Olympic Volleyball Fans: 2011

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Competition Formula

Volleyball:

The volleyball Olympic tournament has a very stable competition formula. The following rules apply:

Twelve teams participate in each event.
Host nations are always pre-qualified.
Three teams qualify through the World Cup.
Five teams qualify as winners of continental qualification tournaments.
The three remaining berths are decided in world qualification tournaments.
The competition has two phases.
For the first phase, called qualification round, teams are ranked by the FIVB World Rankings and then divided in two pools of six teams using the serpentine system. The host nation is always ranked 1.
At the qualification round, each team plays one match against all other teams in its pool. Top four teams in each pool advance, the remaining two leave the competition.
At the second phase, usually called final round, teams play quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
For the final round, matches are organized according to the results obtained in the qualification round. Let the top four teams in each pool be A1, A2, A3, A4; B1, B2, B3, B4. Quarterfinals would then be: A1xB4; A2xB3; A3xB2; A4xB1.
Winners of quarterfinals play semifinals as follows: (A1/B4) x (A3/B2); (A2/B3) x (A4xB1).
At the finals, winners of semifinals play for the gold, and losers for the bronze.
The tournament implements very tight line-up restrictions: only twelve players are allowed, and no replacement is permitted, even in case of injuries.

Volleyball is a popular sport invented by William G. Morgan in 1895. Volleyball is managed by Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). Volleyball is part of Olympic Games since 1924. Volleyball competition during London 2012 Olympic will take place from Saturday 28th July to Sunday 12th August at Earls Court. Volleyball fans can have Olympic Volleyball Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange.

Olympics Volleyball Women - History

In 1964, Japan hosted the volleyball Olympic tournamen and won the opening edition. Then they again won against Soviet Union in 1968, 1972 and 1976.The 1980 year was led by an American boycott and left many strong teams like South Koria and Japan out of the game.

Again in 1984, a boycott occurred by Eastern Bloc and many strong team like East Germany, Cuba nad the USSR missed the opurtunity to participate. Anyhow the China won the finals with a great hard work. With eastern and western nations again involved in the Olympics, the USSR obtained a remarkable victory over Peru after trailing 0-2 in 1988’s finals. This was the most dramatic female match according to the official FIVB's first century tape. However, the 1988 games were marred by the boycott of Cuba.

1992 saw a new force go down in Olympic history: organized under the name Unified Team, the remnants of former Soviet Union went as far as the finals, but did not resist the power play of the young, rising Cuban squad. Led by superstars Mireya Luis and Regla Torres, Cuba would eventually set the record for consecutive wins in the Olympic Games by also taking the gold in 1996 and2000.

China again won the finals of 2004, Russia beaten the Brazil and stand Second in the Games in a very great semifinal match.2008 became a year of the Brazil who won the gold medal and China got the bronze.

The twelve editions of the Volleyball Olympic Tournament were won by only five different countries: Brazil, Soviet Union, Cuba, China and Japan.

Olympics Volleyball Men

Soviet Union were the first to win the early two editions of the Volleyball Olympic tournament and third in 1964 and also became the runner-up for the 1968 year. And in 1972 it was the Japan who won the gold medal. In 1976, the introduction of a new offensive skill, the back row attack, helped Poland win the competition over the Soviets in a very tight five-setter.

The American boycotted the the 1980 Summer Olympics because Eastern Bloc’s having the strongest teams than anyothers, but it did not have as great an effect on these events as it had on the women's. The USSR collected their third Olympic gold medal with a 3-1 victory over Bulgaria.

In 1984, With a Soviet-led boycott, the US. confirmed their new volleyball leadership in the Western World by sweeping smoothly over Brazil at the finals. In that edition a minor nation, Italy, won its first medal, but Italy would rise to prominence in volleyball in later years.

After all in 1988, a long-waited confrontation came in between the western and eastern volleyball leaders. USA won the second gold medal by the key players Karch kiraly and Steve Timmons

In 1992, Brazil upset favorites Unified Team, Netherlands, and Italy for a first Olympic championship. Runner-up Netherlands, with Ron Zwerver and Olof van der Meulen, came back in the following edition for a five-set win, again over Italy. In spite of their success in other competitions, Italy did not fare well at the Olympics. After winning bronze in 1996, Serbia and Montenegro, led by Vladimir and Nikola Grbić, beat Russia at the finals in 2000 to secure the gold (in 1996 and 2000 they played under the name Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).

In 2004, Brazil beat Italy in the final, adding a second gold medal to its record and confirming its role as a superpower of 2000s.

In 2008 USA got a wonderfull victory over Brazil in the final match and won the third gold medal for them.

Russia won the bronze for the second time. Gold medals seem more evenly distributed in men's volleyball than in women's:USA and the former Sviet Uniion have three; and Brazil two; the remaining four editions of the Volleyball Olympic Tournament were won each by a different country.

