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Volleyball is a sport in which two teams hit a ball over a dividing net. There are many sports on our complete list of sports which are derived from the original volleyball, or have similarities to that sport.

Different Court Surfaces

The sport of indoor volleyball was first played in 1896 at Springfield College, Massachusetts. It is an indoor sport played usually on hardwood surface. A popular variation of volleyball developed in the 1980s is Beach volleyball, played on sand and with only two players per team. Also becoming popular is the version of Indoor Sand Volleyball. Similar to beach volleyball, there is a winter version played in snow, Snow Volleyball. Volleyball is often a fun game played in swimming pools, but there are competitive sporting event of Water Volleyball(Aquatic Volleyball), and a Brazilian version of water volleyball called Biribol. Combining these is Beach aquatic volleyball, adapted for play in the shallow water of a beach.

Versions of Disabled Athletes

Paralympic Volleyball is otherwise known as sitting volleyball as the participants remain sitting while playing the game. There is aslo Seatball, like sitting volleyball for disabled and non-disabled athletes, played on a larger court and allowing for the ball to bounced once between touches (also called Sitzball or Sitball).

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Different Net Hight

Ecuavoley is a variant of volleyball invented and played in Ecuador, it is like volleyball though the net is higher and there are only three players. A lower net is used for the variants Football Tennis, and the versions for disabled athletes.

You Can Kick The ball

There are many sports which are similar to volleyball, that allow the participants to kick the ball back over the net rather than use their hands. A popular sport in Asia is Sepak Takraw, essentially volleyball using the feet using a rattan ball (Sipa is similar), and Footvolley from Brazil is the beach volleyball version. Football Tennis, also known as futnet, is played by kicking a ball over a lower net, with a bounce allowed, as is Jokgu, a similar Korean sport.

The Ball Can Bounce

Fistball is an outdoor team sport similar to volleyball, the main differences to volleyball is that in fistball the ball is struck with either the fist or arm but never with open hands, and it is allowed to bounce once after each contact. The ball is also allow to bounce in the Football Tennis and Jokgu versions.

You Can Catch The Ball

An early variation of volleyball is Newcomb Ball, and the similar Throwball from India, where players catch and throw the ball ball back and forth, rather than hit it, until it hits the floor or is mishandled. A similar version called Hoover Ball was invented for US President Herbert Hoover, in which a heavy-weight medicine ball is thrown over the net and caught before being thrown back. More recently a catching variation was developed in Israel, primarily for women, called Catchball.

There are Walls?

Wallyball is a variation of volleyball that is played on a racquetball court enclosed with walls on all four sides, allowing the players to bounce the ball of the walls. There is a similar game, Volley Squash, played on a squash court.

More Variations

• 9-Man Volleyball — a Chinese variation of volleyball utilizing nine players and a slightly larger court, originated in Asia in the 1920s.
• Bossaball — played on an inflatable court with trampolines on each side of the net.
• Crossnet — a cross between volleyball and 4-square, played with a four-way net.
• Te Ano — the national game of Tuvalu, with similarities to volleyball, though using two balls at once.

Similar Sports

• Roundnet — involves two teams of two, who have up to three touches to hit a ball off a small round horizontal trampoline-type net.
• Footbag Net — players have to kick a footbag over a 5ft high net.

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Related Pages

• Indoor vs Beach Volleyball - what are the differences?
• Volleyball at the Olympics
• Volleyball Major Events
• About the Sport and Science of Volleyball
• Complete List of Sports