volleyball

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Indoor and outdoor team game played on a court between two teams of six players. A net is placed across the centre of the court, and players hit the ball over the net with their hands, the aim being to ground the ball in the opponents' court or force them to hit the ball out of play.

Originally called Mintonette, the game was invented in 1895 by William G Morgan in Massachusetts, USA, as a rival to the newly developed basketball. The playing area measures 18 m/59 ft by 9 m/29 ft 5 in, and the net is set at a height of 2.43 m/8 ft for men and 2.24 m/7 ft 4 in for women. The ball, slightly smaller than a basketball, may not be hit more than three times on one team's side of the net without being hit to the other side. The sport's world governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Volley Ball (FIVB) was established in Paris in 1947. World championships, organized by FIVB, were first held in 1949 for men and 1952 for women, and are held every four years. Volleyball became an Olympic sport in 1964. Beach volleyball, a two-aside version of the game played on a sand court, emerged in California in the early 1930s. The first FIVB-sanctioned beach volleyball world championships took place in Brazil in 1986, and ten years later it became an Olympic event.

The number of stripes changed frequently until around 1800. Red, white, and blue became the colours of liberty and an inspiration for other revolutionary flags around the world. Effective date: 19 February 1937. >>