Volleyball is a team game played with a ball and a net. There are teams on either side of the net. One team hits the ball over the net line and into the other team's court or field, the ball to the other team. There are 2 main types of volleyball that are played all over the world. They are indoor and beach volleyball.
Volleyball was introduced to India by foreign physical education instructors about 70 years ago. The sport requires an energetic body and rapid jumping skills. This sport combines the strengths of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball and is played by more than 800 million people worldwide. From this number, you can get an idea of how popular this game is.
In countries such as India, China, Europe, South America, and Africa, YMCA societies played a major role in promoting volleyball, and people here also got interested.
History of Volleyball
Volleyball originated in America, but it has developed its own identity in India as well. The sport began in America in 1895. William Morgan is its founder. Alfred Halsted noticed that the game resembled volleying when he named it volleyball.
In 1964, the Tokyo Olympics included it in the Olympics. Originally, it was a game played in villages, but it quickly became a global sport that crossed national boundaries. Japanese volleyball women won their first gold medal. The USSR won the first gold medal in volleyball for men.
The sport of volleyball has Asian and continental championships, as well as a World Championship. An international organization was established after India's independence in 1947. It made all its laws and regulations. The game is now played worldwide under the same rules. In 1951, it was introduced as a volleyball game at the Asian Games.
Establishment of an International Body
The Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) was founded in April 1947. Delegates from 14 countries, including Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Uruguay, the United States and Yugoslavia, meet in Paris under the leadership of Paul Libaud of France. Where all together form an association that regulates the sport at the international level.
It gradually becomes the largest organization in the world with 222 affiliated bodies. The World Championship becomes the main attraction of the game. The FIVB adds a number of other events later on - such as the FIVB World League, the FIVB World Grand Prix, the FIVB World Cup, and the FIVB Grand Champions Cup. Eventually, it becomes an Olympic sport.
Volleyball Court
1. A volleyball court is 18 meters long and 9 meters wide. All the lines of the court are 5 cm wide.
2. The boundary line around the court is five centimeters wide. The court is divided into two parts by the central line.
3. Due to this, the size of both the halves of the court, that is, both the sails, becomes 9 by 9 meters.
4. Two parallel lines are drawn from the central line at a distance of 3 meters on either side. This is called the attack line.
5. 20 cm behind the backline, two lines of 15 cm by 5 cm are drawn. The distance between these two lines is 9 meters. This is considered a service area. From here the player also serves.
Rules of players on a Volleyball Court
1. In volleyball, two teams are on the court.
2. Each team has a total of 12-12 players but 6-6 players are allowed on the court during the match.
3. The remaining 6-6 players remain as exchanged players. The team can change all its six exchanged players if they want.
4. In this, players wear half-sleeved T-shirts, shorts, shoes, and socks.
5. The umpire examines the hands of the player before he enters the court so that one player does not inadvertently harm the other during the field.
6. In volleyball, the game starts from the service area.
Volleyball Player Position
|
Player position |
Description |
|
Setter |
The main job of the setter is to keep the ball in the right place for the attackers so that they can strike the ball hard. |
|
Middle Blocker |
Acts as the main blocker and sometimes even attacker. |
|
Outside Hitter |
The main attacker is on the left and ready to spike. |
|
Weak Hitter |
Secondary attacker whose main job is to block but is ready to spike occasionally when needed. |
|
Liberos |
This position is the focal point of the game and is being referred to as the most important player. This player is the first to come into contact with the ball. They wear different jerseys from the rest of the team and can be easily seen in a game and can be substituted for any player on the court. |
Volleyball Game Rules
1. There should only be six players on the volleyball floor at any one time. 3 in the front row and 3 in the back row.
2. Points are scored on each serve, called rally-point scoring.
3. Players are not allowed to hit the ball twice in a row (a block is not considered a hit).
4. A ball hitting the boundary line is considered 'in'.
5. A ball is 'out' if it touches the antennas, any cables or nets outside the antennas, the floor area outside the court, the pole or referee stand, or the ceiling above the non-playable area.
6. In the game of volleyball, the contact of the ball with any part of the player's body is considered valid.
7. It is illegal to throw, catch or hold the ball.
8. It is illegal to attack or block any service from or inside a 10-foot line.
9. Once the service is done, front-line players are allowed to switch positions at the net.
10. Matches are made up of sets, the numbers depend on the level of the game.
Volleyball Skills
There are four basic skills in the game of volleyball – serve, passing, smash and block.
Service :
Servus is the action by which the ball comes into play. As long as there is no mistake on the part of the serving team, then that player chills. The team keeps getting points. When a mistake is made by the serving team, both the points and the service go to the opposing team.
The referee is required to serve by the player within 8 seconds of the blowing of the whistle. If the player is unable to do so, the service and points are passed on to the opposing team. The serving player may not enter the field before serving. Services like underhand, overhand, floating, ride arg, high rip, tennis etc.
Figure Pass (Upper Hand Pass):
About 60 percent of this pass is used to park the ball on its ground. By which the other player hits the ball over the net by tossing it in the air. This pass is played with fingers and thumb.
In this pass too, the legs are slightly open back and forth. Hands above the head, in front of the forehead, are rounded in the shape of a ball and there is a small and respectable distance between all the fingers.
The ball coming from the front is lifted slightly with the help of the fingers by bending the knee and the hands become straight behind the ball in the same direction in which the ball is to be sent.
Smash:
All players on the field can jump and hit the ball over the net. All three players in the front row can hit the ball from anywhere on the field, but players in the back row can only hit the ball by jumping from behind the attack line. Can fall to the front row after hitting the ball. If you hit the ball by crossing the attack line, it is considered a mistake. Points go to the opposing team. The Liberon player cannot smash.
Block :
Block is a hand block by the players of the front row by tossing the ball hit by the player of the opposing team over and near the net, which can only be done by the three players in the front row. Blocks can be done by one player or both and all three at the same time.
If more than one player blocks simultaneously, it is called a combined block. The same player can pick up the ball again after the blocker is in hand, and players on the same team can touch the ball three times after the block. The blocker cannot touch the opposing teen ball over the net.
Can't even touch the net while blocking and can't block service. If the ball hits the blocker and goes out while blocking, then the ball is considered out of the field and the opposing team gets a point.
Volleyball Federation of India
RSI Volleyball Federation of India or commonly known as VFI was established in 1951 in India. Before the footsteps of the Volleyball Federation of India, the sport was regulated by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). In those days the Interstate Championship was held every 2 years from 1936 to 1950 (only for men). The first volleyball tournament was held in Lahore in 1939. The first meeting of VFI was held in the year 1951 in Ludhiana (Punjab).
Volleyball Major Competitions
Federation Cup
Shivaji Gold Cup
Asia Cup
Indira S. Pradhan Trophy
World Cup
Grand Champions Cup
India Gold Cup
Poornima Trophy
Arjuna Award Winners of Volleyball
Some of the Arjuna Award winners in Indian volleyball are Palanisamy (1961), Nrijit Singh (1962), Balwant Singh (1972), G Malini Reddy (1973), Shyamsundara Rao (1974), Ranveer Singh and KC Elmma (1975), Jimmy George ( 1976)
