Volleyball

Officials Hand
Signals
1. Illegal Alignment/ Improper Server
• In
Volleyball teams must start each rally in a specific rotation
. This means players must stand in the correct order on
court.

• However in short once a point is won when the other team

is serving you must rotate 1 position in a clockwise
direction.

• If a team is stood in the wrong location at the time the

serve commences or the wrong person serves the ball, the
other team will be awarded the point.
A referee would indicate this by straightening their arm at a 45
degree angle towards the floor on the side that is at fault. The
referee would then make small circle motions to indicate that a
rotation area has occurred.
2. Line Violation
• When serving in volleyball it is illegal to step on or
over the baseline during the serve.

• The baseline are the two lines that form each end of
the Volleyball court .

• The officials that are normally in charge of the side and

baselines are the line judges.

• If a line judge or even referee spots a player stepping

on or over the line when serving they would indicate
this in the following way.
The official would point down at the offending line to indicate
that a line violation has occurred.
3. Illegal Hit
• there are a lot of movements and motions that are
considered illegal when playing the ball.

• the most common forms are things such as lifts or

carries.
• A lift or carry is called if the ball comes to rest on a
player for a prolonged period of time.

• A carry would be called if the ball visibly changes

motion or direction whilst still in control of a player.

• A referee would call an illegal hit has occurred by

doing the following.
The referee would place their forearm out in front of them with
their palm facing upwards. The referee would then move their
palm upwards to signify an illegal hit has occurred.
4. Delay of Service
• Once the referee has blown the whistle to initiate the
start of the rally, a player has 8 seconds to serve the
ball.

• If for whatever reason the player takes longer than the

allocated 8 seconds, the referee will award the point to
the other team for the delay in service.

• A referee will show this has occurred by raising their

hand with a flat open hand before awarding the point to
the opposition team.
 5. Over-the-Net
• Now this rule is actually not as straightforward as it sounds
and to the untrained or inexperienced player this is actually a
very misleading rule.

• In volleyball you are not allowed to reach over the net to

attack the ball, however, there are actually quite a few
exceptions to this rule.

• You are allowed to reach over the net to play the ball if the
opposition have you used their 3 allocated touches, hence
why you are allowed to press a block over the net.
• You can also reach over and attack
the ball if the ball is travelling on to
your side and there is no possibility
of the opposition playing the ball
again.

• A referee would indicate that a hand

over (or over-the-net) has occured by
placing their arm over the top of the
net when stood on the podium or
steps.

• If the referee is not stood on the

referee stand they may use their
other arm vertically to create a net
whilst placing their other arm
horizontally over the top to indicate
the same thing.
 6. Net Foul or Net Serve
• This is certainly one of the more well known rules in
volleyball however even this simple rule is sometimes
misunderstood.

• This is certainly one of the more well known rules in

volleyball however even this simple rule is sometimes
misunderstood.

• With that being said there are very few situations in which
someone touching the net wouldn’t affect the run of play.

• Just to clarify a net violation includes the net and antenna.

If a net fault occurs the
referee would take
their hand on the side
in which the net fault
occurred and place
their hand gently on the
net to indicate the fault.
7. Legal Back Row Attack
• In volleyball if a player is back row they are not allowed to
attack the ball from in front the 3m (10 foot) line, unless
they jump from behind the line. If the attack is fine and
legal then play would continue as planned until the point is
won.

• When further referee’s are involved in the game and they

may instantly signal this if the attack is legal. Much like
how an official basketball signifies if the shot is taken
behind the 3m line or how the officials throw the towel
when a player enters the endzone in football.
• Based on the picture attached above, an official would
indicate a legal back row attack by placing their arm at
shoulder height and waving it directly down whilst
keeping the arm straightened.
8. Illegal Attack of Serve/
Back Row Attack
• In volleyball, especially at top level, a backrow is very
viable option and is used an awful lot.

• It is also illegal to attack the ball from above the height

of the net directly from a serve. This is to prevent
people from jumping up and trying to block or spike
the serve back.
• The official would raise their
forearm only keeping the
upper arm horizontal at
shoulder level.

• From this position the official

would rotate their arm at the
elbow making a downward
waving motion.

• If you need a mental image

think of the mechanically
operated Maneki-neko or
better known as the lucky
chinese cat.
9. Illegal Blocking or Screening
• Players are allowed to group together and raise their arms
as long as the receiving team has a clear line of sight to
the server and or service flight path. This means as long as
the serving team adopt normal base positions then a screen
fault would not occur.

• While it is allowed for players to group together and raise

their arms, it is absolutely not allowed for players to move
with the receiving players to ensure their sight remains
obstructed, nor is it allowed for a player on the serving
team to line up directly in front of the server to restrict the
receiving players view.
If this was to happen the referee would indicate that an illegal
screen has occurred by raising both hands upwards to head
height forming and showing open palms towards the court.
10. Ball Touched
• When a ball is hit by the attacking side it is quite
common for the blockers or defenders to get a touch on
the ball.

• It is important for officials to notice this, as if the ball

was to land out after a touch from the blockers or
defenders, the attacking team would be awarded the
point.

• This is known as touch out or ball touched.

An official would indicate that the ball has been touched
and gone out by placing one hand up and out in front of
them, with their other hand they would brush their fingers
upwards.

This shows the ball touching someone and then coming off
them and out.
11. Four Hits
• Each team is allowed 3 hits/ contacts from when the
ball crosses the net to the point in which it must be
returned back over the net.

• The only exception to this rule is when a player blocks

the ball, this does not count as a touch towards the team
3 touches, it also does not count as a touch for the
individual player, this means a player can block the ball
and then play it a second time without committing a
fault.

