Sitting Volleyball is perhaps the most widely known form of ParaVolley thanks to its inclusion in the Paralympic Games since Arnhem in 1980. Played by over 10,000 athletes, in more than 75 countries worldwide it is a truly global game that anyone can play.
The Sitting Volleyball rules are based on the FIVB rules for able-bodied volleyball, with a few minor modifications. It requires a smaller court (10m x 6m) and a lower net (1.15m for men, 1.05m for women), and the game is considerably faster than standing volleyball. It’s played in a best-of-five set format, and the first to reach 25 points (with at least a 2-point lead) wins the set.
Teams compete in male and female events, with six on the court at a time. At all times, a portion of the athlete’s torso must be in contact with the ground, and service blocks and attacks are allowed.
Update to the 2025 – 2028 Sitting Volleyball Rules
The World ParaVolley Board has approved the changes to the Rules and Guidelines for Sitting Volleyball for 2025 to 2028.
The document below summarises the all the approved changes with new text and explanatory notes. These changes have immediate effect.
Approved Sitting Volleyball Rule Changes for 2025-2028 – FINAL (.pdf)
The revised Rule Book will be made available as soon as these changes can be incorporated.
Please send any comments or questions to sportdirector@worldparavolley.org
For the full rules including diagrams, please see 2022-2024 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball Rules and Diagrams.
2022-2024 World ParaVolley Reglas Oficiales de Voleibol Sentado (Español)
2022-2024 World ParaVolley Regras Oficias de Voleibol Sentado (Português)
NOTE: In case of any doubt over any rule, the English version of the Rules of the Game shall prevail over the versions in any other language.
Athlete Eligibility
All athletes with physical impairments are eligible to compete at the international level, provided they go through the Classification process. Many players are athletes who are amputees. In addition, two players on each team may have ‘minimal impairment’, which means their impairment may appear minimal but it may prevent them from competing in the conventional version of the sport.
Please see the Classification page for further details on Athlete Eligibility.
Team Uniform Regulations – Sitting Volleyball
World ParaVolley Team Uniform Regulations – January 2023 (PDF in A4 page format)
World ParaVolley Team Uniform Regulations – January 2023 (PDF in LETTER page format)
UNIFORM GUIDELINES – SITTING VOLLEYBALL Ver 3.0 October 2023 (PDF)
Rule Books for ParaVolley disciplines:
Sitting Volleyball
2022-2024 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball Rule Book
2022-2024 World ParaVolley Reglas Oficiales de Voleibol Sentado (Español)
2022-2024 World ParaVolley Regras Oficias de Voleibol Sentado (Português)
Youth Sitting Volleyball
2022-2024 World ParaVolley Official Youth Sitting Volleyball Rules
2022-2024 Reglas Oficiales del Voleibol Sentado Juvenil (Español)
Beach ParaVolley
2022-2024 World ParaVolley Beach ParaVolley Rule Book
2022-2024 Regras Oficias Paravôlei de Praia (Português)
2022-2024 World ParaVolley Reglas Oficiales – ParaVoleibol Playa (Español)
Beach Sitting Volleyball
2022-2024 World ParaVolley Official Beach Sitting Volleyball Rules
NOTE: In case of any doubt over any rule, the English version of the Rules of the Game shall prevail over the versions in any other language.