HISTORY
TheVolleyball-Sitting (VS) event was introduced at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympics. The sport was then governed by the World Organization for Volleyball for the Disabled (WOVD). In 2008, there are athletes from about 50 countries practising the sport. A high level of teamwork, skill, strategy and intensity is needed in this para sport.
Male and female athletes with a physical disability are eligible to participate and must fulfill the conditions of a minimum degree of disability. The para athletes can come from the categories of Physical Impair (PI), Cerebral-Palsy (CB), para athletes shall need to be classified by qualified classifiers before they are allowed to participate in the sports.
The object of the sport is that each team's goal is to pass the ball over the net and to touch the ball on the ground of the opposing team side. Teams consist of mixed classification classes in male and female events, with six on court at one time.
The rules of the game is quite similar to that of the normal volleyball except that at all times the athlete's pelvis must touch the ground and the service block is allowed. Because Volleyball Sitting requires a smaller court (10m x 6m) and lower net, the game is considerably faster than the standing version. The game lasts up to five sets and the winning team is the first to win three sets. The team winning the set is the one to reaches 25 points, with at least a two-point lead except for the deciding set (set 5) where the ceiling point is 15.
