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Overview

Volleyball is a recreational and competitive multi-player game played between two teams. Currently, there are many different versions of the sport played around the world and it has been adapted to include players of all ages, abilities and disabilities.

In all competitive games of volleyball, a net splits the court in half and each team defends their selected area. To successfully play a game, both teams must:

• serve the ball over the net so that it will land in the opponent's court
• once the serve has crossed the net, the opposing team can have a maximum of three touches on their side of the court before they must send the ball back over the net
• to win a point, a team must land the ball on the floor of their opponent's court or force their opposition to either not return the ball or land the ball out of bounds

Unlike other games, in volleyball, when a point is won, all players rotate one position clockwise so that everyone gets a chance to serve.

History

William Morgan invented the game of volleyball in Massachusetts, USA in 1895. Although the original game required speed, strength and power, it was developed to give players a less violent but vigorous alternative to football and basketball.

In 1895, volleyball was originally known as 'mintonette'. However, due to the high number of volleying shots during a game, it was decided that 'volleyball' was a more appropriate name.

The first game of volleyball was very different to the competitive games we would now watch at the Olympics. For example, the original game only required players to hit the ball over a high net from one side to the other and there were no restrictions on the number of players allowed per team.

The first set of volleyball rules were written in 1897, but it was not until 1912 that a formal set of guidelines were decided to establish the number of players, the number of touches and the rotation of positions after a point was won.

Following World War Two, the continental confederations and Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) included the game in the Olympics. As a result, the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo was the first to hold volleyball events for men and women.

Beach volleyball became an Olympic event at the 1996 Games. Beach volleyball is largely similar to indoor volleyball, except for the playing surface of sand, the dimensions of the court and the number of players.