A Detailed Guide About the Governing Bodies of Volleyball for Beginner Players
The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
Vincent Thomas Lombardi
Source: How they play.
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If you are a beginner player looking to learn about the governing bodies of volleyball, then you’ve come to the right place!
Volleyball is one of the wonderful group sports and it has an international governing body, and each country has their own regulatory body for the sport as well.
In this post, we’ll be looking at the governing bodies of volleyball, top performing countries in both men’s and women’s volleyball, how does the new FIVB ranking system works and much more.
So without any further delay, let’s get started!
Did you know? Volleyball was originally an indoor only sport, and the first beach volleyball match was played in 1930.
Governing Bodies of Volleyball
International Volleyball Federation
The international volleyball federation, also known as Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) is the major governing body that regulates the volleyball matches played internationally and all forms of the sport. It was the first governing body formed in 1947 at Paris to establish the rules and regulations of volleyball for both international and local governing bodies. It works with all the national federations to regulate volleyball and private enterprises to work on making volleyball a truly entertaining sport globally.
The current headquarters (as of 2022 December) of FIVB is located at Lausanne, Switzerland. This is also the governing body for beach volleyball all across the globe. It conducts world championships, world cups, volleyball nations leagues and all kinds of the sport related events and tournaments that includes juniors and young players.
Paul Libaud served as the first president of FIVB. After his retirement in 1964, the headquarters moved to Switzerland from Paris.
The women’s volleyball was introduced in 1952 and it was accepted by FIVB in 1964.
USA Volleyball Federation
the organization that regulates volleyball nationwide in the USA is USA Volleyball. It provides training for all volleyball players and coaches all around the country. USA Volleyball follows a modified version of the FIVB rules.
To deal with the collegiate and high school volleyball events and tournaments, the National Collegiate Athletes Association (NCAA) and the National Federations of High Schools (NFHS) were established respectively. They too follow their own set of rules.
Books Related to Playing Volleyball
The Ultimate Guide to Volleyball For Beginners
The Ultimate Guide to Volleyball Nutrition
Volleyball Tips: Bite-Size Techniques To Boost Your Game
Top 10 Performing Countries in Men’s Volleyball
Here are the top 10 performing countries in men’s volleyball according to FIVB.
- Poland.
- Italy.
- France.
- Brazil.
- Russia.
- The USA.
- Japan.
- Argentina.
- Slovenia.
- Iran.
Top 10 Performing Countries in Women’s Volleyball
Here are the top 10 performing countries in women’s volleyball according to FIVB.
- Serbia.
- Italy.
- Brazil.
- The USA.
- China.
- Japan.
- Turkey.
- Russia.
- Dominican Republic.
- Poland.
How does the FIVB’s New Ranking System Works?
In 2020, FIVB introduced a brand new ranking system in order to rank teams transparently for the qualification-based tournaments. Below, we’ll give you the critical details you need to know about the new ranking system.
- There’s a new algorithm employed to determine the ranking of a team.
- The algorithm will take into consideration the historical data of six match outcomes.
- The data will be taken for 2 competing teams.
- The six match outcomes are 3-0 win, 3-1 win, 3-2 win, 2-3 loss, 1-3 loss and 0-3 loss.
- An expected result will be predicted before the match.
- The predicted result will be matched with the actual match result once it gets over.
- The predicted result will have direct impact on the global rankings of a team.
- Teams earn and lose points based on their performance in a match.
- Before a match, the global ranking points of both competing teams are projected.
- In the predicted result, the team with the highest global ranking points is deemed to win the match.
- If the actual result goes closer to the predicted result, there’ll be a small shift in the global ranking points for both teams.
- If the actual result is further from the predicted result, then the shift in global ranking points will be grater for both teams.
- The match importance factor is also taken into consideration for the global rankings.
- The matches will be categorized as most important and least important.
- Olympic games, world cup, world championship, volleyball nations league, continental championship and volleyball challenger cup will come under the most important matches category.
- The new ranking system makes every match an important one.
- The set scores are considered as important as winning matches.
- After the end of each match, the global ranking scores are updated for both the teams.
- This gives them an up to date score based on their current performance.
- It ensures a fairest qualification system in place for the qualification-based tournaments.
- According to FIVB, this ranking system reflects the real strength of each team.
FAQs on Volleyball
Are You Allowed to Touch the Net with Any Part of Your Body?
No. You aren’t allowed to touch the net with any part of your body.
