| 1896 |
After
a demonstration given at the YMCA in nearby
Springfield, the name "Mintonette"
was replaced with "Volleyball". |
| 1900 |
The
rules as modified by W.E. Day were accepted
and published by the YMCA. The height of the
net went up to 7 feet 6 inches. Match length
was set at 21 points.
Canada was the first "foreign"
country to adopt Volleyball. |
| 1906 |
Cuba
discovered 6 Volleyball in 1906, thanks to a
North American army officer, Agusto York, who
took part in the second military intervention
on this Caribbean island. |
| 1908 |
Volleyball
reached Japan. It was Hyozo Omori, a
Springfield College "graduate" in
the United States, who first demonstrated the
rules of the new game on the YMCA courts in
Tokyo. |
| 1910 |
Volleyball
officially landed in China, thanks to Max
Exner and Howard Crokner. Up until 1917, play
was between 16-man teams and went to 21
points.
The Philippines too got to know the new game.
It was imported by the YMCA director in
Manila, Elwood Brown. In a very short time
there were 5,000 public and private courts.
In the USA, decisive impetus was given to the
game by Prevost Idell, YMCA director in
Germantown. |
| 1912 |
The
court size was changed, becoming 35 x 60 feet.
A uniform size and weight of the ball was
established, calling for a circumference of 26
inches and a weight of between 7 and 9 ounces.
Two other important innovations: the number of
players on each team was set at six; and it
was decided to rotate players before service. |
| 1913 |
Volleyball
was put on the programme for the first Far
Eastern Games held in Manila. Teams were made
up of 16 players. |
| 1914 |
George
Fisher, secretary of the YMCA War Office,
included Volleyball in the recreation and
education programme for the American armed
forces. |
| 1915 |
The
number of players on court again became
variable - being anything from 2 to 6 for each
team. Official game time was introduced, and
it was decided that the team losing a game had
the right to begin serving in the next game.
In Europe, Volleyball arrived on the French
beaches of Normandy and Brittany with American
soldiers fighting in the First World War. Its
popularity grew rapidly, but the game took
root especially in the Eastern countries,
where the cold climate made gym sports
particularly attractive.
The opening days of World War I brought
Volleyball to Africa. The first country to
learn the rules was Egypt. |
| 1916 |
Many
new rules were established. The score for a
"game" dropped from 21 to 15, and it
was determined that to win a match a team had
to win two out of three "games". The
ball could be hit even with a player's feet.
Net height rose to 8 feet, while ball weight
climbed from 8 to 10 ounces. It was decided
that holding on to the ball would be a foul
and that a player could not have contact with
the ball a second time until after it had been
played by another athlete.
Volleyball became a part of the programme of
the NCAA, the body that oversees college and
university sports in the USA. |
| 1917 |
At the
Allied Forces air base in Porto Corsini, just
where Ravenna's sports palace is now located,
American airmen introduced the virus of
Volleyball into Italy. |
| 1918 |
The
number of players per team was set at six.
In Japan, the first High School Championship
was played. |
| 1919 |
During
the First World War, Dr. George J. Fisher, as
Secretary of the YMCA War Work Office, made
Volleyball a part of the programme in military
training camps, both in the USA and abroad, in
the Athletic Handbooks written for those
responsible for sport and recreation in the
Army and Marines. Thousands of balls and nets
were sent overseas to the US troops and were
also presented to the Allied Army's sports
directors. More than 16,000 volleyballs were
distributed in 1919 to the American
Expeditionary Corps Forces only. The
Inter-Allied Games were organized in Paris
(but Volleyball was not included since the
game was not yet known sufficiently well in
the 18 participating Allied countries to allow
for a balanced competition).
In China the rules were modified. Play became
12 against 12, and a match went to 15 points. |
| 1920 |
Court
size went down to 30 x 60 feet, and the ball
could be played by any other part of the body
above the waist. A major innovation involved
the rule allowing a team to play a ball no
more than three times before sending it over
the net.
The Philippines developed the first kind of
spike. It was known as the "Filipino
bomb"; and it was a pretty lethal weapon
in its day.
The first spontaneous tries at blocking made
their appearance, although not yet codified by
the rules.
Volleyball made its first official appearance
in Russia in the cities of the Volga - Gorky
and Kazan - and at the same time in Khabarovsk
and Vladivostok (Russian Far East). |
| 1922 |
Players
in the back line were not permitted to spike.
The "double hit" fault was added to
the rules. Scoring rules were also changed,
providing that, with the score at 14-14, 2
consecutive points were needed to win.
