Law 1: Playing Area

The playing court is a rectangle of 18 by 9 metres, with the free zone around it.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.1 · recall

Outside FIVB, World and Official Competitions the free zone needs a minimum of 3 metres all round.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.1 · recall

Top-level events need more room behind the court than beside it: 6.5 metres at the ends, 5 at the sides.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.1 · recall

The space above the playing area must be clear of obstructions up to at least 7 metres.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.1 · recall

At FIVB, World and Official Competitions nothing may obstruct the space below 12.5 metres.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.1 · applied

The floor must be even and level and must not endanger the players; rough or slippery floors are excluded.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.2.1 · recall

At the top level only wood or a synthetic floor is permitted, and the FIVB must have approved it first.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.2.1 · recall

The axis of the centre line splits the 18 x 9 m court into two equal halves of 9 by 9 metres.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3.3 · applied

General minimums: a 3 m free zone and 7 m of clear height; the court itself is 9 m wide and 18 m long.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.1 · recall

At the top level the free zone is 5 m at the sides and 6.5 m at the ends, the court is 9 m wide and the clear height is 12.5 m.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.1 · recall

Indoor courts must be light in colour; at the top level the court and the free zone also differ from each other.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.2.2 · recall

At the top level the lines are white and the court and free zone are each coloured, in colours that differ.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.2.2 · recall

Outdoors a drainage slope of up to 5 millimetres per metre is permitted.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.2.3 · applied

Outdoor court lines must not be made of solid materials, whatever their width or colour.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.2.3 · applied

Every line on the court is five centimetres wide.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3.1 · recall

Both boundary lines lie within the 18 x 9 m rectangle, so their full width is part of the court.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3.2 · recall

The axis of the centre line is the dividing line, and the whole width of the line counts for both halves alike.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3.3 · applied

The attack line runs parallel to the net, 3 m back from the axis of the centre line; A is an end line, C the centre line and D a side line.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3.4 · applied

A line is 5 cm wide, a service-zone mark 15 cm long, the broken extension 1.75 m, and the front zone 3 m deep.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3.1, 1.3.4, 1.4.2 · recall

Each court has its attack line 3 m from the centre line, so the lines meet you symmetrically about the net.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3 · applied

The front zone runs from the axis of the centre line back to the rear edge of the attack line.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.1 · recall

The front zone is extended beyond the side lines all the way to the edge of the free zone.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.1 · applied

Measured from the middle of the centre line, the attack line's back edge is exactly 3 metres away.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3.4 · recall

The extension is a broken line of five short 15 cm dashes, 5 cm wide and 20 cm apart, totalling 1.75 m.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3.4 · recall

The service zone spans the full 9 m width of the court, between the extensions of the side lines.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.2 · recall

The two short marks sit 20 cm behind the end line as extensions of the side lines and limit the zone sideways.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.2 · recall

Both short marks are included in the 9 m width of the service zone.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.2 · applied

The service zone lies behind the end line between the extended side lines; A is a front zone, B the court behind the attack line, D the free zone beside a side line.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.2 · applied

The short marks are 20 cm behind the end line, and the service zone itself runs back to the end of the free zone.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.2 · applied

From the net: centre line, the front zone up to the attack line, the rest of the court to the end line, then the service zone.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4 · applied

Substitutions are made in the strip of free zone between the two attack-line extensions, next to the scorer's table.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.3 · recall

It is the part of the bench-side free zone between the extension of the attack line and the end line.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.4 · recall

Each warm-up area measures approximately three metres by three.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.5 · recall

They go in both bench-side corners outside the free zone, or behind the team bench where the stands begin above 2.5 m.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.5 · recall

The minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius, 50 Fahrenheit.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.5 · recall

The rules give the upper limit at the top level to the match's FIVB Technical Delegate.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.5 · recall

In general the light should reach at least 300 lux; at the top level 2000 lux, measured 1 m above the playing area.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.6 · recall

Libero swaps use B; substitutions happen at A in front of the table, C is a warm-up corner and D is free zone opposite the benches.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.4 · applied

Substitutions happen between the attack-line extensions, Libero replacements from there to the end line, and warm-up in the corner beyond the free zone.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.4.3, 1.4.4, 1.4.5 · applied

A line is 5 cm, a warm-up area about 3 m, the free zone beside a side line 5 m, and the service zone 9 m wide.

Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 1.3.1, 1.4.2, 1.4.5, 1.1 · recall