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Cuffs, slides and sitzball: welcome to the world of seated volleyball! In our "24 Sports Chrono" series, we tell you everything you need to know about Olympic and Paralympic Games disciplines. On your marks, get set!
Players must remain seated at all times
A different form of volleyball, sitting volleyball is a fast-paced and intense game! It is played on a shorter, narrower court (6 m x 5 m), with a lower net than in traditional volleyball (1.05 m for women, 1.15 m for men and 1.10 m for mixed events).
The aim of the game, just as in volleyball, is to get the ball into the opponent's court. Players sit on the ground and must slide around using all their limbs. The one golden rule to remember: players muist always have at least one buttock in contact with the playing field.
Sitting volleyball is played by two teams of six players. Matches are played in three sets of 25 points each (5 sets maximum, with the fifth set played to 15 points).
Iran's Morteza Mehrzad can hit the ball 1.95 m into the air
Sitting volleyball is designed for people with orthopedic disabilities, hemiplegia, cerebral palsy and/or progressive neurological disabilities.
Having a big chest and big arms is an advantage. Such is the case of Morteza Mehrzad of Iran, a gold medalist in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021. He suffers from acromegaly and is the second tallest living man in the world at 2.46 m. While maintaining a seated position, he is able to hit a ball up to 1.95 m into the air.
This sport also requires flexibility and a high fitness level. With limited movement on the pitch, teamwork is just as important for coordinating passes between players and making quick decisions.
Discover the discipline at the School Sports Games
Credit
Laurent Bourgogne / Ville de Paris
Categories
Athletes are divided into two categories:
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M: athletes with significant impairments (mainly lower-limb or forearm amputees)
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MD: athletes with less severe impairments (limitation of joint amplitude or loss of muscle strength in the lower limbs)
Sitting volleyball teams are made up of twelve players from the two different categories in the men's and women's events: ten players from the M category and a maximum of two players from the MD category.
Six players take to the court at any one time: five from the M category and a maximum of one from the MD category.
Liking the 24 Sports Chrono series?
The "24 Sports Chrono" is a weekly feature published during the lead up to the Games. Missed the previous episode? Catch up here with Catch up here with wheelchair fencing.
A rehabilitation sport for injured soldiers
Although sources diverge on the year of its invention (1943 or 1956), the game was first used as a rehabilitation activity for amputee soldiers. Gradually, the game was taken up by others as well, giving way to a more sporting and competitive vision of the game.
The Dutch Sports Committee organized the first ever event on May 5th, 1956 in Amsterdam, in front of 25,000 spectators. The first international competition was held 1967 with Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark all competing.
Sitting volleyball entered the Paralympic Games a few years later, in 1980 for the men's game. The women had to wait until 2004!
The French men's and women's teams have only existed since 2019.
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Do you speak volleyball?
You're probably familiar with a pass (touching the ball with both hands using the ends of the fingers) but other terms such as the dig (hitting a ball underarm using both forearms) or the spike, also known as the heater (powerful one-handed strike) are less common.
Volleyball vocabulary is also made up of a lot of slang words. A missile, for example, means to hit the ball out of bounds. A spade is another word for an ace.
When and where?
The sitting volleyball events will take place from August 29th to September 7th, 2024.
The women's (8 teams) and men's (8 teams) tournaments will be held at the Arena Paris Nord (Villepinte).
To buy your tickets.
The women's (8 teams) and men's (8 teams) tournaments will be held at the Arena Paris Nord (Villepinte).
To buy your tickets.
Who is representing France?
The French champions, the Isséens of the "Issy c'est assis" team, are well on the way to qualification, including Mickaël Gagliardi. The young French sitting volleyball team relies heavily on novice athletes, eight of whom are from La Relève: Matthieu Jagu, Thibaut Lefrançois, Benjamin Pillerault, Jean-Christophe Rambeau, Damien Roget, Samou Soumaro in the men's team, and Sylvanie Logello in the women's team.
Where can you play sitting volleyball in Paris?
Being a relatively new sport in France, there are no clubs yet in Paris. But whether you have a disability or not, it's a great sport for working on your upper body strength as well as your fitness. You'll be amazed at how draining it can get!
The PUC though, has created a sitting volleyball training section.
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