The maximum number of consecutive ball
contacts per team was set at three. The first
national federation was founded in
Czechoslovakia, quickly followed by Bulgaria.
The first national championship was played in
the USA, in which only YMCA teams competed.
Volleyball gained in popularity in Italy too,
thanks to Guido Graziani, a Springfield YMCA
"graduate". |
| 1923 |
A team
was to be made up of 6 players on court and 12
official substitutes, and each player had to
have a numbered jersey. The team securing the
right to serve was to rotate clockwise. The
serve was to be made by the player placed on
the right in the back line. If a player
touched the adversary's court during play it
was a foul. Minimum ceiling height was set at
15 feet.
The official birthday of Volleyball in
Russia was 28 July 1923 when the match of
men's team High Art and Theatre Workshop (Vhutemas)
and State Cinema Technical School (GTK) was
played in Moscow. |
| 1924 |
The Olympic Games in Paris. The programme
included a demonstration of "American"
sports, and Volleyball was among these.
|
| 1925 |
Two time-outs per game for each team became
the rule. There was also a change in the scoring
rules for the most hotly contested sets: at 14-14,
to win it was no longer necessary to score two
consecutive points, but rather to have a two-point
advantage. Once again the ball weight was modified,
from 9 to 10 ounces.
Volleyball was played for the first time in the
Netherlands. After a stay at the Seminary of Techny
in Illinois, USA, Father S. Buis introduced the
sport to the Sint Willibrod mission house in Uden
and had a few courts set up there. |
| 1926 |
Net length was set at feet. A team reduced
to less than 6 players was considered defeated by
forfeit.
|
| 1927 |
The Japanese Federation was born and 9 men's
competitions were organised.
In Russia, there was a "political"
reaction by the Communist Party against the YMCA as
a "capitalistic, bourgeois, and religious"
organization, and it was obliged to leave the
country, but Volleyball was there to stay.
China adopted the 9-player-per-team system, the
same used in Japan. |
| 1928 |
The U.S. Volleyball Association was founded
basically under YMCA principles as a leisure sport.
|
| 1929 |
Cuba organized the first men's tournament
according to the "American" rules at the
Caribbean and Central American Games. Between the
two World Wars, great efforts were made to give
unity to the Volleyball movement by establishing a
single set of rules and creating an international
federation. These were just first efforts, with
nothing concrete being done.
|
| 1932 |
Time-outs were limited to one minute. To
make a play, an athlete could step off his own
court; but he could not change position in the
starting line-up. |
| 1933 |
The first national championship was held in
the USSR, where there were already over 400,000
players. For Soviet Volleyball, it was the year of
enshrinement. In January, a challenge between Moscow
and Dnepropetrovsk was played on no less important a
stage than that of the Bolshoi Theatre! |
| |
Literature plays an important role in the
diffusion of ideas and information and allowed
people with a common interest to get together. The
book entitled Volleyball: Man's Game by Robert E.
Laveaga, published by A S Barnes & Co of New
York, made an important impact on teaching methods
and scientific training techniques. Volleyball for
Women by Katherine M. Montgomery was also very
useful for teaching the game. |
| 1934 |
The first concrete steps to establish
international relations in Volleyball were taken
during the International Handball Federation
Congress in Stockholm. |
| 1935 |
Crosses were to be marked on the floor to
determine player position. Touching the net was to
be considered a foul. An important rule involved
spikers: it was forbidden to step off the court as
long as the ball is in play on the spiker's side (it
had been customary for spikers waiting for a set to
take a running start from way off and then leap from
one foot). In Tashkent and Moscow, the USSR played
the first official international matches against
Afghanistan. |
| 1937 |
Multiple ball contacts were permitted in
defence against particularly violent spikes.
|
| 1938 |
The Czechs perfected blocking which was
officially introduced into the rules under the
concept of "a counteraction at the net by one
or two adjacent players". For almost twenty
years, blocking had been a part of the game, but was
not spelled out in the rules. The Czechs were the
first (and soon followed by the Russians) to
attribute decisive importance to the new skill,
which facilitates the ungrateful task of volleying
defences.
|
| 1939 |
How to push for homogeneous rules throughout
the world? The Annual USVBA Reference Guide and the
Official Rules of the Game of Volleyball gave useful
information on the game and provided a forum where
experiences and ideas emanating from different
sources could be exchanged. During the War,
thousands of these guides were used throughout the
world.
|
| 1940 |
William G. Morgan, the creator of
Volleyball, died at the age of 68. A man of high
moral standards, Morgan suffered no pangs of
jealousy and continued to follow with enthusiasm the
progress of his game, convinced that real
Volleyball, for real athletes, would be a success. |
| 1941 |
In several countries, including Italy,
experiments were made with a system of timed play.
