What the regulations require of the surface
Little, but not trivial. The playing surface must be flat, horizontal and uniform, and must not present any danger of injury to the players. You cannot play on rough or slippery surfaces. In FIVB competitions, only wooden or synthetic surfaces of a light colour are permitted, with white court lines and different colours between the playing court and the free zone.
Outside official competitions, you can play on anything: concrete, asphalt, grass, resin. These are viable solutions with two warnings: the safety of landings and falls, and shoe wear.
Types of indoor surfaces
Wooden flooring on an elastic structure. The classic reference for sports halls: good elastic return, predictable grip, very long lifespan if maintained. It requires periodic maintenance (specific cleaning, varnishing) and is sensitive to humidity.
Multilayer sports PVC (synthetic roll flooring). Very common in modern facilities: consistent grip, good shock absorption, simple maintenance. Quality varies greatly with the thickness and structure of the layers.
Linoleum and rubber. Used in multi-purpose facilities. Durable, with good grip; shock absorption depends on the underlying support.
Painted concrete or resin. Typical of older school gyms and covered outdoor courts. You can play, but falls are hard and kneepads become essential: if you organise a tournament on this surface, declare it, because it changes the way people defend.
Anyone who needs to evaluate or build a facility can find the technical requirements for indoor sports flooring in the European reference standard (EN 14904), which classifies surfaces based on elastic behaviour and defines test methods. It is the document to cite in a specification: characteristics must be requested from the supplier with standard values, not estimated by eye.
How to evaluate a floor before a tournament
Five minutes, five checks:
- Cleanliness. Dust and sand are the main cause of slipping. A quick wipe with a damp cloth before starting significantly changes the grip.
- Localised slippery spots. Leaks, condensation under a window or a ventilation grille. They must be identified and dried, and if they reappear, you need a bucket and someone to wipe the floor between matches.
- Cracks, loose boards, open sockets. Unused post sockets must be closed: an open socket in the middle of the free zone is a broken ankle waiting to happen.
- Actual free zone. Benches, bags, sharp corners, radiators, doors opening inwards. Everything that can be moved must be moved before, not after the first injury.
- Lines of other sports. If the floor is multi-purpose, declare at the start of the tournament which colour is valid for volleyball.
Lighting
Volleyball is played looking upwards: lighting matters more than in many other sports, and there are two typical problems. The first is insufficient light quantity, which makes it difficult to read the ball on its downward path. The second, less intuitive, is glare: light fixtures positioned in the field of vision of those receiving or attacking, which is exactly the direction they are looking.
For world and official competitions, the FIVB prescribes lighting of 1000-1500 lux measured 1 m above the playing surface. This is a value for television broadcasting: an amateur sports hall is normally well below this, and that is perfectly fine.
The requirements for sports facilities depending on the level of competition are defined by the European standard on sports lighting (EN 12193), which distinguishes different lighting classes based on the type of use — from recreational play to high-level competition — and also establishes uniformity and glare control requirements. Anyone designing or adapting a facility works to that standard; those who just need to choose a sports hall to play in can settle for three practical checks.
The three practical checks on lighting
- Throw a ball high up and follow it: if it disappears at some point or passes through a shadow zone, the light is insufficient or poorly distributed.
- Get into receiving position and look towards the net and beyond: if a light fixture is in your field of vision, high serves become more difficult in that half of the court. In a tournament, alternate courts.
- Check for blown bulbs. One row out of three being off creates a dark zone rather than a uniformly lower lighting level: this is the most common problem and the easiest to report to the manager.
Air and temperature
Two elements that influence play more than you think. Temperature: the regulations set a minimum of 10 °C, and a narrower range for FIVB world and official competitions. A sports hall that is too hot and lacks air exchange produces condensation on the floor, which is a safety issue, not a comfort one.
Humidity and ventilation: in an enclosed sports hall with twelve people playing, the air quickly becomes heavy and the floor near the walls mists up. If you can open windows, do so between matches; if there are draughts crossing the court, be aware that they affect high trajectories, and in a tournament, this is another reason to alternate courts.
Outdoor surfaces
- Sand. The official surface for beach volleyball: at least 40 cm deep, fine, level and free of stones.
- Grass. Viable for amateur tournaments. Flatness and the presence of holes must be checked; wet grass is very slippery.
- Concrete and asphalt. Hard and abrasive: you can play, but falls and dives should be avoided and shoes wear out quickly.
- Outdoor sports resins. The best solution for a permanent outdoor court: consistent grip, drainage, low maintenance.
If you manage a facility and want it to be chosen for tournaments, the details that make the difference are simple and verifiable: a clean floor, all lights working, closed sockets, a clear free zone, open changing rooms and available water. These are also the things players talk about when someone asks where to play.