Volleyball

Known as the sport of high mesh, created in Massachusetts , United States in 1895 , is managed by the International Volleyball Federation ( FIVB ) is divided into volleyballroom and beach as well as sitting volleyball, which is a variant with increasing popularity among sports for the disabled; the room is practiced between two teams of six players and the beach by two teams and two players. They have specific technical characteristics, one of the most unique characteristics of volleyball is that players must rotate positions as they score points. The game is controlled by two referees, a timekeeper, a pad and linesmen. In Cuba after the Baseball is one of the sports most practiced and love to the people.

Emerging Volleyball Game

It was created in 1895 by William G. Morgan , Professor of Physical Education from Massachusetts , United States , it was also known at that time by the name of mintonette. In 1905 the discipline was introduced in Cuba , being the first Hispanic country to practice the sport of high mesh. It is divided into indoor and beach volleyball.

As for beach volleyball the first references are placed in Uruguay in 1914 and Hawaii in 1915 . The takeoff of the modality and the first competitions take place in the 20s at the beaches of Santa Monica , California , United States and Europe , in Francoville , Paris in 1927 .

In the 1970s , the first beach volleyball tournaments appeared with commercial sponsorship, cash prizes and the consequent professionalization, he joined the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) in 1986 , promoting a circuit of alternative competitions to that of the Association of Professional Volleyball (AVP).

He was invited as a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games of Barcelona 1992 and officially debuts in Atlanta 1996 , where athletes from the United States achieved gold and silver and bronze China.

Women’s volleyball was started in Cuba by Galician emigrants, which was gaining interest in the population and at the school level, thus over time it was practiced nationally and in 1972 the well-known Morenas del Caribe emerged .

International Volleyball Federation (FIVB)

The International Volleyball Federation was founded in 1947 , which was in charge of the organization of this sport, dictating the rules and regulations. The first world championships were held in 1949 with the debut of men’s volleyball and in 1952 women’s volleyball was included as an Olympic sport in 1964 , while beach volleyball was incorporated into the FIVB in 1986 and into the Summer Olympics since 1996 .

The International Volleyball Federation is one of the international federations, which has introduced the most changes and all with good results, because in these modern times where the media demands are greater it has been at the height, becoming one of the sports with the highest index of preferences in all latitudes, among some are:

In 1998 the figure of the Libero player was introduced.
In 2000 , the duration of the matches was significantly reduced by eliminating the requirement to be in possession of the service to score, you can earn points and serve in the same play while before you could be stealing services alternatively without the marker advance. Touching with any part of the body has been allowed or the serve is allowed to touch the net whenever it ends up passing into the opponent’s court.
In 2006 , two possible new changes are proposed and are tested in some competitions, which is to allow a second serve in case of failing the first, similar to the game, as well as having a second Libero player on the bench with whom to alternate throughout the match, only it accepted in the revision passed in congress in June of 2008 based in Dubai , incorporating a second booking libero and the possibility of exchanging libero only once during the game.

Technical characteristics of the sports complex

Indoor volleyball

Like any official game, it has technical specifications which are listed below:

The premises or interior enclosure must be a minimum of 8 meters high without any obstacles on the entire track.
The court for the practice of indoor volleyball has a surface area of ​​9 by 18 meters, forming a rectangle, divided into two sides, separated by a net.
The net is 9.75 meters long by 0.91 meters wide and is made with black or dark brown twine yarn forming a mesh of squares 10.2 centimeters on a side that is maintained through the * taut track and strap fastened by its four corners. The height of the upper edge of the net is 2.44 meters for men, 2.29 meters for women and 2.13 meters or less for children.
A 5.1 cm wide line runs through each of the two playing areas, from one side to the other, parallel to the center line or net, and at a distance of 3.05 meters from the itself.
The ball is a sphere of inflated material covered with leather, light with a circumference between 63.5 and 68.6 centimeters and a weight between 255 and 283 grams.
T-shirt, shorts, socks, sports shoes and knee brace, it is also common to use knee and elbow protections. Liberos wear a different color than the rest of their teammates.

Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball or beach volleyball is a variant of volleyball that is played on sand, generally on the beach, encouraged by the sun, music and swimsuits.

Game specific features

The team is made up of six players from each side of the mesh, of which three are attackers, who are close to the net and three defenders, it is played by hitting a ball to the opposite side of the court or field of play over a net. Points are scored when the ball touches the ground on the opponents’ side of the court or when they miss a return.

The player who starts serving stands behind the right third of the back line of his court and takes the opposing court over the net, throwing the ball into the air and hitting it with the hand or wrist. In the service, only one attempt is allowed hitting the ball back and forth over the net, with the hands, wrists, forearms, head, or any part of the body above the waist, the game continues until one team fails, that is, do not return the ball or commit a violation of the rules.

The ball must be returned by one of the teams over the net after a maximum of three hits and no player may hit the ball twice in succession. The return over the net must be made without grabbing, pushing or holding the ball, without any player touching the net and without entering the opposing team’s space. Only the serving team can score a point.

A player has the service as long as his team scores points; otherwise, the privilege of serving changes to the other team. In a service change, all members of the serving team rotate a position moving clockwise, passing the player who was in the front right position to the rear right or service position.

The first team to score twenty-five points wins the set, provided the difference is at least two points. A volleyball match is played to four sets. If there is a tie, the fifth set known as time break is played, it is only 15 points with a difference of 2 over. This system is known as raly point, which makes the game more attractive and dynamic for spectators than the old fifteen-point ball change.

Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball is played essentially the same as volleyball, the following are the most important differences:

• It is played outdoors and on a sandy surface, usually, as the name suggests, on a beach.
• The field is slightly smaller: 16 meters x 8 meters. There are no more lines than the four that delimit the rectangle. They are made by placing flexible tapes fixed to the sand with materials that prevent injury to the players.
• The network, apart from being shorter, has the upper and lower edges a bit wider, for the benefit of advertising. The fixing of the posts cannot present any danger to the players, and therefore the use of cables is prohibited.
• The team is made up exclusively of the two players and one of them acts as captain, although both can request time out (time-out). To adapt to the environment and temperature, it is played barefoot and with suitable clothing, consisting of a bathing suit.
• There are no changes or substitutions. In the event of injury, a single time in the game may be available for a recovery time of 5 minutes, counted from the moment that the accredited medical personnel arrive on the court.
• The matches are played in three sets, that is, the first to beat two wins. Each set is played at 21 points with two advantage, and the deciding set, if necessary the third, at 15 points with two advantage. Every 7 points played or 5 in the third set there is a change of field.
• The block is counted for the three team touches, with the same player being able to touch the ball twice.
• There is some flexibility when it comes to ball retention. When two opposing players hold the ball over the net, it is not considered a stopped ball, and here it is, the receiving team has three more touches. It is also allowed in case of a defensive action against a strong shot, a slight retention in the touch of fingers with the hands raised, but not the common touch of fingers, since that would be a foul, but a reception with the palms of hand.
• Any attack hit is valid as long as it is made within the field, except the feint (tipping) that is considered a foul.
• Each team can request a rest time of 30 seconds per set. In world competitions of the FIVB International Volleyball Federation, a technical time is applied when the sum of the points of both teams reaches 21 points, also lasting 30 seconds.

Basic positions of the volleyball player

Attitudes that are taken on the field of play with the aim of shortening the Reaction Time at a given moment. It is a physical and mental attitude, of preparation for action, of being alert, to minimize reaction time. Very important because volleyball is a game of short actions and very fast times. The positions can be: medium, high and low.

Middle position: it is used as a starting point for the different types of passes or when a next action is sure in an attack or defensive play.

Technique:

Adapt it in the most natural way possible. Legs apart and bent, feet facing forward and towards the ball. The separation between them will be half a step and one foot a little further than the other. The lead leg will depend on the area. The knees will be semi-flexed to cushion the blow of the ball (Ballesteo). The weight of the body distributed between both feet. The front foot is supported by the entire sole and the back foot by its anterior third.

