Volleyball in Olympics

The volleyball events of the Beijing Olympics will be held in Beijing from August 9 to August 24, 2008. The preliminary competitions will be held at the Capital Indoor Stadium and Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium and the finals will be organized at the Capital Indoor Stadium.

Schedule of Competitions

9 August 2008, Saturday
Women’s Preliminaries

10 August 2008, Sunday
Men’s Preliminaries

11 August 2008, Monday
Women’s Preliminaries

12 August 2008, Tuesday
Men’s Preliminaries

13 August 2008, Wednesday
Women’s Preliminaries

14 August 2008, Thursday
Men’s Preliminaries

15 August 2008, Friday
Women’s Preliminaries

16 August 2008, Saturday
Men’s Preliminaries

17 August 2008, Sunday
Women’s Preliminaries

18 August 2008, Monday
Men’s Preliminaries

19 August 2008, Tuesday
Women's Quarterfinals

20 August 2008, Wednesday
Men’s Quarterfinals

21 August 2008, Thursday
Women’s Semifinals

22 August 2008, Friday
Men’s Semifinals

23 August 2008, Saturday
Women's Bronze Medal Match, Women's Gold Medal Match, Women's Gold Medal Ceremony

24 August 2008, Sunday
Men's Bronze Medal Match, Men's Gold Medal Match ,Men's Gold Medal Ceremony

History in Olympics
Volleyball debuted in Tokyo Olympics in 1964. Volleyball in Olympics has witnessed the rise and fall of great international teams, with countries as diverse as Cuba, Brazil, the Soviet Union, China, the United States, the Netherlands, Poland and Japan collecting gold medals. Power and height are vital components of international teams. Coaches are busy in devising new tactics, strategies and skills to win games.

Rules
Maximum number of players allowed in a team is 12. With every team, one coach, one assistant coach, one trainer and one medical doctor are allowed. A team scores by successfully grounding the ball on the opponent's court, when the opponent team commits a fault, and when the opponent team receives a penalty. A rally is the sequence of playing actions from the moment of the service until the ball is grounded. A set is won by the team which first scores 25 points with a minimum lead of two points.