Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G.

Morgan,
physical director of the Young Men's Christian Association
(YMCA) in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was designed as an
indoor sport for businessmen who found the new game of
basketball too vigorous.

“ The Image of Volleyball”

“The Origin of Volleyball”
 “THE HISTORY OF VOLLEYBALL”

Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, physical

director of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)
in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was designed as an indoor sport
for businessmen who found the new game
of basketball too vigorous. Morgan called the sport “mintonette,”
until a professor from Springfield College
in Massachusetts noted the volleying nature of play and
proposed the name of “volleyball.” The original rules were
written by Morgan and printed in the first edition of the Official
Handbook of the Athletic League of the Young Men’s Christian
Associations of North America (1897). The game soon proved to
have wide appeal for both sexes in schools, playgrounds, the
armed forces, and other organizations in the United States, and
it was subsequently introduced to other countries.
In 1916 rules were issued jointly by the YMCA and the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The first
nationwide tournament in the United States was conducted by
the National YMCA Physical Education Committee in New York
City in 1922. The United States Volleyball Association (USVBA)
was formed in 1928 and recognized as the rules-making,
governing body in the United States. From 1928 the USVBA—
now known as USA Volleyball (USAV)—has conducted annual
national men’s and senior men’s (age 35 and older) volleyball
championships, except during 1944 and 1945. Its women’s
division was started in 1949, and a senior women’s division (age
30 and older) was added in 1977. Other national events in the
United States are conducted by member groups of the USAV
such as the YMCA and the NCAA.
Volleyball was introduced into Europe by American troops
during World War I, when national organizations were formed.
The Fédération Internationale de Volley Ball (FIVB) was
organized in Paris in 1947 and moved to Lausanne, Switzerland,
in 1984. The USVBA was one of the 13 charter members of the
FIVB, whose membership grew to more than 210 member
countries by the late 20th century.
International volleyball competition began in 1913 with the first Far East
Games, in Manila. During the early 1900s and continuing until
after World War II, volleyball in Asia was played on a larger court, with a
lower net, and nine players on a team.

The FIVB-sponsored world volleyball championships (for men only in

1949; for both men and women in 1952 and succeeding years) led to
acceptance of standardized playing rules and officiating. Volleyball
became an Olympic sport for both men and women at the 1964 Olympic
Games in Tokyo.

European championships were long dominated by

Czechoslovakian, Hungarian, Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, and
Soviet (later, Russian) teams. At the world and Olympic
level, Soviet teams have won more titles, both men’s and
women’s, than those of any other nation. Their success
was attributed to widespread grassroots interest and well-
organized play and instruction at all levels of skill. A highly
publicized Japanese women’s team, Olympic champions in 1964,
reflected the interest of private industry in sport. Young women
working for the sponsoring company devoted their free time to
conditioning, team practice, and competition under expert and
demanding coaching. Encouraged by the Japanese Volleyball
Association, this women’s team made its mark in international
competition, winning the World Championship in 1962, 1966,
and 1967, in addition to the 1964 Olympics. At the end of the
20th century, however, the Cuban women’s team dominated both
the World Championships and the Olympics.
The Pan American Games (involving South, Central, and North
America) added volleyball in 1955,
and Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, and the United States are
frequent contenders for top honours. In Asia, China, Japan, and
Korea dominate competition. Volleyball, especially beach
volleyball, is played in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout
the South Pacific.
A four-year cycle of international volleyball events,
recommended by the FIVB, began in 1969 with World Cup
championships, to be held in the year following the Olympic
Games; the second year is the World Championships; in the third
the regional events are held (e.g., European
championships, Asian Games, African Games, Pan American
Games); and in the fourth year the Olympic Games.
 Beach volleyball—usually played, as its name implies, on a sand
court with two players per team—was introduced in California in
1930. The first official beach volleyball tournament was held in
1948 at Will Rogers State Beach, in Santa Monica, California,
and the first FIVB-sanctioned world championship was held in
1986 at Rio de Janeiro. Beach volleyball was added to the roster
of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia
Submitted by:
Kert-James S. Buscay
Submitted to:
Jerby Philander Baronda Sevilleno