Volleyball

5 Pages 1292 Words

Volleyball, popular team sport played by hitting an inflated ball back and forth over a high net. In the indoor game, each team has six players, while in beach volleyball, played outdoors on sand, teams consist of two players each. Points are scored by successfully landing the ball in the court of the opponents without it being returned successfully. The game was invented in 1895 as a recreational pastime by American William G. Morgan, the physical education director of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) chapter in Holyoke, Massachusetts. His game, which he originally called Mintonette, quickly became popular, not only in the United States but also around the world. There are more than 200 national federations in the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB; French for “International Volleyball Federation”), the international governing body for the sport, which is located in Lausanne, Switzerland. An estimated 800 million people play volleyball throughout the world.

The volleyball court, 9 by 18 m (29.5 by 59 ft) in area for indoor play and slightly smaller for beach competition, is divided into two equal sides by a net. Rules for the indoor game recommend a clear, unobstructed area at least 7 m (23 ft) high above the entire court, and a minimum of 2 m (6.7 ft) in the indoor game and 3 m (9.8 ft) in the outdoor game of free space on the perimeter of the court. The net is 10 m (32.8 ft) long and 1 m (3.3 ft) wide and is made of black or dark brown mesh string. It is stretched tightly across the court by its four corners and has an antenna placed above each court sideline, which the ball must pass between when sent over the net. The height of the top of the net is set at 2.43 m (7 ft 11 5/8 in) for men, at 2.24 m (7 ft 4¼ in) for women, and at 2.13 m (7 ft) or lower for children aged 12 years or younger. For indoor play, a line 5 cm (2 in) wide, called the 3-meter attack line, extends across each of the two playin...