OFFICIAL VOLLEYBALL RULES

OFFICIAL VOLLEYBALL RULES2017-2020Approved by the 35th FIVB Congress 2016

Official Volleyball Rules 2017-2020Published by FIVB in 2016 – www.fivb.comDesign and layout: Samuel ChesauxIllustrations: FIVB 2014

OFFICIAL VOLLEYBALL RULES2017-2020Approved by the 35th FIVB Congress 2016To be implemented in all competitions beginning after 1st January 2017OFFICIAL VOLLEYBALL RULES 2017-20201

CONTENTSGAME CHARACTERISTICS7PART 1: PHILOSOPHY OF RULES AND REFEREEING8PART 2 - SECTION 1: GAME11CHAPTER 1: FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT12123PLAYING AREA.121.1DIMENSIONS.121.2PLAYING SURFACE.121.3LINES ON THE COURT.131.4ZONES AND AREAS.131.5TEMPERATURE.141.6LIGHTING.14NET AND POSTS.142.1HEIGHT OF THE NET.142.2STRUCTURE.152.3SIDE BANDS.152.4ANTENNAE.152.5POSTS.152.6ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT.16BALLS.163.1STANDARDS.163.2UNIFORMITY OF BALLS.163.3FIVE-BALL SYSTEM.16CHAPTER 2: PARTICIPANTS45217TEAMS.174.1TEAM COMPOSITION.174.2LOCATION OF THE TEAM.184.3EQUIPMENT.184.4CHANGE OF EQUIPMENT.194.5FORBIDDEN OBJECTS.19TEAM LEADERS.195.1CAPTAIN.195.2COACH.205.3ASSISTANT COACH.21

CHAPTER 3: PLAYING FORMAT67TO SCORE A POINT, TO WIN A SET AND THE MATCH.226.1TO SCORE A POINT.226.2TO WIN A SET.226.3TO WIN THE MATCH.236.4DEFAULT AND INCOMPLETE TEAM.23STRUCTURE OF PLAY.237.1THE TOSS.237.2OFFICIAL WARM-UP SESSION.237.3TEAM STARTING LINE-UP.247.4POSITIONS.257.5POSITIONAL FAULT.257.6ROTATION.267.7ROTATIONAL FAULT.26CHAPTER 4: PLAYING ACTIONS892227STATES OF PLAY.278.1BALL IN PLAY.278.2BALL OUT OF PLAY.278.3BALL “IN”.278.4BALL “OUT”.27PLAYING THE BALL. 289.1TEAM HITS.289.2CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HIT.289.3FAULTS IN PLAYING THE BALL.2910 BALL AT THE NET.2910.1 BALL CROSSING THE NET.2910.2 BALL TOUCHING THE NET.3010.3 BALL IN THE NET.3011 PLAYER AT THE NET.3011.1 REACHING BEYOND THE NET.3011.2 PENETRATION UNDER THE NET.3011.3 CONTACT WITH THE NET.3111.4 PLAYER’S FAULTS AT THE NET.3112 SERVICE.3112.1 FIRST SERVICE IN A SET.3112.2 SERVICE ORDER.3212.3 AUTHORIZATION OF THE SERVICE.3212.4 EXECUTION OF THE SERVICE.32OFFICIAL VOLLEYBALL RULES 2017-20203

12.5 SCREENING.3212.6 FAULTS MADE DURING THE SERVICE.3312.7 SERVING FAULTS AND POSITIONAL FAULTS.3313 ATTACK HIT.3313.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ATTACK HIT.3313.2 RESTRICTIONS OF THE ATTACK HIT.3313.3 FAULTS OF THE ATTACK HIT.3414 BLOCK.3414.1 BLOCKING.3414.2 BLOCK CONTACT.3514.3 BLOCKING WITHIN THE OPPONENT’S SPACE.3514.4 BLOCK AND TEAM HITS.3514.5 BLOCKING THE SERVICE.3514.6 BLOCKING FAULTS.35CHAPTER 5: INTERRUPTIONS, DELAYS AND INTERVALS3615 INTERRUPTIONS.3615.1 NUMBER OF REGULAR GAME INTERRUPTIONS.3615.2 SEQUENCE OF REGULAR GAME INTERRUPTIONS.3615.3 REQUEST FOR REGULAR GAME INTERRUPTIONS.3615.4 TIME-OUTS AND TECHNICAL TIME-OUTS.3715.5 SUBSTITUTION.3715.6 LIMITATION OF SUBSTITUTIONS.3715.7 EXCEPTIONAL SUBSTITUTION.3715.8 SUBSTITUTION FOR EXPULSION OR DISQUALIFICATION.3815.9 ILLEGAL SUBSTITUTION.3815.10 SUBSTITUTION PROCEDURE.3815.11 IMPROPER REQUESTS.3916 GAME DELAYS.3916.1 TYPES OF DELAYS.3916.2 DELAY SANCTIONS.4017 EXCEPTIONAL GAME INTERRUPTIONS. 4017.1 INJURY / ILLNESS.4017.2 EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE.4017.3 PROLONGED INTERRUPTIONS.4018 INTERVALS AND CHANGE OF COURTS.4118.1 INTERVALS.4118.2 CHANGE OF COURTS.414

