Variations of a Theme
The Indoor and the out door beach versions of the volleyball game are well known, but there are many other lesser known versions of the game out there. The following list is taken from "the free dictionary".
Indoor sand volleyball
This is an even newer variation than beach volleyball. As beach volleyball took volleyball outdoors, indoor sand volleyball takes beach volleyball indoors. In the United States, a growing number of colleges are now considering switching from hard court indoor volleyball to sand court indoor volleyball. The biggest reason for the possible change is the reduced rate of injury of players. Secondary reasons are: 1) bad weather doesn't cancel play, something that commonly happens with beach volleyball; 2) it is thought to make the game more appealing to spectators since sand courts do not require players to wear elbow and knee pads or shoes.
Indoor sand volleyball teams vary from two to six members, college teams having six. Normally, rather than using a purpose-built hall, an indoor basketball court is converted. A protective tarpaulin covers the floor of the basketball court and "soft" sand is laid a foot deep over it. The boundaries are commonly marked off with lines in the sand. However, a recent innovation uses colored lasers that illuminate the lines in the sand.
Sitting volleyball
Sitting volleyball for locomotor-disabled individuals was first introduced in 1956 by the Dutch Sports Committee. International competition began in 1967, but it would be 1978 before the International Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD) sanctioned the sport and sponsored an official international tournament in 1979 at Haarlem, Netherlands.
The game is played on a smaller 10 x 6 meter court and with a 0.8 meter-wide net set to a height of 1.15 meters for men and 1.05 meters for women. When hitting or attacking the ball, the player must have one "buttock" or an extension of the torso still in contact with the floor. Traditionally the sport has been played not only by amputees and people with polio, but people who have orthopedic problems in their knees or ankles. Often able-bodied players are on the club teams. Because of the game's quick pace, the use of your hands to move and play the ball, good balance and a sturdy butt are a necessity. Consequently, it is not the ideal sport for most paraplegics.
Men's sitting volleyball was introduced to the Paralympic Games in 1980 and has grown to be one of the more popular Paralympic sports due to the fast and exciting action. Women's sitting volleyball was added to the program for the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. The international governing body for the sport is The World Organisation Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD).
Blind volleyball
Also known as 'ghost volleyball, it is another variation that tries to remove height of players as a determining factor in team success is blind volleyball. Ad-hoc blind volleyball is where sheets are draped over the net so one side cannot see the other side.
A more formal type of blind volleyball removes the traditional volleyball net and replaces it with a tarp thick enough that shadows cast on it cannot be seen from the other side. Blocks, spikes, and overhand serves are prohibited. Blocks are almost impossible to do since it is difficult to know where the ball is going to come over the net. Spikes and overhand serves are prohibited because it is already very difficult for the receiving team to react to any incoming ball without the increased speed of a ball struck in such a manner.
Blind volleyball additionally creates a higher level of suspense for spectators, who, unlike the players, can see what is taking place on both sides.
Another unique feature of blind volleyball is how it can make the back row the row that hits the ball over the net. In regular volleyball, the back row tends to receive the volleyball and then move it to the front row. In blind volleyball, moving the ball to the back row makes it harder for the other team to see where the ball is and by hitting the ball on a flatter trajectory, the back-row players can more easily surprise the receiving team on where the ball will be coming over the net.
Nine-man volleyball
A variation of volleyball utilizing nine players and a slightly larger court originated in Asia in the 1920s when American missionaries introduced the game in China. The variant became popular within the Chinese-American communities in large US and Canadian cities, and continues to grow with a rotating popular tournament called the North American Chinese Invitational Tournament.
Wallyball
Wallyball is played in a racquetball court, which is divided into two halves by a net. The game is played like volleyball, with the added complexity that players may carom the ball off a side wall when playing it into the opponents' court. If a ball played over the net contacts the ceiling, the opponent's back wall, or both side walls without being touched by an opponent, the ball is ruled out of bounds. The pace of the game is generally fast, as the confined quarters encourage quick action and the walls often keep the ball conveniently in play.
Sepak Takraw
Sepak Takraw is a variant of volleyball popular in Asia, similar to footvolley. Players use their feet to get the ball over the net; the game is played on a badminton doubles court.
Traditionally hand-woven, the Takraw ball is made of rattan stems or very hard plastic. A ball weighs approximately 250 grams. Game playTwo teams compete for higher scores by spiking a ball into the opponents court. Each team gets three chances to kick, knee, shoulder or head the ball back to the opposing team. Like in Volleyball there are passes, sets and spikes but the strokes must be made soccer style: no hands or arms allowed.
A sight to behold is the smash, in which a player executes a bicycle kick to fire the ball into the opponent's court with great force. In contrast to soccer bicycle kicks, in which the players usually land on their backs (which would be both painful and dangerous on the hard sepak takraw pitch), sepak takraw players are agile enough to land on their feet again.
Bossaball
Bossaball is more than a variation on the volleyball concept. It's a mix of volleyball, football, gymnastics and capoeira. The court is a combination of inflatables and trampolines, divided by a net.
