Volleyball became an official part of the Summer Olympic programme at the 1964 Summer Olympics and has been included at every Games since. Both men's and women's indoor tournaments began that year; beach volleyball was added later as a separate discipline.
History
The sport's connection to the Olympics goes back earlier than its formal inclusion. A volleyball exhibition took place during the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, showing the game to an international audience. After World War II, national and continental federations were established and the international governing body was created, which strengthened the case for Olympic membership. In 1957 a demonstration tournament held at an IOC session in Sofia, Bulgaria, helped convince the International Olympic Committee to add the sport to the programme. Volleyball first appeared officially in 1964 and continued on the Olympic programme through the 1968 Olympics and all subsequent Games.
Events and format
- Indoor volleyball: men's and women's team tournaments (six players per side on court) — part of the Olympics since 1964.
- Beach volleyball: men's and women's pairs (two players per side) — introduced as an Olympic discipline in 1996.
Organisation and qualification
The sport at the Olympics is conducted under rules established by the international federation. Qualification systems combine world and continental tournaments with specific Olympic qualifying events to determine the national teams that participate at each edition of the Games.