Sitting volleyball (sometimes known as paralympic volleyball) is a form of volleyball for athletes with

a disability.

Netherlands versus Japan women's match at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London
History
Sitting volleyball was invented in 1965 as a rehabilitation sport for injured soldiers. [1] In 1967, the
first international sitting volleyball competition was held in Germany. [2] It was created as a
combination of volleyball and sitzball, a German sport with no net and seated players. Standing
volleyball first appeared in the Toronto 1976 Paralympic games as a demonstration sport for athletes
with impaired mobility, and both standing and sitting volleyball became officially included as medal
sports in the Paralympic games at Arnhem in 1980. Women’s sitting volleyball was added for the
Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. [3] After the London 2012 games, VolleySLIDE was founded by Matt
Rogers to promote and develop the sport globally. [4] Eight men's and eight women's teams are
expected to play in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. [5]

Rules

Men's sitting volleyball match between a combined US Navy-Coast Guard team and the US Army
In sitting volleyball, a 7 meter-long, 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. The rules are the same
as the original form of volleyball with the exceptions that players must have at least one buttock in
contact with the floor whenever they make contact with the ball and it is also possible to block the
serve.[6][self-published source] [7] Athletes with the following disabilities are eligible to compete in
sitting volleyball: athletes with amputations, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, brain injuries and
stroke. Classifications of these athletes by disability are placed into two categories: MD and D. MD
stands for "Minimally Disabled," and D stands for “Disabled.” While Minimally Disabled athletes
have lost only a fraction of their muscular strength and flexibility in a joint preventing them from
successfully playing standing volleyball, Disabled athletes have lost all of their muscular strength and
flexibility in that joint. Only two MD players are allowed on the roster for the Paralympic Games and
only one is allowed on the court at a time; this is to keep the competition fair between rival teams.
The rest of the team must be classified as D players.[8][9]

Skills are largely identical to the sport of volleyball and the following game terminology apply:

Ace - A serve that lands in the opponent's court without being touched.
Attack - An attempt by a player to win a point by hitting the ball over the net.
Attack line - In indoor volleyball, a line three metres from the net which marks the limit for where a
back-row player may advance to hit a ball from above the net.
Back-row player - In indoor volleyball, any of three players positioned at the back of the court.
Block - To block an opposing player from spiking the ball by jumping at the net with arms in the air.
Boom - In beach volleyball, a spike straight down into the sand (slang).
Centre line - In indoor volleyball, the imaginary line running directly under the net and dividing the
court in half.
Chuck - To push or throw the ball rather than hit it (slang).
Court - The playing area.
Crossing space - The zone above the net and between two antennae through which the ball must
pass during a rally.
Dig - A defensive move in which both arms are placed together in