Bossaball mixes sport with music. Bossaball referees have a whistle, a microphone, various percussion instruments and a Disc jockeyset. They referee the game and control the soundtrack. Players play to the music / The music follows the game. Bossaball brings elements of capoeira, samba, breakdance, football, volleyball, acrobatics and circus together on a single pitch.
Rules, Scoring, and PlayingBossaball can be played in teams of three to five players. The aim of bossaball is for each team to ground the ball on the opponent's field.
Each team is entitled to a maximum of 8 contacts with the ball on its own field, while the trampoline jumper gains height to prepare a smash. Any body part can be used. Players can touch the ball only once with their hands, or double touch it with their feet and/or head.
Once a team grounds the ball on the inflatables they gain one point. Scoring on the trampolines is worth three points. Hitting the bossawall - the red rings around the trampolines - doesn't count as a score, so the rally continues.
Mixed Teams / coed teams
Most competitive volleyball is played with same-sex teams (exclusively so at the elite levels). Different sets of rules have been drafted to allow for mixed teams, often known as "coed" teams in the United States. The net is at men's height for "regular coed" and women's height for "reverse coed". Several adaptations are common, some of them to compensate for the men's greater reach and strength. The FIVB rules used internationally do not support mixed play, but USA Volleyball, the national governing body for the United States have specific rules, the main points of which are:
- A minimum number of female players must be on the field (usually 3 males and 3 females)
- Alternating male and female players in the rotation.
In reverse coed the men are prohibited from attacking a ball above the height of the net from in front of the attack line. Men can attack a ball that is above the height of the net from anywhere on the court, but the ball must take an immediate upward trajectory. Men can jump serve, but are not allowed to block. If there is only one female player on the front row, then one back row female may come from the back row to block, but not hit. If the ball is touched more than once on one side then a male player must make one of the contacts. Strategically, this usually means that a male setter is used.
In regular coed, if there is only one male player on the front row then one man may come from the back row to block, but not hit. If the ball is touched more than once on one side then a female player must make one of the contacts. Female players have no blocking or attacking restrictions. Strategically, this usually means that a female setter is used.
Footvolley
Footvolley is an entirely new sport which combines beach volleyball and soccer skills where the difference is that the players may not contact the ball with their hands; instead they can use all other body parts including their feet, head, shoulders, and chest, etc. Sport originated in Brazil; but is quickly becoming popular in the US, Europe, and Asia.
Ecuadorian Volleyball (Ecuavolley)
A variation with 3-player teams on clay courts with a higher net.
Newcomb
A simplified form used to teach the fundamentals of volleyball, Newcomb (sometimes referred to as "Nuke 'em") is generally taught to school-aged children but is also popular among adults of limited athletic ability. Its main differences from regular volleyball are that the ball can be caught before passing on to a team-mate or over the net, and each pass or serve is a throw rather than a hit. While most other volleyball rules apply, variations on the numbers of players per team and the numbers of 'catches' per side are common.
Jollyball
Jollyball is a cross between juggling and volleyball. A juggling ball is passed between players who must catch it by using the ball, plus the two that they are holding, to perform a juggling pattern.
Jollyball is usually played on a badminton court with two or three players on each team. Each player has two juggling balls and a final ball is held by the server, who serves by throwing the ball into the opponent's side of the court. This must be "caught" by one of the opponents, by using the ball to perform a three-ball juggling pattern (commonly the three-ball cascade). They are allowed three catches before one of the balls (not necessarily the one that was served) must be thrown to another player, or passed back across the net. Like volleyball, only three passes are allowed by a team before the ball must be returned.
Teams score by causing the ball to land in the opponent's side of the court, causing the opposition to throw a ball out of bounds, or fail to complete a juggling pattern. Games are relatively informal, and players are encouraged to show off their juggling skills for spectators. Juggling can refer to all forms of artful or skillful object manipulation. This includes most prop-based circus skills such as diabolo, devil sticks, cigar box manipulation,
Text from http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/volleyball
Mud Volleyball
Exactly what it says on the tin. Volleyball is played in a mud-pit. Dirt courts are tilled up and are flooded with water making the volleyball extra MUDDY and extra FUN.
Beach Towel Volleyball
Form 2 teams. Have each team stand on either side of the volleyball net. Have each team divide into pairs. Each pair should have one towel and each person should grab 2 corners of the towel so that it is spread out between the pair.
A water balloon is placed on the towel of one of the pairs. The pair must then work together to lift their towel so that the balloon is propelled into the air, across the net to the other team. One of the pairs on the other team must then try to catch the balloon with their towel and return it the same way.
As in regular volleyball, a team scores a point when the balloon hits the ground on the other side of the net.
Requirements: 1 beach towel for every 2 people. Water Balloons (large balloons tend to be more fun!). A Volleyball net.
Objective: Like Volleyball the object is to score the most points and get the other team wet at the same time.