Volleyball Disciplines

The BVF governs four volleyball disciplines: indoor, beach, sitting and snow volleyball. Find out more about the origins and basics of each volleyball variation below.

Indoor Volleyball

Indoor volleyball has been a part of the summer Olympics programme for both men and women since Tokyo 1964. The game has its origins in the US state of Massachusetts, designed as an indoor sport for the winter months in the 19th century. Its founder, Canadian James A. Naismith, laid the foundations for a global sport now played by nearly a billion recreational players worldwide on a weekly basis. It is particularly popular in Brazil, across Europe, Russia, China and the USA.

Each team consist of six players. The game rallies back and forth over the net, teams working together to attack or block the opponent’s attempts to score a point. A point is scored if the ball touches the court within its bounds, or an error is made by the opposing team. To win a game, a team needs to win three sets. The first team to score 25 points by a two-point margin is awarded the set.

In the UK, the Amateur Volleyball Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was first formed in 1955. At the London 2012 Olympic Games, Team GB was represented in both men’s and women’s indoor volleyball. 

Beach Volleyball

The modern two-player beach volleyball was born on the beaches of Santa Monica, California, inspired by beach volleyball in Hawaii. In the 1920s, public courts were set up for recreational games on Santa Monica beach. Many players still travel there to enjoy optimal training conditions and take in the atmosphere of the sport’s picturesque birthplace. Beach volleyball joined the summer Olympics games programme for both men and women as a mainstay in Atlanta in 1996.

Beach volleyball is played in pairs and there are no substitutions. Team members usually have different strengths, with the blocker role taken up by a taller player with good jumping ability, while the defender tends to be faster and more agile. Sets are played to 21 points with a two-point margin required to win, and games consist of three sets.

Britain’s Audrey Cooper and Amanda Glover participated in the first ever Olympic beach volleyball tournament in 1996. At London 2012, Team GB put both a female and male pair on the court.

Sitting Volleyball

Sitting volleyball is a Paralympic sport played by six players, similarly to indoor volleyball. It was invented in the Netherlands in 1965. In Arnhem 1980, men’s sitting volleyball was introduced to the Paralympic Games set-up. The women’s game debuted in Athens in 2004. 

The rules are relatively similar to those of indoor volleyball. Players must have at least one buttock in contact with the floor whenever they make contact with the ball, and a serve can be blocked. The sitting nature of the game means that, at club level, both disabled and able-bodied player can enjoy the game together. At Paralympic level, players are categorised to MD (Minimally Disabled) and D (Disabled), with just two MD players allowed in the squad.

At London 2012, Great Britain was represented by a sitting volleyball team in both the men’s and women’s competition. 

Sitting Volleyball - the basics

Snow Volleyball

Snow volleyball is a relatively new addition to the volleyball disciplines. It is played by two teams of three players, with one substitute also available. The sport’s birthplace is considered to be Austria, where it started gaining popularity in the late 2000s. Since 2016, there has been a CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour, and 2019 marked the launch of an FIVB World Tour.

Snow volleyball has many similarities to beach volleyball. However, unlike on the beach, games consist of three sets played to 15 points. Another difference is the rule that a touch off block does not count as one of the three allowed touches for the team, and any player can make the subsequent touch after the block.

The future vision for snow volleyball is to gain a place in the Winter Olympics programme. At the PyeongChang 2018 games, snow volleyball was demonstrated by former beach volleyball Olympians.