Sitting volleyball

Sitting volleyball made its Paralympic debut at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games.

Sitting volleyball is open to athletes with a physical impairment and is played on a smaller court (10m x 6m) with a lower net than used in volleyball. Teams consist of mixed classes in male and female events, with 6 players on the court at a time. At all times, an athlete’s pelvis must be touching the ground and service blocks are allowed.

For more information on Sitting volleyball Eligibility and How to Get Involved please see the Sitting volleyball Information Sheet (PDF – 84KB) – updated August 2024.

Events and Disciplines

Men’s and women’s eight-team tournaments.

Teams will be drawn into two pools and the two highest placed teams in each group will progress to the semi-finals

Classification

Sitting volleyball is open to athletes with a physical impairment. Athletes are required to submit medical reports and meet the minimum impairment criteria in order to compete. Eligibility is determined by trained Classifiers.

For more information on Eligible Impairments and Classification please see the Sitting volleyball Information Sheet (PDF – 84KB) – updated August 2024.

Rules and Equipment

Sitting volleyball is played by two teams of six with the object to land the ball in the opposition’s half of the court.

The rules of sitting volleyball are very similar to standing volleyball, however a part of an athlete’s body between the buttocks and the shoulder must be in contact with the court whenever a shot, or attempt at a shot, is made.

Each team is allowed three touches of the ball before it must cross over the net (in addition to a legal block). The key attacking move is the set and spike, in which a player feeds the ball (the set) for a teammate to hit it into the opposition’s court (the spike).

The match starts with three front-row players in a line near the net, and three back-row players in a line towards the back of the court. At each serving opportunity, the players rotate one space.

Each team has the opportunity to have one libero amongst their players on court. The libero is a specialist defensive player, and may not play any attacking shots. The libero is easy to identify as their kit is a different colour to the rest of the team.