Volleyball rulebooks for all occasions!

What are the rules? Well...it depends! Here's a list of all major volleyball rulesets used in the US and abroad.

Rulesets for indoor volleyball

If you're interested in why we have so many rulesets, see Jim McMath's thoughts here.

• USAV (USA Volleyball) Indoor Rules

  These are based on FIVB indoor rules with a few minor departures. There are significant differences between outdoor an indoor rules in USAV and FIVB rulesets! Their rulebook is available online at usavolleyball.org in the Rules/Officials section.

• FIVB Indoor (Federation Internationale de Volleyball)

  FIVB indoor rules govern international volleyball play. They're what most of the planet uses outside of the USA, and they're available on-line for free in the "Volleyball" section of the site.

• NCAA Women's Collegiate Volleyball Rules

  These rules were forked off of the now-defunct NAGWS ruleset in 2003. This is a very wel written rulebook that documents many USAV procedures and rulings that the terser FIVB/USAV wording doesn't explain as well. Their rulebook is available online at ncaa.org in the Publications section. If your officiate USAV, but don't do college, I would still recommend this rulebook as an excellent teaching tool. Kudos to Marcia Alterman.

• NAGWS Rules (National Association of Girls and Women in Sport)

  Based on USA Volleyball rules with a few differences (use of feet, legal insignificant feet over centerline, match protocol). A double contact while playing the first ball with finger action was just made legal for the 1998-99 season. NCAA women's collegiate matches use these rules as do some high schools. Tom Fakehany has assembled an excellent rules differences document that highlights some NAGWS/USAV rule differences along with NF rules.

• NFSHSA Rules (National Federation of State High School Associations)

  High school rules sometimes known as "Federation" or "NF" rules. These developed separately from FIVB, USAV, and NAGWS rules and are currently very different from them. Click here for a list of USAV/NAGWS vs NF differences courtesy of Tom Fakehany. Things like blocking/attacking the serve were legal under these rules...but this has just changed for 1998-99. Also, contacting the ball below the waist is illegal here. They treat first ball contacts differently, and are the only indoor ruleset to have a hard-driven ball clause. Even so, the trend shows that NFSHSA is trying to come in line with USAV to a greater extent.

• CVA (Canadian Volleyball Association)

  These rules are based on FIVB indoor rules with a few additions. CVA Provincial Referee Luc Corbeil <corbeil@UMontreal.CA> of Canada adds:

  ...Since CVA is the only authority for regulations (both recreational and competitive), there are some special points about technical time-outs, rules for bantam, etc... Also, they've included a guideline for 'bloody situations,' which doesn't exist in FIVB rulebook.

  The CVA indoor rulebook is available here.

Rulesets for Beach Volleyball

• USAV Beach rules

  These rules are based on FIVB Beach rules and are used by the now-defunct Women's Professional Volleyball Association, many amateur outdoor tournaments, and in most recreational league play in the United States.

  These rules provide great flexibility. They accommodate 2's, 3's 4's and 6's outdoor competition on sand and grass, with referees, and without. This ruleset is published in the same volume as USAV indoor rules. To get your copy, follow the link above to see the on-line version and for ordering information on the low-cost printed and bound version.

• FIVB Beach rules

  These rules are used on the FIVB international beach volleyball tour. They're not nearly as flexible as the USAV rules--they are written specifically for doubles sand volleyball and assume a full officiating crew and equipment including net antennas. You can download the FIVB beach rules at the link show above--they're free!

• AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals)

  These rules are used by the AVP men's doubles tour in the United States, but one should note that the beach scene has changed a lot in the past couple of years! They are written solely for doubles sand volleyball, and assume the use of a full officiating crew and equipment such as net antennas. This rulebook is brief and is written in very simple language for a broad audience. It does not hold up well to scrutiny, but it does include a handy glossary that defines tricky volleyball terms such as "Ace" "spike" "bump" "dive" and "dig."

  For these reasons, I have been known to refer to this publication as the "AVP Rule and Coloring Book." USAV Beach rules are essentially the same, and provide a far better reference. The AVP rulebook may be purchased fr CBVA (California Beach Volleyball Association)

  These rules are popular on the California beaches, regarded as the defacto standard for how beach volleyball is to be played. They are based heavily on USA Volleyball rules, or vice versa.

• Jersey Shore Volleyball Association (JSVBA)

  As yet another regional US volleyball ruleset, JSVBA rules are maintained independently by rules interpreter Mike Borga. These rules are influenced by FOVA, FIVB, and USAV Beach rules, with a mind towards minimizing the number of rule changes players must endure in hopes of attracting the maximum number of participants to their tournaments. JSVBA is a large organization, reaching 15,000 players. Their "Laws of the game of volleyball" are available on-line at their website.

• CVA (Canadian Volleyball Association)

  These rules are based on FIVB beach rules with a few additions. CVA Provincial Referee Luc Corbeil <corbeil@UMontreal.CA> of Canada adds:

  ...Since CVA is the only authority for regulations (both recreational and competitive), there are some special points about technical time-outs, rules for bantam, etc... Also, they've included a guideline for 'bloody situations,' which doesn't exist in FIVB rulebook.

  The CVA outdoor rulebook is available here.