Volleyball court specifications vary between the indoor game and the outdoor game. As volleyball is a sport that enjoys worldwide popularity, keeping universal specifications is vital for international play. When one of the major volleyball bodies makes a change in court specifications, the others will generally follow suit to keep the rules the same no matter which part of the world the game takes place.
An indoor volleyball court is 9 meters wide and 18 meters long. The net is placed directly in the middle of the court, which splits the court into two squares that are 9 meters on all sides.
On an indoor court, the attack line is 3 meters from the net. The attack line splits the court into the front row and back row. Players in the back row may not attack the ball if it is higher than the net and they are standing in front of the attack line.
The free zone, which is the space along the sidelines, is 3 meters long. Players are permitted to enter the free zone at any time during play.
Competitive beach volleyball is played on a court that is 8 meters wide and 16 meters long. The beach volleyball courts were previously 30 feet wide and 60 feet long, but the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball switched to the smaller size in 2001. The Association of Volleyball Professionals went to the smaller size in 2002.
The free zone for beach volleyball is a minimum of 3 meters and there must be a minimum of 7 meters of unobstructed space above the sand. For beach volleyball, the free zone also includes the end lines. In FIVB World competitions, the free zone is expanded to 5 meters with a 6-meter maximum. The unobstructed height above the playing court expands to 12 1/2 meters.
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