Bowling Green State University Athletics
Sitting Team Completes Practice at BGSU
June 22, 2004 | Volleyball
June 22, 2004
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The USA Women's National Sitting Volleyball Team, assisted by BGSU head volleyball coach Denise Van De Walle, ended its four day practice schedule in Bowling Green over the past weekend. Nine of the 13-member team trained from June 16-19. Attached are numerous photos from the weekend's practice.
The team qualified for the Paralympics in Greece by capturing the Gold medal at the Para Pan-American games over Brazil in Argentina this past December. This will be the first time for sitting volleyball for women in the Paralympics. The countries that have qualified for Athens are the USA, Netherlands, Finland, Slovenia, China, and the Ukraine.
Sitting volleyball is played with the athletes sitting on the floor. All team members have some type of disability to their body, (i.e. a single- or double-amputation, upper or lower body...most are lower.) The net is 41inches high and the court is 10 meters by 6 meters with a 2-meter attack line. The only major differences between the standing game and sitting game besides the smaller court and lower net are: 1) players can block the serve; and 2) one "cheek" must be in contact with the floor when a person hits/attacks/blocks the ball.
