Volleyball - Variants

Volleyball is a very versatile sport and can be modified to suit us. It can be played both indoors and outdoors. Here are some popular variants of volleyball played to improve fitness or just for fun.

Beach Volleyball

Beach Volleyball is very popular and is played between two teams of two players each. Though it is inspired from volleyball, it is officially recognized by FIVB as a separate sport. A game inspired from beach volleyball is played in an indoor sand court and is called as indoor sand volleyball.

Sepak Takraw

This is a very ancient game played centuries ago in Philippines, Indonesia and Laos and is popular across Asia. The rules are very similar to that of volleyball, except that players don’t use their hands but shoot a traditional rattan ball with their heads, torsos and legs.

Shooting Volleyball

This is an Indian variant of volleyball and is also played in parts of Pakistan. An extra seventh player in each team stays near the net and is called the net man. He shoots the ball as high as possible and tempts the opponents into making a fault. The ball is similar to handball and the court has the dimensions 35 x 70 ft.

Sitting Volleyball

This players sit and play volleyball in a smaller 10 x 6 meter court. Though players sit during the game, it is an interesting fast paced game and required good stamina and skill. Sitting volleyball event for men and women is included in Summer Paralympics.

Aquatic Volleyball

Aquatic volleyball is played in shallow swimming pools or shallow beaches. It is also called pool volleyball or aquapolo.

Other variations

There are other variations of volleyball like Wally ball, nine-man; played across Asia and the United States. Some of these were traditionally played and some evolved to suit their preferences. These games are played with different kinds of balls, hand balls, medicine balls etc. Some of these are played in courts of different measurements, some even in a racquetball court. Some others are played with more players.