 9m instead of 6m. Minor quibbles: it might also be useful to draw a net in the middle, and I would remove the text "1.75m" near the extension of the attack line. But I am very happy to see the article improved. -- User:Jitse Niesen 15:46, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :: I'm really happy you found these contributions have improved the page. Thanks a lot for your support and your comments. I still find it difficult to forgive myself for making that blatant mistake with the 6m. It's corrected now. I also followed your suggestion about the 1.75 m text. I deliberately avoided drawing the net for two reason: (1) I'd have to draw on perspective, and I'm not sure I can do that; (2) I would have to indicate the differences in height for women's and men's volleyball, and I'm not capable of doing that without rendering the image cluttered. Please, do that if you can, the image was uploaded to commons. User:Vmv 02:46, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) I took the liberty of removing a sentence in the introduction because of a word missing or something. There was an example of how a team could commit a fault, namely make a tip, and I just don't think it worked very well, even with the missing word put in, so I tried to make a clearer, more general explanation. User:Vmv ==Most popular== "making volleyball the most popular sport ever invented"--say what? What about soccer (and that's just off the top of my head)? This sentence needs a source and some explanation; I've removed it accordingly. Of course, I'll be happy to re-include if a source is given. Best, User:Meelar User talk:Meelar 22:01, Apr 15, 2005 (UTC) :I guess the idea was that football/soccer is not an invented sport. However, the whole concept of ''invented sport'' seems rather ambiguous to me, so I agree with the removal. Incidentally, I would be very interested to see an independent estimate of the number of players, particularly when compared to other sports. -- User:Jitse Niesen 22:27, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC) ::Concur with Jitse Nielsen about the removal. I also believe "most popular" is too vague a term. If a sentence like that should be included, it would sound better with a more specific evaluation of volleyball's notability, say number of affiliated national federations, number of players, public attendance, budget in prize money awarded in international competitions, etc, when compared to other sports. Vlad
Volleyball
Olympic sports Team sports Ball games
Volleyball
{| style="margin:0 auto;" align=center width=75% class="toccolours" |- ! bgcolor="#ccccff" align="center" | Volleyball |- | align="center" style="font-size: 90%; padding : 4px" | Governing Bodies: Fédération Internationale de Volleyball | Asian Volleyball Confederation | Confédération Africaine de Volleyball | Confédération Européenne de Volleyball | North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation | Confederación Sudamericana de Voleibol |- | align="center" style="font-size: 90%; padding : 4px" | Competitions: Volleyball World League | Volleyball Grand Prix | Volleyball World Cup | Volleyball Olympic Tournament | Volleyball World Championship |}Volleyball
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Volleyball1_1.jpg
VolleyballAt2004SummerOlympics
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VolleyballWorldChampionship_Logo_1998.gif
VolleyballWorldChampionship_Logo_2002.jpg
VolleyballWorldChampionship_Logo_2006.jpg
VolleyballWorldCupLogo.png
Volleyball_at_the_1980_Summer_Olympics
Volleyball_at_the_1984_Summer_Olympics
Volleyball_at_the_1996_Summer_Olympics
Volleyball_at_the_2000_Summer_Olympics
Volleyball_at_the_2004_Olympics
Volleyball_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics
Volleyball_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics
Volleyball_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics
Volleyball_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics_-_Men's_Beach_Volleyball
Volleyball_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics_-_Men's_Volleyball
Volleyball_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics_-_Women's_Beach_Volleyball
Volleyball_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics_-_Women's_Volleyball
Volleyball_at_the_2004_Summer_Paralympics
Volleyball_game.jpg
Volleyball_gold.jpg
Volleyball_Grand_Prix
Volleyball_in_Poland
Volleyball_Olympic_Tournament
Volleyball_players
Volleyball_players_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics
Volleyball_players_by_country
Volleyball_World_Championship
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