Sitting Volleyball is a fast and exciting sport, played sitting on the floor by men and women of all ages and players with and without a disability, it is a perfect team sport for amputees and individuals with limb difference. It is played without a prosthetic which makes the game a great leveller for people with different types and levels of impairment.
Playing sitting volleyball has many benefits including keeping fit and meeting new people. Whatever your level or ability the game provides varying degrees of competition from social/recreational games to more competitive opportunities. Anyone interested in taking up the sport will find it both rewarding and enjoyable.
The Game
Sitting volleyball has grown to be one of the more popular Paralympic sports due to the fast and exciting action. A brief overview of the game includes:
· Sitting Volleyball is played on a 10 x 6 metre court
· The game is played with a 0.8 meter-wide net set to a height of 1.15 meters for men and 1.05 meters for women
· There are six players on each side
· When hitting or attacking the ball, the player must have one "buttock" or an extension of the torso still in contact with the floor.
Watch the YouTube video https://youtu.be/7akkrRxgZ_g
How you can get involved:
Many opportunities exist for people to play sitting volleyball across the home nations. Contact your home nation or check out their websites for more details. Volleyball England has a club finder (press look for something more specific and select sitting volleyball) https://www.volleyballengland.org/clubs/club-finder
How to get involved at an elite level
At the international level, players must have a physical impairment (predominantly amputees and people with limb impairments) however domestic competitions and local clubs are mixed so that people with and without a disability can play together.
Sitting volleyball is a form of volleyball for athletes with a disability. As opposed to standing volleyball, sitting volleyball players must have at least one buttock in contact with the floor during the game.
The Paralympics, the highest competitive outlet for international sitting volleyball, the sport is played between same-sex teams of athletes with qualifying disabilities. However, at club level within home nations, sitting volleyball is played between mixed-sex teams of disabled and non-disabled players – making it an incredibly inclusive sport!
British volleyball run a GB Men’s and Women’s Senior squads that compete internationally across the years in the lead up to qualification for the Paralympic Games.