Volleyball has become a very popular sport and has gained a huge following. There is a professional international league, as well as the minor leagues and semi-professionals. It is an Olympic event and has also been incorporated into the Paralympics. There are three main strands, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball and Sitting Volleyball.
Volleyball was first introduced as a demonstration event by America at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, with Volleyball being officially included in the games in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The sport was dominated by the Eastern Bloc until the 1980’s games when other countries started to do better after the rules on different types of moves and offensive attacks were altered.
Beach volleyball started in California, America in the 1920’s and it was quickly followed by the construction of permanent courts on the beaches in the Santa Monica area. It remained an obscure sport until the 1980’s when it underwent a surge in popularity until it was finally broke into the Olympic games in 1996 – a very late entry into the games scene – with its demonstration showing in 1992.
Sitting volleyball is an adaptation of the sport to allow players with a physical disability to compete. It also allows more able-bodied players who are classified as having minimum disability to play on the teams, this allows for all abilities to play the game. Sitting volleyball has been included in the Paralympics since 1980 after its demonstration outing in 1976.
The full rules of volleyball are quite complicated, as they can be for many sports, however, the basics are still easy to pick up and the game itself is fun to play – especially if you have the right setting for beach volleyball. Most countries have now developed a team for the Olympic Games, with more coming online to compete at the international level.
The main organisation body for volleyball is the FIVB, which is the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball, which is the Swiss based, French founded international governing body. The FIVB is responsible for the worldwide organisation of volleyball events, including planning, venues and hosts. It does sometimes work in conjunction with other international governing bodies to ensure smooth running of the events and that everything that is being put on at the event complies to all the governing body rules.
