Moving, receiving, passing and setting

1Why this matters

Sitting volleyball is volleyball played sitting on the floor. At the Paralympic Games it is played by athletes whose impairment affects their legs or movement, for example an amputation, a spinal cord injury or cerebral palsy. At school, sitting down puts every player on the same level, so the whole class can play together. It is also a sport in which Rwanda competes at the highest level: Rwanda's women's team qualified for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games by winning the 2024 African Sitting Volleyball Championships in Lagos, Nigeria.

2A short history

Sitting volleyball was invented in the Netherlands in 1956 as a sport to help injured soldiers recover. It became a Paralympic medal sport in 1980, and a women's event was added in 2004. The world governing body is World ParaVolley.

3The court, the net and the main rules

Figure 1. The sitting volleyball court and the six rotation positions. Diagram: Ganzaa.

• The court is 10 m by 6 m, with an attack line 2 m from the net on each side. The net is 1.15 m high for men and 1.05 m for women.
• Six players a side: three in the front row (positions 4, 3 and 2) and three in the back row (5, 6 and 1).
• A team may touch the ball at most three times before sending it over, and no player may touch it twice in a row. A touch in a block does not count.
• Stay seated: whenever you play the ball, at least one buttock must be touching the floor. Lifting off to reach higher is a fault.
• Unlike standing volleyball, front-row players may block the serve.

4Moving on the floor

Sit with your knees bent and feet flat, hands on the floor beside or slightly behind your hips. Move by pushing with your hands and heels, forwards, backwards and sideways, in short, quick shuffles. In the ready position, lean slightly forward, hands up in front of your chest, eyes on the ball. Most balls are lost because a player arrives late, so move early.

5Receiving: the forearm pass

The forearm pass (also called a bump, or a dig when it saves a hard hit) is how you receive a serve or a low ball.

1. Shuffle so that the ball comes to the middle of your body.
2. Make a platform: lay the fingers of one hand across the other, thumbs side by side, and straighten your arms so the forearms are flat and together.
3. Let the ball hit the flat part of the forearms, just above the wrists, not the hands or fists.
4. Angle the platform towards your target, usually the setter near the net, and lift gently from the shoulders. Do not swing your arms.

6Setting: the overhead pass

1. Get under the ball early, so it drops just above your forehead.
2. Turn your shoulders to face your target.
3. Hands up, fingers spread, thumbs and index fingers making a triangle-shaped "window" you can look through.
4. Play the ball with the pads of the fingers, not the palms, and push it up and out by straightening your arms.

The ball must be played cleanly. Catching it or holding it, even for a moment, is a fault.

Worked example

Gatete reaches for a high ball and pushes up on his hands, lifting both buttocks off the floor for a moment as he plays it.

Decision. A fault: at least one buttock must touch the floor when he plays the ball. The rally, and the point, go to the other team. He needed to shuffle under the ball earlier.

7The session (about 40 minutes)

Warm-up, seated (8 minutes). Shoulder rolls, arm circles, wrist circles and finger stretches; trunk twists; a seated reach towards the toes. Then shuffle races over 5 m: forwards, backwards and sideways.

Skill drills (22 minutes).

• Toss and pass. In pairs, 2 m apart. One tosses the ball gently; the other forearm-passes it back to the tosser's hands. Ten each, then swap. Move to 3 m.
• Wall sets. Sit 1 m from a wall and set the ball against it continuously. Count your best run without a mistake.
• Triangle. Three players: A tosses to B, B forearm-passes to C, C sets back to A. Rotate roles every five goes.

Game (6 minutes): keep it up. Groups of four, seated in a square. Keep the ball in the air using only forearm passes and sets, and count the touches. Beat your group's record.

Cool-down (4 minutes). Seated stretches for the backs of the thighs, shoulders, wrists and fingers, 20 seconds each, then slow breathing.

8Safety

• Sweep the floor or check the ground for stones and sharp objects; wear long trousers to protect your skin.
• Warm up the fingers and wrists; set with finger pads, not stiff fingertips.
• Leave space between players so hands and feet do not clash when two players go for the same ball.
• Nobody shuffles under the net while the ball is in play.

Practice

Solution. The forearm pass. It is safer for a fast ball, and an overhead pass is likely to be called for holding if the ball sits in the hands.

Solution. Swinging the arms up too hard, or the platform pointing upwards. Keep the arms still, angle the platform towards the target and lift gently from the shoulders.

Solution. Three: positions 4, 3 and 2.

Solution. Shuffling on the hands is slower than running, so a player who waits will arrive late and may be tempted to lift off the floor, which is a fault.