Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since Tokyo 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced to the programme at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics. The adapted version of volleyball at the Summer Paralympic Games is sitting volleyball.
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the court. Each team also works in unison to prevent the opposing team from grounding the ball on their side of the court.
Volleyball at the 2004 Summer Paralympics was staged at the Helliniko Fencing Hall from 21 to 27 September. Two sitting volleyball team events were held, one for men and one for women. The sport is performed sitting down, on a smaller court with a lower net.
Several sports related to volleyball have become popular. Indoor volleyball and beach volleyball are both events at the Olympics, and sitting volleyball is an event at the Paralympics. Other varieties are localized, or are played at an amateur or informal level.
Volleyball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the China Agricultural University Gymnasium from 7 September to 15 September. Two sitting volleyball team events were held, one for men and one for women.
The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, organized by the International Paralympic Committee. Medals are awarded in every event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
Volleyball at the Summer Paralympics was first held in 1976, when the traditional form of standing volleyball for men was contested and sitting volleyball for men was a demonstration sport. From 1980 through 2000, men's standing and sitting events were contested. The women's sitting volleyball event was introduced in 2004.
World ParaVolley, formerly the World Organization Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD), is an international organization that is for people with physical disabilities. It is affiliated with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The World Organization Volleyball for Disabled was established in 1981 and was part of the International Sports Organization for Disabled (ISOD). In 1992 the WOVD became its own separate Organization in Barcelona, Spain. The WOVD Headquarters were also established in the Netherlands. The WOVD is responsible for managing and controlling the conduct of international volleyball competitions for men, women and youth. The WOVD also liaises with IPC (as an independent organisation) and with other organizations for people with or without disabilities. The organization adopted its present name World ParaVolley at its 2014 general assembly.
The United States competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9, 2012.
Volleyball at the 2012 Summer Paralympics was held from 30 August to 8 September at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London. Two sitting volleyball team events were held, one for men and one for women.
VolleySLIDE is the Sitting Volleyball world educational programme by World ParaVolley, the international federation responsible for all forms of ParaVolley. It is aimed at driving the development of the sport, in line with the Paralympic Movement and global society expectations. World ParaVolley (formerly known as World Organisation Volleyball for Disabled is a member of International Paralympic Committee and adopted VolleySLIDE back in February 2014.
Kimberly Hill is an American former professional volleyball player who played as an outside hitter for the United States women's national volleyball team. Hill won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina men's national sitting volleyball team represents Bosnia and Herzegovina in international sitting volleyball competitions and friendly matches. Bosnia is one of the dominant forces in sitting volleyball worldwide, alongside Iran. The team won a bronze medal, during ECVD European Championships in 1997 in Tallinn. It took nearly two decades later for the nation to win a medal outside the sport of sitting volleyball when Amel Tuka won bronze during 2015 World Championships in Athletics.
The Iran men's national sitting volleyball team represents Islamic Republic of Iran in international sitting volleyball competitions and friendly matches. The team is one of the dominant forces in on the court worldwide. In foreign media, team Iran is colloquially known as dream team of sitting volleyball.
Morteza Mehrzadselakjani is an Iranian volleyball player who plays in the national sitting volleyball team of and Baran Kerman. With a height of 247 cm, he is known as the tallest living man in Iran and Middle East and the second tallest living man in the world. He was able to win two gold medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics, two times champion title of World Para Volleyball Championship three times gold medalist of Asian Games with Iran men's national sitting volleyball team and also he won the Golden Ball for the best player in the world in 2019,2021 and 2022.
Two sitting volleyball team events were held at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, one for men and one for women. They were held at the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, Japan.
Iran competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. This was their ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Paralympics since 1988.
Lilian Mukobwanakawe is a Rwandese Paralympic volleyballer who as of 2019 serves as the captain of the Rwanda Women Sitting Volleyball team. She was captain of the 2015 and 2019 ParaVolley Africa Sitting Volleyball Championships winning teams.
The 2023 Sitting Volleyball European Championships – Men's event was the 21th edition of this tournament. For the first time, the competition was held in Caorle, Italy. The winners qualify for the 2024 Summer Paralympics. The defending champions are Bosnia and Herzegovina. They successfully defended their title after defeating Germany, 3–2, in the final.
The 2023 Sitting Volleyball European Championships – Women's event was the 16th edition of this tournament. For the first time, the competition was held in Caorle, Italy. The winners qualify for the 2024 Summer Paralympics. The reigning champions are Russia, but their disqualification due to the war in Ukraine means they can't defend their title. Italy won their first title, beating Slovenia 3–1 in the final.