CHAPTER 6: THE LIBERO PLAYER4219 THE LIBERO PLAYER.4219.1 DESIGNATION OF THE LIBERO.4219.2 EQUIPMENT.4219.3 ACTIONS INVOLVING THE LIBERO.4219.4 RE-DESIGNATION OF A NEW LIBERO.4419.5 SUMMARY.45CHAPTER 7: PARTICIPANTS’ CONDUCT4620 REQUIREMENTS OF CONDUCT.4620.1 SPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT.4620.2 FAIR PLAY.4621 MISCONDUCT AND ITS SANCTIONS.4621.1 MINOR MISCONDUCT.4621.2 MISCONDUCT LEADING TO SANCTIONS.4721.3 SANCTION SCALE.4721.4 APPLICATION OF MISCONDUCT SANCTIONS.4821.5 MISCONDUCT BEFORE AND BETWEEN SETS.4821.6 SUMMARY OF MISCONDUCT AND CARDS USED.48PART 2 - SECTION 2: THE REFEREES, THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AND OFFICIAL HAND SIGNALS49CHAPTER 8: REFEREES5022 REFEREEING CORPS AND PROCEDURES.5022.1 COMPOSITION.5022.2 PROCEDURES.5023 1st REFEREE.5123.1 LOCATION.5123.2 AUTHORITY.5123.3 RESPONSIBILITIES.5224 2nd REFEREE.5324.1 LOCATION.5324.2 AUTHORITY.5324.3 RESPONSIBILITIES.5425 SCORER.5525.1 LOCATION.5525.2 RESPONSIBILITIES.55OFFICIAL VOLLEYBALL RULES 2017-20205

26 ASSISTANT SCORER.5626.1 LOCATION.5626.2 RESPONSIBILITIES.5627 LINE JUDGES.5727.1 LOCATION.5727.2 RESPONSIBILITIES.5728 OFFICIAL SIGNALS.5828.1 REFEREES’ HAND SIGNALS.5828.2 LINE JUDGES’ FLAG SIGNALS.58PART 2 - SECTION 3: DIAGRAMS59D1a COMPETITION / CONTROL AREA.60D1b THE PLAYING AREA.61D2THE PLAYING COURT.62D3DESIGN OF THE NET.63D4POSITION OF PLAYERS.64D5a BALL CROSSING THE VERTICAL PLANE OF THE NET TO THE OPPONENT COURT.65D5b BALL CROSSING THE VERTICAL PLANE TO THE OPPONENT FREE ZONE.66D6COLLECTIVE SCREEN.67D7COMPLETED BLOCK.67D8BACK ROW PLAYER’S ATTACK.68D9WARNINGS AND SANCTIONS SCALES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES.69D9a MISCONDUCT WARNINGS AND SANCTIONS.69D9b DELAY WARNINGS AND SANCTIONS.69D10 LOCATION OF THE REFEREEING CORPS AND THEIR ASSISTANTS.70D11 REFEREES’ OFFICIAL HAND SIGNALS.71-77D12 LINE JUDGES’ OFFICIAL FLAG SIGNALS.78-796PART 3: DEFINITIONS80INDEX83

GAME CHARACTERISTICSVolleyball is a sport played by two teams on a playing court divided by a net.There are different versions available for

The playing area includes the playing court and the free zone. It shall be rectangular and symmetrical. 1.1, D1a, D1b 1.1 DIMENSIONS D2 The playing court is a rectangle measuring 18 x 9 m, surrounded by a free zone which is a minimum of 3 m wide on all sides. The free playing space is the space above the playing area which is free