A high dose of team spirit, skill, strategy, and intensity is necessary for those who practice Sitting Volleyball. Male and female athletes with a physical disability are eligible to participate in the competition.
It is one of the most fast-paced and exciting Paralympic sports, as the height of the net and the size of the court allow a fastest match than the one played in the standing Volleyball. (In Sitting Volleyball, the court has 10m x 6m and is divided by a net 1.15m high for men; 1.05m for women)
In the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games™, Volleyball (Sitting) competitions will take place at the Rio Olympic Park - Hall 3, from 8 to 16 September.
Inside the court
Each team is composed of six athletes and its objective is to pass the ball over the net and make it touch the adversary´s court floor. In order to reach the objective, the athletes must always maintain the pelvis touching the ground.
The match has five sets and the winner is the team that first wins three sets. The team winning the set is the one to reaches 25 points, with at least a two-point lead.
In the case of a 2-2 set draw, a fifth set follows which is completed when a team wins 15 points, again with a difference of at least two points over the opposing team.
Rewinding
In 1956, the Dutch Sports Committee introduced a new game called Sitting Volleyball, a combination of Sitzball - a game of German origin - and volleyball. International competitions have taken place since 1967 and finally in 1978 the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD) accepted Sitting Volleyball in its programme.
After that, it has increased its popularity across the world, culminating in its debut in the Arnhem Paralympic Games in 1980. The women’s event was added to the Paralympic programme in 2004.