The trunk flexed and slightly forward. The hips lower and back, but without resting on the heels. Arms placed naturally, semi-flexed on both sides of the body.

High position:

This position is taken by the player who does not go into action immediately. That is, for those players involved “out of action” and especially in the blocks. It differs from the previous one in that the legs and trunk are slightly less flexed. The center of gravity is also higher.

Low position:

Used in reception and defense on the field. The legs are fully flexed. The hips are lower than the knees. The weight of the body falls on the back leg that is supported on the floor by the ball of the foot.

Referees and scorers

The matches are controlled by a main referee, a secondary referee, an assistant, a timekeeper, a scorer and linesmen, who have the following functions:

First referee: He is the maximum leader of the match, he is located sitting or standing on a platform next to one of the posts, in front of the benches, with an elevated view over the net at 50 centimeters, he indicates the start of each play, signals and decides which team wins a point and what foul is committed, if the ball goes in or out. It is also the only one that has the ability to show cards to players or technicians and also indicates the end of the play.
Second referee: This is the assistant, standing next to the post opposite the first referee, between the two benches and in front of the scorers’ table. It’s located at ground level. Control the incidents that occur in the outer areas of the field (scorers, benches, punishment, warm-ups), interruptions or rest times and the state of the floor and balls.
During the game he checks the position of the players according to the rotations, controls the changes of players and signals the touches of the net, penetrations below the net, blocks by libero or back row, as well as the rotation fouls of the receiving team.

• Scorer: He is located at the table, located on the opposite side, in front of the first referee, behind the second referee and in the middle of the two benches. He is the referee in charge of recording the points, changes and rotations of the two teams, being he in charge of indicating to the second referee if a team makes a mistake in the order of service or improper changes or interruptions.
• Assistant scorer: It is located at the table, located next to the scorer, in front of the first referee, behind the second referee and in the middle of the two benches.
• 2 or 4 line judges: They are located in the corners, if there are only two diagonally, to the right of each referee. Its function is to indicate to the main referee if the ball falls on or off the field, it also controls that the ball passes through the corresponding place and assists the first referee in the friction of the players with the ball.

Libero functions

They are the special players, according to the current regulations there may be two liberos, they have the function of defending so they enter and leave the playing field continuously, replacing any of the players when they are in a defensive position by rotation. The main objective of the libero is to cover the place of the attacking players, generally very tall, who mostly have poor reception performance.

The Libero is easily recognizable because he wears a different color uniform from the rest of the team, he must meet the following requirements:

• He cannot be a team captain or game captain.
• Can’t take out.
• You can not block or attempt to block.
• He cannot complete an attack hit when the ball is completely above the net.
• You can make a finger pass in the front zone or the front zone, as long as the attacker hits the ball below the top edge of the net.

With the changes introduced in 2008 in Dubai , the coach can exchange the Libero for his reserve only once during the match, and the starting Libero cannot under any circumstances return to the game.

International volleyball competitions

Volleyball is one of the sports with the highest number of competitions, among them are:

• Olympic Games
• Panamerican Games
• Central American and Caribbean Games
• Volleyball World Championship (F & W)
• Volleyball World Cup (F & W)
• Grand Prix women’s volleyball
• Volleyball World League (M)
• Volleyball Champions Cup (F & M)
• European Volleyball Championship (F & W)
• World Volleyball Championship
• Championship NORCECA volleyball (F and M)
• South American Volleyball Championship (F & W)
• Men’s Volleyball America Cup
• Pan American Women’s Volleyball Cup
• South American Volleyball Championship (F & W)
• Asian Volleyball Championship (F & W)
• African Volleyball Championship (F & W)
• Men’s Volleyball America Cup
• Pan American Women’s Volleyball Cup
• Club Cup.
• Grand Prix of Volleyball .