Volleyball Court Dimensions For All Levels of Play
As in similar court-based sports, the rules of volleyball designate specific dimensions governing all aspects of the playing arena, from the area of the court itself to the height of the net at center court. These dimensions are laid out in the official rules established by volleyball's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball, or FIVB, which regularly updates and publishes these guidelines for competition.
According to the FIVB, the volleyball court surface must be a symmetrical rectangle, measuring 18 meters (59 feet) long and nine meters (29.5 feet) wide; thus, each side of the net is a nine-meter by nine-meter square. Additionally, there is a free zone, at least three meters wide, that surrounds the court on all sides. The net, which stretches across the center of the court, is raised to a level of 2.43 meters (seven feet, 11 5/8 inches) at its top for men's competition and 2.24 meters (seven feet, four 1/8 inches) for women's matches. Traditionally, a "free playing space," free of all obstructions, exists between the court surface to a height of seven meters above the court surface; in FIVB World and Official competition, this space extends to 12.5 meters above the court surface.
Each side of the court is divided into two areas, and the lines demarcating these areas as well as the edges of the court are to be drawn 5 centimeters wide. On both sides of the net, there is a line stretching across the court at a distance of three meters from the net; this is called the "attack line," and separates each side of court into "back court" and "front court" areas.
Although one might expect the dimensions of the volleyball court to be different at other levels of play, the specifications set forth by the FIVB also pertain to NCAA and high school competition courts. However, the sport of beach volleyball, which is a variation on the traditional game and became part of the Olympic Games in 1996, does have its own unique court dimensions whether it is played outdoors or on an indoor sand court. The beach volleyball court, which accommodates teams of two players to each side, is slightly larger than its traditional counterpart, measuring 16 meters (52 feet, six inches) long and eight meters (26 feet, three inches) wide.
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