VOLLEYBALL
HISTORY
William G. Morgan invented the sport in 1895 while he was the YMCA physical education director in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Because he originally derived the game from badminton, he initially named the sport mintonette. He was a one-time student of basketball inventor James Naismith and invented the game for his clients at the YMCA, most of whom were middle-aged businessmen for whom the physical demands of basketball were too great. The first rules, written down by Morgan, called for a net 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) high, a 25 ft × 50 ft (7.6 m × 15.2 m) court, and any number of players. A match was composed of nine innings with three serves for each team in each inning, and no limit to the number of ball contacts for each team before sending the ball to the opponents' court. In case of a serving error, a second try was allowed. Hitting the ball into the net was considered a foul (with loss of the point or a side-out)—except in the case of the first-try serve. After an observer, Alfred Halstead, noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896, played at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfield College), the game quickly became known as volleyball (it was originally spelled as two words: "volley ball"). Volleyball rules were slightly modified by the International YMCA Training School and the game spread around the country to various YMCAs. In the early 1900s, Spalding, through its publishing company American Sports Publishing Company, produced books with complete instruction and rules for the sport.
STRUCTURE
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since Tokyo 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced to the program at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics. The adapted version of volleyball at the Summer Paralympic Games is sitting volleyball. Volleyball was invented in 1895 by the American educator William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Morgan intended the game, which he originally called “mintonette”, to be an alternative to basketball that was less physically demanding. It spread rapidly through YMCA networks in the United States and abroad. An international governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), was established in 1947, and the sport grew into a global phenomenon. Its social history has included diverse communities such as nudists and, more recently, debates over inclusion and fairness regarding transgender athletes.
RULE
A volleyball court is 9 m × 18 m (29.5 ft × 59.1 ft), divided into equal square halves by a net with a width of one meter (39.4 in). The top of the net is 2.43 m (7 ft 11+11⁄16 in) above the center of the court for men's competition, and 2.24 m (7 ft 4+3⁄16 in) for women's competition, varied for veterans and junior competitions. Typically in beach volleyball there is a playing area and a free zone area. The dimensions are 52’6” x 26’3” (including the free zone), and a minimum of 9’10 wide. The court includes 3 lines: net line, side line, and end line. In Beach volleyball scoring is similar to regular volleyball. 3 matches are being played. The minimum height clearance for indoor volleyball courts is 7 m (23.0 ft), although a clearance of 8 m (26.2 ft) is recommended. A line 3 m (9.8 ft) from and parallel to the net is considered the "attack line". This "3 meter" (or "10-foot") line divides the court into "back row" and "front row" areas and the back court and front court. These are in turn divided into 3 areas each: these are numbered as follows, starting from area "1", which is the position of the serving player: After a team gains the serve (also known as siding out), its members must rotate in a clockwise direction, with the player previously in area "2" moving to area "1" and so on, with the player from area "1" moving to area "6". Each player rotates only one time after the team gains possession of the service; the next time each player rotates will be after the other team wins possession of the ball and loses the point. The team courts are surrounded by an area called the free zone, which is at least 3 meters wide and may be entered and played within by the players after the service of the ball. All lines marking the boundaries of the team court and the attack zone are drawn or painted within the dimensions of the area and are therefore part of the court or zone. If a ball touches a line, it is considered "in." An antenna is placed on each side of the net, perpendicular to the sideline, serving as 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.