Volleyball, a sport enjoyed as a hobby, pass-time, and also played professionally worldwide. To have good game sense, besides the rules and the required skills, one needs to be well-versed with the court and its dimensions. Have a look at the diagram along with the content here to get a good idea.
Did You Know?
The game of volleyball, invented in 1895, is actually a mixture of the games of basketball, baseball, handball, and tennis.
Volleyball can be played anywhere; in the backyard, on the beach, outdoors on a ground, and professionally on indoor courts. But whatever the surroundings, amenities, etc., the dimensions of a volleyball court will need to be the same. Anything bigger or smaller would hamper the smooth playing of this exciting and competitive game.
Hence, if you are planning to set up a court on your property, educational institution, or club, follow the dimensions as shown in the diagram given here.
Besides the court and its dimensions, we'll also have a look at the rules and scoring which are important aspects of the game, and also a little something about beach volleyball.
Standard Dimensions of a Volleyball Court
- The dimensions of a volleyball court require to be 60 feet × 30 feet. In meters, this amounts to 18 × 9.
- Around the court, there should be an area called a free zone, which is 10 feet on all the sides, thus making the entire area needed 80 feet × 50 feet.
- The court is divided into two sides equally by a net, making each side a dimension of 30 feet × 30 feet (9m × 9m).
- The net is one meter wide and runs from one sideline to the other all across the court. It actually extends by 1 meter on both sides of the court, giving it a total length of 11 meters.
- In the men's competition, the net is placed at a height of 2.43 meters from the ground, at the center. For the women's game, the same is at a height of 2.24 meters.
- Each side is divided into two zones. The attack zone or the front zone is from the net towards the middle of the court, and measures 3m × 9m. This is where the three attackers are situated.
- The defense lines up in the remaining area of the court called the back zone, which is 6m × 9m. Though, while the game is in progress, the players obviously switch positions and move around even outside the court as and when required.
- The service area is a 3 meter section at the right side of the back line at both ends of the court.
Volleyball Rules and Scoring
The rules are not that complicated as one may presume. A volleyball team consists of six players. Three play as attackers and the other three play as defense. The three attackers are the front left, front center and front right players. The three in defense are the back left, back center and back right players. The player in the right back position serves, and needs to be outside the service line (back line). He has to execute the serve within eight seconds of the referee blowing the whistle. The ball needs to be tossed up to serve, and only after completion of the serve, can the server step inside the court. A player can touch the ball only once, and the team can touch the ball not more than thrice in a single play.
A point is won when the ball is grounded successfully into the opponent's court. The ball has to cross the net within the poles or antennas to be considered as a legal play. A point to note is that the sidelines and baselines are also a part of the court. Hence, any ball landing on them and touching them in any way is considered to be in. A point is also won when the opposing team hits the ball out of the court. Penalty points are also awarded by the referee as per his discretion in case of any faults committed. When a sideout is won by any team (the receiving team wins the point), the players move clockwise and switch positions. In other words, the front right player becomes the back right player (server). A match usually consists of three sets (games), with the team winning two sets emerging victorious. 5-setters with a best-of-three winner are also played in bigger tournaments. The team reaching twenty five points first, with a difference of two points at least, wins the set.
Beach Volleyball
Beach volleyball is more of a fun version of the game, and was invented around thirty years after volleyball first started. You can call it fun-in-the-sun volleyball. The difference here is that in this type of volleyball, there are only two players on each side. There is usually 1 foot of sand needed on the court. Anything less would be slightly dangerous, as unlike indoor volleyball, there is no protection gear worn on the hands or legs in beach volleyball. Another difference is the scoring system in this version, in which each match is a best of three sets, the winner of each set being the first to reach 21 points with a difference of two. If the match goes to a deciding set, the first to reach 15 points with a difference of two, wins. Also, timeouts for coaching purposes are not allowed here, unlike the indoor version. The dimensions of a beach volleyball court are the same as an indoor court, i.e. 60 feet x 30 feet. Even the height of the net for both men and women is the same as the indoor version.
Volleyball has gained a lot of popularity over the years, and is played in almost every country around the globe. Besides being played for fun, it is also part of some serious competition worldwide, like the World Championships and the Olympics. Lastly, this game is good news for cardio and muscle building.
