Traditional volleyball has given way to many variations, most of which are played at the recreational level. A popular form of volleyball is coed, or mixed teams volleyball, which allows for men and women to play together on the same team. There are several versions of the rules that have developed, including regular coed, which sets the net at men's height, and reverse coed, which places the net at women's height.
Creation
Volleyball was created at the YMCA of Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1895 by instructor William G. Morgan. Basketball had quickly gained popularity in the area since its creation only four years early in nearby Springfield, and Morgan wanted to devise a sport that would be fitting for the older businessmen he commonly trained. Using a tennis net and borrowing rules from tennis and handball, Morgan created a game he called mintonette. During a demonstration, an onlooker suggested that volleyball would be a more suitable name because of the volleying of the ball back and forth over the net.
Global Popularity
Between 1900 and 1917, the game was spread to Asia, Canada, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Uruguay by YMCA workers who taught volleyball at their missionary schools. Volleyball was a featured event at the first Far Eastern Championship Games, a multi-sport, eight-day competition that led to the creation of the Asian Games. The aggressive setting and spiking technique was invented in the Philippines in 1916, where it was referred to as a "bomba," or kill.
Creation of Standard Rules
The rapid growth in popularity made it apparent that a set of standard rules was necessary for volleyball. In 1916, the YMCA asked the NCAA to aid in editing the rules of the sport. In that same year, volleyball was added to school and college physical education and intramural programs. The sport continued to spread and in 1922, Brooklyn, New York, hosted the first YMCA national volleyball championship. In 1928, the United States Volleyball Association was formed to provide tournaments and rules, and in 1937 the USVBA was officially recognized as the governing body of volleyball in the United States.
Introduction of Mixed Teams
As the sport became more competitive, new techniques were introduced and variations began to emerge. These new variations often make the sport more accessible to different demographics, as in the case of sitting volleyball, and mixed crowds, such as coed volleyball.
Although the International Federation of Volleyball, which governs international volleyball, does not provide rules for coed games, the United States volleyball organization has standardized the sport. According to USA Volleyball rules, the movement and blocking of male players is restricted in reverse volleyball and men cannot attack the ball over the height of the net. Regular coed requires that if a team touches the ball more than once, a women must make one of the contacts. The movement of women is not restricted in regular play.
Standard professional play does not allow for mixed teams, although a professional coed league was attempted by the International Volleyball Association from 1975 to 1979. There are a number of casual city and state coed leagues available across the country.
Member Comments