The WOVD is the International Organisation of Volleyball for people with physical disabilities and is affiliated to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The WOVD was formerly part of the International Sports Organisation for Disabled (ISOD) and was established in 1981. The WOVD became a separate organisation in 1992 after the Paralympic Games in Barcelona. The headquarters of the WOVD were established in The Netherlands.

Objectives

The WOVD is responsible for managing and controlling the conduct of international volleyball competitions (Paralympics, World and Zonal Championships, and other international competitions) for men, women and youth.The WOVD also liaises with IPC (as an independent organisation) and with other organisations for people with or without disabilities.

Sitting Volleyball

With Sitting Volleyball, the disability of a player is no longer a handicap. Since
players must be sitting on the floor when hitting the ball, only the skill is important,
not the disability.This produces a very competitive sport which began in 1956 when the Dutch Sports Committee introduced this ‘new game’. Since then, Sitting Volleyball has grown
into one of the biggest sports practised in competition. Not only by sports people with disabilities, but also by interested ‘able-bodied’ volleyball players with or without injuries, just because of the fun of this fast and spectacular sport.IPC included Sitting Volleyball in their programme in 1980.
Since 1993, championships are organized for men, women and youth (man & women).

Standing Volleyball

Which is the only team sport that can be played ‘standing’ by people with physical disabilities? It is no other than Standing Volleyball. It was played by sports people with disabilities long before the international federation was founded. It has its roots in Great Britain and was originally played only by amputee players.To encourage the participation on those ones with a more severe amputation, a classification system has been set up and players on court must follow certain rules. Teams must respect these classification rules to ensure an equitable team composition.International competitions have taken place since the 1960’s, although it was not until 1976 that volleyball was accepted into the Paralympic Games Programme, in Toronto. Since 1980 volleyball has had a regular international calendar.