Two 20-minute sets were played (with supplementary
time in case of a tie). But after various and
prolonged trials, the experiments were abandoned,
but taken up again in the United States at the close
of the Second World War. Another innovation was
time-limit Volleyball, whereby a game lasted 8
minutes of actual play. To win, a team had to have
either a two-point advantage at the end of the 8
minutes or have been the first to score 15 points.
But even here, the idea found little acceptance.
|
| 1942 |
The ball could be played by any part of the
body from the knees up.
Everywhere from the South Pacific to the Finnish
front, Volleyball drew crowds among the troops
engaged in the Second World War, even aboard
aircraft carriers. Volleyball was recommended by
Chiefs of Staff for training the troops, believing
it kept them in condition, strengthened their
morale, and taught them how to stay together as a
group - something essential at that point of the
War. 1943 During the summer of 1943, Mr. Friermood
joined the management of the United States YMCA and
quickly became Secretary/Treasurer of the USVBA and
worked closely with Dr. Fisher, its President.
Through international YMCA contacts in more than 80
countries and also military personnel around the
world, communications were established and began to
produce information on the interpretation and
development of Volleyball and those who were
managing it. Correspondence with the Polish managers
during the War drew attention to the post-war
endeavours to establish an international Volleyball
organization.
|
| 1945 |
First postage stamp on a Volleyball subject
issued in Rumania. |
| 1946 |
In January, the Spartak Prague team went to
play in Poland, signalling a resumption after the
War years of contacts aimed at creating an
international Volleyball organization. On the
occasion of a friendly match between the Czech and
French national teams on 26 August, a meeting was
held in Prague between representatives of the
federations of Czechoslovakia, France, and Poland.
The meeting produced the first official document of
the future FIVB, with the creation of a commission
for the organization of the International
Federation, the promotion of a constituent congress,
and the decision to launch a European or world
championship at an early date. |
| 1947 |
Only front-line players were allowed to
exchange positions for a two-player block and spike.
Egypt was the first Arab and African country to
organize Volleyball activities and establish a
national federation.
From 18 to 20 April in Paris, 14 federations
founded the FIVB, with the headquarters in Paris.
Frenchman Paul Libaud was the first President.
American and European rules of the game were
harmonized. The court was to measure 9 x 18 meters;
and net height was to be 2,43 meters for the men and
2,24 for the women.
Only in Asia, the rules were different: the court
had to measure 21,35 x 10,67 meters, and the net was
to be 2,28 m high for the men and 2,13 for the
women; there was no rotation of players and on court
there were 9 athletes arranged in three lines.
|
| 1948 |
First European Championship held in Rome and
won by Czechoslovakia. After the War, the rules were
rewritten and clarified to make interpretation
easier. In particular, a better definition was given
to the idea of blocking, and service was limited to
the right third of the back court boundary. It was
also made clear that each player had to be in his
right place during service; points scored by the
wrong server were to be nullified; simultaneous
contacts by two players were to be considered one;
time-outs were to last one minute, while time-out
due to injury could last five minutes; and rest time
between one game and another was set at three
minutes. |
| 1949 |
The first Men's World Championship was held
in Prague and won by the USSR. This was also the
first time a setter penetrated from the back line,
leading to a three-player attack.
|
| 1951 |
At its 3rd Congress, the FIVB decided that a
player's hands could "invade" at the net
during blocking but only in the final phases of
spiking. Furthermore, a back-line player could
spike, providing that he remained in his zone and
did not move up to the front line.
China began to participate in international
tournaments.
|
| 1952 |
The first Women's World Championship was
held in Moscow and won by the USSR.
|
| 1953 |
At its 4th Congress, the FIVB defined
referee action and terminology. The Chinese
Federation was born.
|
| 1954 |
The Asian Confederation was founded in
Manila. |
| 1955 |
At the FIVB Congress in Florence, the
Japanese Federation adopted the international rules
and committed itself to gradually introducing them
in Asia.
The 1st Asian Championship was played in Tokyo;
both 6- and 9-player tournaments were scheduled.
