This was How Volleyball was Introduced Facts and

Information About the Game

The game of volleyball, originally called mintonette, was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan after
the invention of basketball only four years before. Morgan, a graduate of the Springfield College of the
YMCA, designed the game to be a combination of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball.
The first volleyball net, borrowed from tennis, was only 66 high (though you need to remember that
the average American was shorter in the nineteenth century).
The offensive style of setting and spiking was first demonstrated in the Philippines in 1916. Over the
years that followed, it became clear that standard rules were needed for tournament play, and thus
the USVBA (United States Volleyball Association) was formed in 1928.

Latest Volleyball News from the NCAA and NAIA.

Two years later, the first two-man beach volleyball game was played, though the professional side of
the sport did not emerge until much later. Not surprisingly, the first beach volleyball association
appeared in California (1965), and the professional players united under the auspices of the AVP
(American Volleyball Professionals) in 1983.
During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, American men and women took gold and silver medals in
indoor volleyball competitions. Four years later at the Olympics in Korea, the men once again scored
gold. Starting in 1996, two-man beach volleyball was officially introduced to the Olympics. Today,
there are more than 800 million volleyball players worldwide, 46 million of them in the U.S.

Timeline of Significant Volleyball Events

In 1900, a special ball was designed for the sport.
In 1916, in the Philippines, an offensive style of passing the ball in a high trajectory to be struck by
another player (the set and spike) were introduced.
In 1917, the game was changed from 21 to 15 points.
In 1920, three hits per side and back row attack rules were instituted.
In 1922, the first YMCA national championships were held in Brooklyn, NY. Twenty-seven teams from
11 states were represented.
In 1928, it became clear that tournaments and rules were needed, so the United States Volleyball
Association (USVBA, now USA Volleyball) was formed. The first U.S. Open was staged, as the field
was open to non-YMCA squads.
In 1930, the first two-man beach game was played.
In 1934, national volleyball referees were approved and recognized.
In 1937, at the AAU convention in Boston, action was taken to recognize the U.S. Volleyball
Association as the official national governing body in the U.S.

In 1947, the Federation Internationale De Volley-Ball (FIVB) was founded.

In 1948, the first two-man beach tournament was held.
In 1949, the initial World Championships were held in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
In 1964, volleyball was introduced to the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
In 1965, the California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) was formed.
In 1974, the World Championships in Mexico were telecast in Japan.
In 1975, the U.S. National Womens team began a year-round training regime in Pasadena, Texas
(moved to Colorado Springs in 1979, Coto de Caza and Fountain Valley, CA, in 1980, and San Diego,
CA, in 1985).
In 1977, the U.S. National Mens Team began a year-round training regime in Dayton, Ohio (moved to
San Diego, CA, in 1981).
In 1983, the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was formed.
In 1984, the U.S. won their first medals at the Olympics in Los Angeles. The men won the gold, and
the women the silver.
In 1986, the Womens Professional Volleyball Association (WPVA) was formed.
In 1988, the U.S. men repeated the gold in the Olympics in Korea.
In 1990, the World League was created.
In 1995, the sport of volleyball was 100 years old!
In 1996, two-person beach volleyball became an Olympic sport.

Although many people assume that softball was derived from baseball, the sports first game actually
came about because of a football game. The history of softball dates back to Thanksgiving Day of
1887, when several alumni sat in the Chicago, Illinois Farragut Boat Club, anxiously awaiting the
outcome of the Yale versus Harvard football game. When Yale was announced as winner, a Yale
alumnus playfully threw a boxing glove at a Harvard supporter. The Harvard fan swung at the balledup glove with a stick, and the rest of the group looked on with interest. George Hancock, a reporter for
the Chicago Board of Trade, jokingly called out, Play ball! and the first softball game commenced
with the football fans using the boxing glove as a ball and a broom handle in place of a bat.
Due to the initial excitement surrounding the game, the Farragut Boat Club decided to officially devise
their own set of rules, and the game quickly leaked to outsiders in Chicago and, eventually,
throughout the rest of the Midwestern U.S. As the history of softball shaped itself over the next
decade, the game went under the guise of indoor baseball, kitten baseball, diamond ball, mush
ball, and pumpkin ball. In 1926, Walter Hakanson coined the term softball while representing the

YMCA at a National Recreation Congress meeting, and by 1930, the term stuck as the sports official
name.
In 1934, the Joint Rules Committee on Softball collaborated to create a set of standardized rules. Up
until this point, the game was being played with varied rules, player positions, and ball sizes. The
original softball used by the Farragut Boat Club was 16 inches in circumference. However, Lewis
Rober Sr., the man responsible for organizing softball games for firefighters in Minneapolis, used a
12-inch ball. Robers ball won out as the preferred softball size, and professional softball games today
are played using a 1012-inch ball. However, many Chicagoans still hold fast to the belief that real
softball is played using a 16-inch ball. Games using these 16-inch balls are often referred to as
cabbage ball, super slow pitch, and mush ball, and unlike competitive softball, players are not
allowed to wear fielding gloves.
While the sport was originally advertised as an indoor game for baseball players looking to maintain
their dexterity during the off season, it gained so much popularity and recognition that it quickly
became its own official sport. In 1991, womens fast pitch softball was added to the roster of the 1996
Summer Olympicsa landmark many people recognize as the ultimate success of a sport. Although
softball was later dropped from the 2012 Summer Olympics lineup, the game is still one of the most
popular participant sports in the United States and 113 countries have officially joined the
International Softball Federation since the organizations formation in 1952.
According to the official rules developed early in the history of softball, and eventually defined by the
International Softball Federation, there are nine players on the field at a time. The players take the
positions of pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, and
outfielder. Usually, there are three outfielders holding the positions of right fielder, left fielder, and
center fielder. However, slow pitch softball allows for a fourth person in the outfield. Similar to
baseball, the team with the most runs at the end of the seventh inning is named the winner. However,
if the teams are tied at the end of the seventh inning, the game can go into extra innings, until the tie
is broken.
Today, softball is one of the most popular sports in the country, and an estimated 40 million
Americans engage in at least one softball game each year. Because it can be played on either a field
or an indoor arena, softball games are played year round and involve teams with players as young as
8 years old and some players over 60 years in age. Softball is sometimes played by corecreational
leagues, where both women and men play on the same teams, but the rules are generally modified to
reduce physical inequalities between the sexes. Often, companies and organizations form amateur
coed teams to play for benefits and charity fund-raiser events.
The history of softball is still unfolding, and the game has undergone numerous modifications since its
creation in 1887, but it is still one of the most preferred sports games in the country and has
developed a following in several countries throughout the world, especially in Australia, China, and
Japan. Loved by amateurs and professionals of all ages and athletic backgrounds, the world can only
anticipate what is in store for the future of Americas other favorite pastime.

Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan as a less-strenuous alternative to basketball for
middle-aged men. The sport began as a loose conglomeration of several other sports, incorporating
equipment and ideas from badminton, tennis and basketball. As the game developed, the court and
equipment used became uniquely refined to meet the specific needs of the sport.
History
Morgans original game used the rubber bladder out of a basketball as the first volleyball, which was hit over a
badminton net that was suspended 6 feet off of the ground. The court was divided into two 25-foot square
halves, and each team was allowed to have as many players as could fit on the court. Roughly one year after the
sport was created, Spalding designed the first official volleyball, and by 1900 the ball used became more or less
standardized. By 1928, the United States Volleyball Association was established to oversee the sport and ensure
that standards were established for all court and equipment usage.
Court
Today, courts must meet the specifications set forth by USA Volleyball and the international governing body,
FIVB. Indoor courts must measure 18 meters long by 9 meters wide and have an attack area demarcated 3
meters back from the centerline. The lines used on the court should not be any wider than 5 cm. A free space
measuring 2 meters in any direction is recommended around the playing area of the court to prevent any
accidental obstructions of play. Above the highest point of the net, there should be at least 7 meters of space to
allow the ball free travel, though 12 meters is recommended.
Ball
The ball used for volleyball is smaller than the basketball bladder that was used originally. For indoor
volleyball, it should have a circumference between 65 and 67 cm when fully inflated to an inner pressure
between 4.3 and 4.6 lbs. psi. Once inflated, the ball must weigh between 260 and 280 g. During FIVB
competitions and world events, three balls are used and must meet the same standards as the other balls before
being approved for play.
Net
Net height can vary depending on the age of the players and the class of volleyball being played. The standard
height used for men over the age of 15 is 2.43 meters measured from the lowest point of the net to the court
floor. For women over the age of 13, the standard measurement is 2.24 meters. The net extends to each of the
sidelines on the court and should be the same height at both sidelines. The net itself is 1 meter wide. At either
end of the net, an antenna is attached that is 10 mm in diameter and extends 1.8 meters above the net. These
antennae are considered part of the net and are used to delineate the vertical crossing space.
Beach
The beach variant of volleyball began in the 1940s. While many of the rules and specifications of this format
are the same as indoor volleyball, there are some differences. The court used in beach volleyball is slightly
smaller, measuring 16 meters by 8 meters. The ball also is increased in size to a circumference between 66 and
68 cm. The average net height for men and women stays the same.

Basic Softball Equipment List

by James Patterson, Demand Media

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Overview
Softball is played on many levels throughout the United States, including recreational
leagues, high school, college and even professional leagues. Even a group of friends
wanting to play a game of softball can do so with an open space and the right basic
pieces of equipment, which can be found at many sports equipment stores.
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Ball
A game of softball is nothing without, well, the ball. A softball is slightly larger than a
regular baseball, and varies in size depending on the type of league. For instance, in
recreational coed leagues, different sized balls are used for men and women. Since a
smaller ball travels farther, many leagues use two balls in one game, the smaller for the
women, who tend to hit shorter, and the larger ball for the men. A regulation sized
softball for the American Softball Association is yellow and measures 12 inches in
diameter.

Bat
Aluminum and other metal materials are used to make the bats used in the game of
softball since the ball comes off faster than on a wood bat. This allows hitters at lower
skill levels to still be able to compete in the game of softball. Bats used in the ASA must
have passed certain performance standards. One of those standards is that bats

manufactured after 2004 must not allow the ball to come off the bat at more than 98
miles per hour when hit.

Bases and Field

For organized softball, raised bases are used, which runners must touch in order to
advance around the base paths. Home plate, which is a flat piece of plastic in a pentagon
shape, is flush with the ground, and which must be stepped on or touched by players in
order to score a run. The field of play is marked by white lines and extends out to a fence
or other similar structure marking the end of the field. Balls hit over this fence are
considered a home run.

Additional Equipment
Some players choose to use equipment that is not required in order to play the game of
softball, but may help them perform better. While the rules do not require fielders to
wear gloves, almost all do in order to help field the ball. Many batters also use batting
gloves, which are more like regular gloves and help reduce the amount of impact on the
hands as the ball strikes the bat, and also help improve grip on the bat. Players in
competitive leagues also frequently wear cleated shoes, which help not only gain
traction in the outfield, but help the runner avoid slipping while running between bases.
Helmets are also worn by batters and runners as well as catchers to help avoid injury.