If you happen to do that knowingly or unknowingly, a point will be awarded to the opponent team.
Can You Hit a Volleyball with a Closed Fist?
Yes. You can hit a volleyball with a closed fist.
But for serving, it’d be much more powerful if you hit the ball with an open fist.
Is Pushing the Ball Deliberately Legal in Volleyball?
No. Deliberate pushing of a ball is illegal in volleyball because of the prolonged nature of the hit.
Also holding, catching, throwing and lifting the ball are all considered illegal in volleyball.
Conclusion
Just like the other sports, volleyball is also governed by both international and national governing bodies.
I hope that you’ve a clear idea of the governing bodies of volleyball.
Want to add your thoughts?
Put them in the comments section below!
Related Posts
An Introduction to Volleyball for Beginners
Do’s and Don’ts of Volleyball as a Beginner Player
10 Things You Should Know About Volleyball as a Beginner Player
LET’S BE SOCIAL!
Very interesting article. Thank you for sharing. I will also share.
Hi Kyle A, thanks for your comment. Glad you’ve enjoyed the post.
This is such an informative article regarding volleyball. I must share this with my daughter’s high school volleyball coach as it will be of interest to the team.
Hi Stephanie, thanks for your comment. Glad you’ve found this post helpful. Very, very happy to know that you decided to share this post with your daughter’s volleyball coach. Don’t forget to let me know what they think of this post as well!
I haven’t played volleyball in many years, but it’s very fun. Great article!
Hi Tom, thanks for your comment. Glad to know that you’ve played volleyball some time ago. Very happy that you’ve enjoyed the post!
I coached volleyball for a couple of years and was an All-State volleyball player in high school and I didn’t know all of this information. Thanks for sharing!
hi Ciara, thanks for your comment. Very glad to know that you’ve coached volleyball for a couple of years at the high school level. Happy that you are able to learn some new information from this post.
Very Interesting guide. Thank you
Hi Amias Yusuf, thanks for your comment. Glad you’ve found this post interesting.
Great post!
Hi Kirsten, thank you.
Love the quote at the top of this post! I’m not overly sporty so didn’t know much about volleyball but this was really interesting! I’m in the UK (not in either top 10 list lol) so maybe that’s why it’s not a sport I’m overly familiar with!
Hi Katherine, thanks for your comment. Glad you’ve enjoyed the quote. Happy you’ve found this post interesting!
Great post! I’ve never played volleyball before but I’ve always wanted to try! I actually didn’t realise it was played in so many different countries, that’s awesome!
Hi Michael james, thanks for your comment. Glad you’ve found this post helpful. If you still have the passion to try playing volleyball, then I encourage you to give it a shot. I am sure you’ll love ythe sport. All the very best!
Great post! I’ve never played volleyball before but I’ve always wanted to try! I actually didn’t realise it was played in so many different countries, that’s awesome!
Hi Danielle, thanks for your comment. Glad you’ve enjoyed this post. Happy to know that you always wanted to play volleyball. Volleyball is played in more than 100 countries. All the very best in your blogging journey!
Volleyball was the most popular sport with the girls in my high school. I once served a perfect game! Granted, it was a family volleyball game but still!
Hi Julie Maloney, thanks for your comment. Glad to know that volleyball was the favorite sport in your girls high-school. Be proud in whatever you’ve done with your volleyball skills be it your family game or any other match. The fact that you’ve performed a perfect serve during a match sounds really good. All the very best in your blogging journey!
Thanks for writing this! I definitely learned a lot about volleyball and I really enjoyed what you wrote. It was interesting to learn about the positions that men’s and women’s U.S. teams held too. I never played on a team but always wanted to especially in high school, so reading about this reminded me of that.
Hi Vanessa, thanks for your comment. Glad that this post brought back some memories about volleyball. Happy that you’ve learned some info about this sport. All the very best in your blogging journey!
Wow, a very detailed article on the governing bodies of volleyball! I love quote up top: “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will”. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jenna, thank you so much for your comment. Glad you’ve enjoyed the post!
My niece is just getting into this sport. Will share with her so she can become more familiar!
Hi Brooke, congratulations to your niece! That’s so kind of you to do that. Thank you so much!
I haven’t played volleyball since high school. This article has encouraged me to try it again – or at least watch it! I found the rules interesting as I don’t remember our PE teachers addressing most of these.
Hi Stephanie, glad to read your comment! Thanks for your kind words. I am so happy that this article rekindled the spirit in you to try this sport once again. All the very best!