Volleyball was put on the programme for the
Panamerican Games.
|
| 1956 |
First issue of the official FIVB bulletin
published. The first truly globe-spanning World
Championship was held in Paris, France (with 24
men's teams from 4 continents). Czechoslovakia (for
the men) and the USSR (women) won the coveted titles
in Paris.
|
| 1957 |
Consideration was given to the introduction
of a second referee; duration of time-outs was
limited to one minute 30 seconds. During the 53rd
IOC session in Sofia, Bulgaria from 22 to 26
September, a demonstration tournament was played for
the IOC members who then decided to include
Volleyball on the programme for the Games
celebrating the XVII Olympiad in Tokyo, 1964. |
| 1958 |
Once again it was the Czechs who introduced
a new defensive hit - the bagger - which amazed the
spectators at the European Championship in Prague. |
| 1959 |
At the FIVB Congress in Budapest it was
decided to forbid "screening" on the serve
and to limit "invasion" at the net onto
the opponent's court to the whole foot. |
| 1960 |
For the first time, a World Championship
(the men's) was played outside of Europe (in
Brazil). Victory went to the USSR, both the men and
the women. |
| 1961 |
The idea of Mini Volleyball was born in East
Germany. |
| 1962 |
The World Championships were played in
Moscow. The USSR men confirmed their leadership,
while it was a first victory for the Japanese women. |
| 1963 |
The European Confederation was founded on
October 21st.
|
| 1964 |
New rules on blocking: airborne invasion
during blocking was prohibited, while blockers were
permitted a second hit. The first Olympic Volleyball
tournaments were played in Tokyo during the Olympic
Games from 13 to 23 October, with 10 men's teams and
6 women's teams. The gold medal for the men went to
the USSR, and the women's to Japan.
|
| 1965 |
The first men's World Cup was played in
Poland and won by the USSR.
|
| 1966 |
The first scientific symposium was held in
Prague on the occasion of the men's World
Championship, won by Czechoslovakia.
|
| 1967 |
The first African Continental Championship
was played; the African Zone Commission was founded.
The women's World Championship, scheduled a year
after the men's, was played in Tokyo and won once
again by Japan.
|
| 1968 |
The use of antennas to limit the court air
space and facilitate the referee's decision on ball
crossing outside the side line was recommended to
the Congress in Mexico. The USSR took home two
Olympic gold medals.
|
| 1969 |
A Coaches Commission was established. The
FIVB recognized its fifth Continental Sport Zone
Commission when NORCECA was born in Mexico, July 26
with the merging of USA, Canada and the countries
joining to form the North Central American and
Caribbean Confederation (NORCECA). The first NORCECA
Championships took place in Mexico.
In Berlin, East Germany won the second edition of
the men's World Cup. |
| 1970 |
The World Championships in Bulgaria:
victorious were the GDR men and the USSR women.
|
| 1971 |
The first FIVB coaching courses were held in
Japan and Egypt.
The FIVB Medical Commission was established.
The sub-commission for Mini Volleyball of the
FIVB Coaches' Commission was established. |
| 1972 |
The five Sports Zone Commissions (Africa,
Asia, Europe, Norceca, and South America) became
Continental Confederations. Japan won the Munich
Olympics with playmakers Nekoda and Matsudaira.
Systematic use of its fast game clinched for the
first time the gold medal for an Asian Country. The
women's tournament was won by the USSR.
The official rules of Mini Volleyball were
established.
The first South American Junior Championships
were held in Rio. |
| 1973 |
The first women's World Cup was played in
Uruguay and won by the USSR. |
| 1974 |
At the FIVB Congress in Mexico City it was
decided to make two changes to go into force after
1976: lateral antennas were to be moved to the
court's side boundaries and three ball contacts were
to be permitted after blocking.
During the World Championship, Polish athlete
Wojtowicz amazed everybody by spiking from the back
line. In Mexico City, Poland won the men's gold;
while, in Guadalajara, Japan held on to the women's
title.
|
| 1975 |
The first Mini Volleyball Symposium was held
in Sweden, with 19 nations participating.
The first Asian Championships were held in
Australia.
|
| 1976 |
At the Montreal Olympic Games, Poland
confirmed its leadership among the men and Japan
among the women.
After blocking, not two but three ball contacts
were permitted; the distance between the antennas
was shortened from 9.40 to 9 meters.
|
| 1977 |
The first Junior World Championships were
held in Brazil; winners were the USSR (for the men)
and South Korea (women). Kuwait organized the first
Arabian Championship. The World Cup was granted to
Japan on a permanent basis for both men and women.
