Sitting volleyball

Netherlands versus Japan women's match at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London

Sitting volleyball (sometimes known as paralympic volleyball) is a form of volleyball for disabled athletes entered the Paralympic Games as a demonstration sport for amputees in 1976 in Toronto, Canada and played as a medal sport thereafter.

Rules

In sitting volleyball, a 0.8 meter-wide net is set at 1.15 meters high for men and 1.05 meters high for women. The court is 10 x 6 meters with a 2-meter attack line. Players must have at least one buttock in contact with the floor whenever they make contact with the ball. It is also possible to block the serve and jousts are generally replayed. Athletes with the following disabilities are eligible to compete in sitting volleyball: amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, brain injuries and stroke. There are no athlete classifications by disability.

Championships

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics the men's competition was won by Bosnia and Herzegovina and the gold medal in the women's contest went to the People's Republic of China. Other major championships include Zonal Championships in Europe, America, Asia South Pacific, and Africa.

See also

Men's sitting volleyball match between a combined US Navy-Coast Guard team and the US Army

• Pieter Joon
• Volleyball variations
• Volleyball at the Summer Paralympics
• Sitting volleyball classification

External links

• World ParaVolley
• VolleySlide
• Sitting volleyball on International Paralympic Committee website
• Beijing 2008 Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Information with an Australian slant from accessibility.com.au - includes nomination criteria for the 2008 Australian Paralympic Volleyball squad.