Thursday 23 June 2011

Olympic Volleyball - Videos

Thursday 16 June 2011

Olympic Volleyball - Gallery

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Olympic Volleyball - Volleyball Strategy

Volleyball playing strategies:

    * Setters have the task for orchestrating the offense of the team. They aim for second touch and their main responsibility is to place the ball in the air where the attackers can place the ball into the opponents' court for a point.
    * Liberos are defensive players who are responsible for receiving the attack or serve. They are usually the players on the court with the quickest reaction time and best passing skills. Libero means 'free' as they have the ability to substitute for any other player on the court during each play.
    * Middle blockers or Middle hitters are players that can perform very fast attacks that usually take place near the setter. They are specialized in blocking, since they must attempt to stop equally fast plays from their opponents and then quickly set up a double block at the sides of the court.
    * Outside hitters or Left side hitters attack from near the left antenna. The outside hitter is usually the most consistent hitter on the team and gets the most sets. Inaccurate first passes usually result in a set to the outside hitter rather than middle or opposite.
    * Opposite hitters or Right side hitters carry the defensive workload for a volleyball team in the front row. Their primary responsibilities are to put up a well formed block against the opponents Outside Hitters and serve as a backup setter.

Olympic Volleyball - Volleyball Coaching

Coaching for volleyball can be classified under two main categories: match coaching and developmental coaching. The objective of match coaching is to win a match by managing a team's strategy. Developmental coaching emphasizes player development through the reinforcement of basic skills during exercises known as "drills." A coach construct drills that simulate match situations thereby encouraging speed of movement, anticipation, timing, communication, and team-work. At the various stages of a player's career, a coach will tailor drills to meet the strategic requirements of the team.

Olympic Volleyball - Volleyball Techniques

Volleyball playing techniques:

Serve

Serve
A player stands behind the inline and serves the ball, in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court. A serve is called an "ace" when the ball lands directly onto the court or travels outside the court after being touched by an opponent. many types of serves are like Underhand, Sky Ball Serve, Topspin, Float, Jump Serve and Jump Float.

Set

Set
The set is usually the second contact that a team makes with the ball. The main goal of setting is to put the ball in the air in such a way that it can be driven by an attack into the opponent's court. The setter coordinates the offensive movements of a team, and is the player who ultimately decides which player will actually attack the ball.

Pass

Pass
The pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent's serve, or any form of attack. Proper handling includes not only preventing the ball from touching the court, but also making it reach the position where the setter is standing quickly and precisely.

Attack

Attack
The attack, also known as the spike, is usually the third contact a team makes with the ball. The object of attacking is to handle the ball so that it lands on the opponent's court and cannot be defended. A player makes a series of steps (the "approach"), jumps, and swings at the ball.

Block

Block
Blocking refers to the actions taken by players standing at the net to stop or alter an opponent's attack. A block that is aimed at completely stopping an attack, thus making the ball remain in the opponent's court, is called offensive.

Dig

Dig
Digging is the ability to prevent the ball from touching one's court after a spike or attack, particularly a ball that is nearly touching the ground. In many aspects, this skill is similar to passing, or bumping: overhand dig and bump are also used to distinguish between defensive actions taken with fingertips or with joined arms.

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Olympic Volleyball - Federation Internationale de Volleyball

Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) is the international governing body for the sport of volleyball. Its headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland. The FIVB was founded in Paris, France in 1947. In the late 1940s, some of the European national federations began to address the issue of creating an international governing body for the sport of volleyball. Initial discussions eventually lead to the installation of a Constitutive Congress in 1947. Fourteen national federations representing five different continents attended the meetings where, between April 18 and 20, the entity was officially formed, having Frenchman Mr. Paul Libaud as first president.

Olympic Volleyball - History

The history of Olympic volleyball traces back to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where volleyball was played as part of an American sports demonstration event. After the foundation of FIVB and some continental confederations, it began to be considered for official inclusion. In 1957, a special tournament was held at the 53rd IOC session in Sofia, Bulgaria to support such request. The competition was a success, and the sport was officially included in the program for the 1964 Summer Olympics. The Olympic volleyball tournament was originally a simple competition. The U.S.S.R. won men's gold in both 1964 and 1968. After taking bronze in 1964 and silver in 1968, Japan finally won the gold for men's volleyball in 1972. Women's gold went to Japan in 1964 and again in 1976.

Monday 13 June 2011

Olympic Volleyball - Volleyball Overview

Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. A player on one of the teams begins a 'rally' by serving the ball (tossing or releasing it and then hitting it with a hand or arm), from behind the back boundary line of the court, over the net, and into the receiving team's court. The receiving team must not let the ball be grounded within their court. They may touch the ball as many as three times. Typically, the first two touches are to set up for an attack, an attempt to direct the ball back over the net in such a way that the serving team is unable to prevent it from being grounded in their court. The ball is usually played with the hands or arms, but players can legally strike or push the ball with any part of the body.

Olympic Volleyball - Volleyball Origin

The game of volleyball, originally called “mintonette”, was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, after the invention of basketball by only 4 years. Morgan, a graduate of the Springfield College of the YMCA, designed the game to be a combination of basketball, baseball, tennis and handball. During a demonstration game, someone remarked to Morgan that the players seemed to be volleying the ball back and forth over the net, and perhaps "volleyball" would be a more descriptive name for the sport. Today, volleyball has spread to 211 countries around the world, and is recognized as a truly international, widely played, popular sport. Five years later, Volleyball also spread to Cuba. This international signified the start of the Volleyball era.