Rules & 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.
Court
The volleyball court is 10m x 6m and is divided in two by a net that is 1.15m high for the men’s game and 1.05m high for the women’s.