Triumphing in Tokyo were the Soviet men and the
Japanese women. |
| 1978 |
The men's World Championship was held in
Rome, with the USSR winning ahead of Italy. The
women played in Leningrad; and it was a surprise
first world title for Cuba, placed ahead of Japan
and USSR. |
| 1980 |
At the Moscow Olympic Games, it was a dual
victory for the USSR.
17th FIVB Congress: the rules of the game were
adopted in three languages: French, English and
Spanish.
|
| 1981 |
World Cup in Tokyo: the USSR won for the men
and China for the women.
|
| 1982 |
Ball pressure was increased from 0.40 to
0.46 kg/cm2.
The Women's World Championship was held in Peru
where, for the first time, China took the title
after an outstanding and spectacular performance.
The men's World Championship (in Argentina) was
won by the USSR.
|
| 1983 |
On 19 July, the Brazil vs. USSR challenge at
Rio de Janeiro's Maracaná stadium brought in nearly
100,000 spectators!
|
| 1984 |
The 19th Congress of the FIVB was held in
Long Beach, California; and, after 37 years at the
helm, the founding French President Paul Libaud
stepped down and became Honorary President. A
Mexican lawyer, Dr. Rubén Acosta, was elected as
the new President.
The USA won the men's Olympic gold, while China
was victorious among the women.
At the Los Angeles Olympic Games, the Brazilians
(the silver medallists) attracted attention with
their ability to make jumping serves.
The idea was not new (Argentina had already tried
it at the 1982 World Championship), but no one had
ever seen it used so effectively before.
After Los Angeles '84, it was no longer possible
to block a serve, and referees became more
permissive in evaluating defence.
The first International Volleyball Cinema
Festival was held in Perugia.
15 December: FIVB moved its quarters to a
temporary office in Lausanne while preparing, its
permanent headquarters in this city.
|
| 1985 |
28 May: for the first time, a Volleyball
representative (FIVB President Acosta) was named for
an IOC Commission - the prestigious Olympic Movement
Commission.
World Cup in Tokyo: victory went to the USA men,
while China confirmed its leadership among the
women.
28-31 December: the first women's World Gala was
played in China, (two matches in Beijing and
Shanghai).
A world All-Star line-up challenged the Olympic
Champion China, which won both matches and the
Hitachi Cup. |
| 1986 |
In Paris, the USA won the men's World
Championships. China took the women's gold medal in
Prague. Beach Volleyball received official status by
the FIVB.
|
| 1987 |
From 17 to 22 February, the first Beach
Volleyball World Championship was played in Ipanema,
Brazil.
|
| 1988 |
On 6 May, the FIVB inaugurated its new
headquarters in Lausanne.
The Olympic Games in Seoul: for the men's
tournament, the number of teams rose to 12
(previously 10). The USA won the men's gold medal;
the USSR took the women's after a dramatic final
match against Peru.
The World Congress approved the turning of the
5th set into a tiebreak rally-point system in which
each serve is worth a point.
Final scoring per set was limited to 17 points
with one point difference.
The first edition of the FIVB Super Four was held
in Japan, a bi-yearly competition between the three
medallists from the Olympic Games (or the World
Championship). In the first Super Four, the Soviet
men and the Chinese women re-affirmed their
superiority.
|
| 1989 |
The year brought the first edition of the
Beach Volleyball World Series (a world circuit) and
the second World Gala in Singapore (men's and
women's All Stars against the Olympic champions).
World Cup in Japan: Cuba won for the women and
went on for a dual victory. For the men, new
European champion Italy placed second.
From 6 to 10 December, the first World
Championship for Clubs was played in Parma and won
by home team Maxicono.
|
| 1990 |
The first edition of the men's World League,
a revolutionary idea for a team sport, with one
million US$ prize money, professional organization
and wide TV broadcasting in an itinerant competition
reaching all corners of the world. Playing formula
for the World Championship was changed. After the
qualification phase, play proceeded by direct
elimination matches right up to the finals for 1st
to 8th place. Italy won the first one-million-dollar
World League in Tokyo, Japan, before a crowd of
10,000 spectators. Italy upset Brazil in Rio de
Janeiro and became the first Western European
country to win the Men's Volleyball World
Championship. USSR won the women's world title
against China in Beijing.
|
| 1991 |
The first edition of the Women's World
Championship for Clubs was played in Brazil. Winner
was Sadia Sao Paulo. Italy wins the 2nd consecutive
World League with two million US$ prize money for
the teams. The final was in Milan in front of 12,000
spectators against Cuba.
|
| 1992 |
Barcelona applauded the first Olympic
victory by Brazil (for the men) and Cuba (women).
