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Teaching Volleyball Rules The best time to teach the rules of volleyball is during practice. For example, when during a practice game a player makes contact with the net, this would be a good time to stop the game and explain that you cannot contact the net while trying to make a play on the ball. As an international sports program, Special Olympics has both adopted and modified Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Rules. Please refer to the official Special Olympics Sports Rules for the complete listing of volleyball rules as modified and approved by Special Olympics Inc. As coach, it is your responsibility to know and understand the rules of the game and to teach these rules to your players and other coaches. To assist you with this responsibility, listed below are selected rules that govern the sport of volleyball.   Occasionally, the situation will occur where a properly registered team with at least six players on the roster is unable to field six players at any point during a competition due to injury or other problems. Below national level, the Competition Manager may allow that team to continue at their discretion as long as that team would not receive a competitive advantage. Special Olympics Unified Sports® teams may never have more partners than athletes on the floor at the same time.     Court   It is recommended that a regulation-size court be used. However, the Special Olympics modification allows for the service line to be moved closer to the net, but no closer than 4.5 meters (14 feet 9 inches). If a regulation-size court (18 meters by 9 meters, surrounded by a free zone of a minimum of 3 meters wide on all sides ) is unavailable, then modifications may be made to allow for play in a safe manner. In Modified Team Competition, the court may be reduced in size to 7.62 meters (25 feet) wide and 15.24 meters (50 feet) long. The height of the net should be: Men's and coed competition — 2.43 meters (7 feet 11 5/8 inches) Women's competition — 2.24 meters (7 feet 4 1/8 inches) Unified Sports competition — 2.43 meters (7 feet 11 5/8 inches) for men and coed, and 2.24 meters (7 feet 4 1/8 inches) for women   Officials   In competition, teams may be required to furnish one or more officials to function as described below.   1st Referee (R1) The 1st referee is in charge of the match and has the final authority on all matters. The R1 will be on the stand opposite the scorekeeper and will make decisions involving ball handling, lifts, throws, etc. The referee will give decisions with whistle and hand signals. These signals can be found in the FIVB Rulebook. All judgment decisions by the R1 are final.   2nd Referee (R2) The 2nd referee is located on the floor, opposite the R1 and near the team benches and the scorekeeper. The R2 is mainly responsible for control of the net, watching for infractions. The R2 may also assist the R1 on ball handling calls by giving a discreet signal if the R1 is screened or blocked on the play. The R2 may not blow the whistle in this case, but should assist the R1 as needed. The R2 is also responsible for oversight of the scorekeeper and for administering all substitution requests.   Scorekeeper The scorekeeper is responsible for keeping the score sheet according to the rules of the game or other such duties as authorized. It is the duty of the scorekeeper to ensure that the visual scoreboard is accurate.   Libero Tracker For those programs using the Libero provision in the rules, a minor official may be required to track Libero replacements.   Line Judges (LJ) Line judges are an important part of the officiating team. They stand in the left corners (behind the left back position) of the court and assist the R1 with calling the ball in, the ball out and touches as instructed by the R1.   SOOPA The Special Olympics Officials' Program for Athletes (SOOPA) is designed to assist with the development of Special Olympics athletes to be trained in skills necessary to officiate at variable levels of responsibility, consistent with the ability of the athlete. In volleyball, the local Special Olympics affiliate should work closely with the National Governing Body affiliate to encourage a SOOPA official to become certified through the NGB.     Pre-match Meeting   During the pre-match meeting, the R1 will meet with representatives from each team to: Clarify warm-up procedures Explain event/tournament/match rules and facility ground rules Determine which team serves first and from which side of the court they will serve   Start of the Match   When ready, the R1 will instruct the players to line up on the end line. On a signal from the R1, the players will move onto the court and line up in the proper rotation while the R2 verifies their position on the court.     Start of the Set   When all players are in the proper position and both teams are ready to play, the R1 will beckon for the server to serve the ball. The serve beckon will be done with both a whistle and arm motion. Please refer to the FIVB rulebook for details on all the signals used by both officials.     Service Rotation   When the receiving team has gained the right to serve, the players rotate one position clockwise. There are two exceptions to this: In Unified Sports Volleyball, when the serving team has scored three consecutive points they shall rotate one position clockwise and maintain service. The receiving team will NOT rotate. In Modified Team Competition volleyball, a three-point or five-point serving rule will be used. Once a player has scored the three or five points, there will be an automatic loss of possession with the opponent getting ball and service but no point.   Ball In/Ball Out   A ball that lands inside the court or on any part of the line is considered good. A ball that lands outside of the court and completely outside of the line is considered out.     Method of Scoring   Volleyball is played using the Rally Scoring method. Each time a ball is put in play, a point will be awarded. The exception is if the referee directs a replay (a ball from another court comes onto the court, etc.). You do not need to be serving for your team to earn a point.     Time-Outs   Each team may call two time-outs per set, each lasting 30 seconds in duration.     To Win a Set/Match   Teams need to earn 25 points to win the set (the deciding set is played to 15 points). You must win by at least two points. Matches are played either best two out of three sets or best three out of five sets. Please be sure to check with your competition manager for the format of each competition. Some matches may be either shortened or lengthened due to time and/or space considerations.     Sanctions   Yellow Card A warning against a player or coach that results in the opposing team getting a point.   Red Card A sanction against a player or coach that results in an expulsion from the set.   Red/Yellow Card Held Together A sanction against a player or coach that results in a disqualification from the match. The competition manager will decide if the incident requires the player or coach to be out of the tournament.     Common Violations Lift Throw Double hit More than three hits Touching the net while playing the ball Center line violation (under the net) Out of rotation Wrong server Back row attack Service foot fault

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