Sitting volleyball is an adapted sport where the game of volleyball is played on a smaller court with a lower net and all players must sit on the floor. The court dimensions are 6 m wide by 5 m deep on either side of the net. In competition, the net height is 1.15 m for men and 1.05 m for women.
At a community level, players with and without physical impairments can play together in this integrative sport. However, to compete internationally athletes must have a permanent physical impairment.
Sitting volleyball has become popular among spectators of para-sport because of its fast action and exciting game play. It is also a good choice to implement at the community level as an adapted or integrated recreation activity because there is no need to buy specialized equipment.
Visit Volleyball Canada’s website for details on rules and classification.
Videos
A brief video explaining sitting volleyball produced by the London 2012 Paralympic Games:
Highlights from an exhibition match between the Canadian National Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team and the UBC Thunderbirds Men’s Volleyball Team that saw a close win by Team Canada (27-25, 25-13, 19-25, 34-36, 15-13) on April 3, 2015:
Coaching and teaching resources
Team Canada Sitting Volleyball pamphlet (Volleyball Canada)
Introductory guide by Ian Halliday (Volleyball Canada)
Sitting volleyball skills poster (USA Volleyball)
Coaching resources (Volley SLIDE)
Skills and drills videos (USA Volleyball)
Technical guide videos (Volley SLIDE)
FUNdamentals PE resources for Grades 2-6 (Canadian Paralympic Committee)
- Create a profile and login to access CPC resources
BC links
Currently there are few grassroots opportunities to play sitting volleyball in BC, but with increased awareness Volleyball BC hopes to see this discipline of volleyball develop in our province. Organizations that have made strides to implement programs include:
For BC athletes with physical impairments who are interested in high performance development, please contact Volleyball Canada.