After Barcelona, the tiebreak was modified. At
16-16, play continues until one team has a two-point
advantage.
The World League increased prize money to 3
million US dollars and for the 3rd time Italy won in
Genoa (9,000 spectators) against the Netherlands.
Brazil also triumphed in the men's Super Four and
Cuba in the women's.
|
| 1993 |
The first edition of the Grand Prix with one
million dollars in prize money, the women's version
of the World League, was played entirely in Asia and
won by Cuba against China.
The World League final was held in São Paulo and
Brazil won the title.
During the 101st IOC session in Monte Carlo on 18
September, Beach Volleyball was admitted as a gold
medal discipline to the 1996 Olympic Games in
Atlanta.
Debut of another major event: the Grand Champions
Cup is to be played every four years in Japan,
alternating on odd years with the World Cup;
participants will be the continental champions.
First gold medal winners were Italy (men) and Cuba
(women).
|
| 1994 |
The fifth edition of the World League
offered record prize money of $6 million. Italy won
for the fourth time against Cuba.
The World Congress in Athens approved new rules
to go into force officially on 1st January 1995,
such possibility of contacting the ball with any
part of the body, including the feet; the service
zone is extended to the whole 9-meter back line;
elimination of the "double hit" fault on
the first touch of a ball coming from the opponent's
court; and the permission to touch the net
accidentally when the player in question is not
trying to play the ball.
Italy won the men's World Championship for the
second time in a row equalling a previous USSR
award.
At the Women's World Championship in Brazil,
26,000 spectators in Belo Horizonte attended the
matches, setting a new record for women's event.
Later on in São Paulo, 12,000 spectators saw Cuba
win its second world title, this time in a final
against Brazil.
|
| 1995 |
Volleyball is one hundred years old! The
anniversary is being observed throughout the world
with awards ceremonies, tournaments, and special
stamp issues and postmarks. The FIVB is celebrating
the event by bringing together "100 years of
Volleyball in 100 days" in a special calendar
of events and editing a magnificent book under the
title of "100 Years of Global Link".
The World League again spoke Italian. In the
women's Grand Prix, a surprise victory went to the
United States. Italy won the men's World Cup for the
first time and Cuba the women's for the third time
in a row. In the World Gala, Italy's men beat the
All Stars and received the Centennial Cup from the
hands of IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. A
happy 100th birthday to Volleyball!
|
| 1996 |
The Atlanta Olympic Games made Beach
Volleyball the latest Olympic Medal Sport in the
historic area of Clayton County with a newly built
8,000-seat stadium which was never big enough to
accommodate the enthusiastic crowds.
Volleyball competitions had two ad hoc
facilities; the Atlanta convention centre and the
Georgia University Hall in Athens. Netherlands and
Italy performed Volleyball at its best and in the
widest TV coverage at world level after 5 strenuous
sets, the van de Goor team gave Netherlands its
first gold medal in Volleyball history.
|
| 1998 |
Men and Women's World Championships for the
first time go to Japan for the best Championships in
Volleyball history.
After touring 14 cities and reaching over 500,000
spectators, and the highest TV ratings in Japan
since the 1964 Japanese Olympics gold for women,
Italy led by Giani and Gardini made history with its
3rd consecutive crown defeating Yugoslavia and Cuba
led by Regla Torres set the same record of 3 crowns
for women, defeating Russia.
The Congress made a historic change in the rules,
adopting "Rally Point System" of 25 points
per each of four sets and an eventual 5th set as a
15-point tiebreak with a two-year testing period.
Other changes were immediately adopted such as the
colour ball, Libero player and coaches
interactivity.
|
| 2000 |
Italy won its 8th World League pennant in 12
editions defeating Russia, but lost again the
Olympic gold for men now in front of Yugoslavia.
Cuba women defeated Russia once more 3-2 and won
its 3rd consecutive Olympic gold setting an all time
record.
Following the phenomenal success of the Beach
Volleyball performance during the Sydney Olympics,
the IOC Executive Committee declared Beach
Volleyball an official part of the Olympic programme.
Karch Kiraly (USA) and Regla Torres (Cuba) were
enthroned as the 20th Century Best Volleyball
Players.
Italy men's (1990-98) and Japan women's
(1960-1965) were declared the 20th Century Best
Volleyball Teams.
The 20th Century Best Volleyball Coaches titles
were awarded to Yasutaka Matsudaira, Japan men
(1964-1974), and Eugenio George, Cuba women
(1990-2000).
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