Volleyball

Volleyball is a 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. It has been part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since Tokyo 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced to the program at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics. The adapted version of volleyball at the Summer Paralympic Games is sitting volleyball. Volleyball was invented in 1895 by the American educator William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Morgan intended the game, which he originally called "mintonette", to be an alternative to basketball that was less physically demanding. It spread rapidly through YMCA networks in the United States and abroad. An international governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), was established in 1947, and the sport grew into a global phenomenon. Its social history has included diverse communities such as Christian members of the YMCA, nudists and, more recently, debates over inclusion and fairness regarding transgender athletes.