• If the team that just hit the ball touches it again after it
comes off the net band this would be 4 touches.
This is actually one of the more obvious calls in
volleyball in the sense that an official indicates this fault
by simply holding up four fingers on one hand.
12. Double Hit
• Although each team gets three contacts before the ball
must be returned, with the exception of the blocking
rule mentioned above, a player cannot contact the ball
twice simultaneously.

• This rule is the bain of every setter to have ever played

the game. When hand setting it is very easy to double
contact the ball.

• If the ball doesn’t enter or leave the hands at the exact

same time an official will often call a double contact.
A referee would indicate that a double touch has occurred
by simply showing 2 up on one hand. Much like the
hippie peace sign.
13. Ball Lands In

• When the ball lands in a point is awarded to the team who

was able to ground the ball on the oppositions side and
between the lines.

• Obviously an official needs a way of indicating whether

the ball landed in or out of the court. Especially in
situations where it is tight to the line and could go either
way.
An official would
indicate that the ball
landed in court by
placing their arm at a
45 degree angle
between the hip and
shoulder and then
pointing with their full
arm and hand to the
side in which the ball
has landed in on.
14. Out of Bounds/ Antenna
Violation
• If the ball lands out of
bounds or contacts the
aerial the official would
show this by bending
both forearms upwards
so the fingers are
pointing towards the sky
with their arms out in
front of them.
 15. Begin Serve
• In
volleyball it is illegal to ser
ve
without the official
signalling the start of the
rally.

• The first referee would

signal the start of the rally
and indeed the start of the
serve by blowing the
whistle and waving their
hand from the servers side
 16. Authorization To Enter
Court
• After timeouts or even before new
sets are about to start the teams
must line up along the sideline
where the referee stand is located.

• Once the officials and both teams

are ready to commence play the
referee will blow the whistle and
wave their hand into towards the
centre of the court. This signifies
to the players that they may enter
the court.
17. Point Awarded
• Many of these hand signals show what fault has
occurred, which to the players is often more than
enough for them to determine who has won the point.

• However in times in which the decision can go either

way or in fact just to make the decision clear to all
spectators the official is able to show which side has
been awarded the point.
A referee would indicate
which team has won the
point simply by placing
the arm of the side that
has won the point out
horizontally to point in
the direction of the
winning side.
 18. Replay/ Let
• A replay or let is shown for a few different reasons in
Volleyball.

• Where multiple games are being played at the time,

occasionally balls or even players may enter a different
court.

• This not only causes a health and safety risk to the players
on court but can also lead to obstruction or hindrance.

• In these situations the fairest and safest option is to halt play

and replay the point.
• For example if there has been a net touch but both players
appear to touch the net at the same time, occasionally the
official may choose to play a let or replay of point.

• The referee would show a let or replay of the point by putting

both thumbs up on either side of the net.
 19. Substitution
• Substitutions are used for many reasons, whether it be to replace
an injured player, change up the lineup or simply just to swap in a
service specialist to try and get a few aces.

• If a team wants to sub in a player they must follow a simple

process.

• The player which is to be substituted in will be given the number

of the player that they are to replace. The coach will mention to
the referee that they would like to substitute a player.

• The player who is being subbed in will stand on the side of the
court by the side of the referee and hold up a paddle with the
number of the player they are replacing.
• The referee will show that a
substitution is taking place
by placing their arms
horizontally one over the
other.

• They will then rotate their

arms in a spin cycle motion
to signify that a swap or
rotation in the line up has
occurred.
20. Illegal Substitution
• Aside from the points I raised above about the process in
which a substitution must be carried out there are also a few
extras that bear mentioning.

• For example if a player is substituted, if the coach wishes to

substitute the previously swapped player back into the game,
they can only do so if they sub them back in place of the
player who previously replaced them.

• For example if you want to substitute in a player to serve in

place of a middle. If you want the middle player to return to
court when it is time for them to go front court, you would
have to substitute out the player who first replaced them.
• If the correct process is not followed, the player does not
wait for the referee to confirm the substitution of a player
replaces the wrong person an illegal substitution call would
be shown.

• An official would
show this by placing
one arm up vertically
above their head and
then rotating it
around.
21. Time-Out
• In volleyball teams are allocated a certain number of
time-outs per set. These timeouts can be used for a
multitude of reasons.

• Whether it’s discussing tactics with your team, give a

motivational speech or simply just to break out the
play.

• If a player or team requests a time-out the officials will

signify this by creating a T using their hands.
• This T will be displayed
at head level to ensure all
players can visibly see it.

• After the T is displayed

the official will point to
the side which has called
the timeout so it can be
noted down on the
score sheet.
22. Officials Time-Out
• The main reasons this may be used would be if an
official for whatever reason needed to be temporarily
but immediately removed. For example a nosebleed or
a sudden bowel movement.

• The other example would be if there is some

deliberation between decisions or repeat offenses that
need clarification amongst the officials.
• The way in which officials
show this is again by creating
a T with their hands that will
be displayed at head level.

• Once the T has been

displayed the official turn
their hands towards the head
at shoulder level to indicate
the timeout has been called by
the officials and not either
team.
23. Unnecessary Delay
• This rule has actually undergone changes recently to
reduce the severity of the penalty if this offense
occurred.

• An unnecessary delay is exactly what it says on the tin.

This is a delay to recommencing play that is deemed
excessive or unnecessarily long.

• These are often used when players are trying to slow

down play either to disrupt the flow of the opponents or
to try and regain energy after a long rally.
• An official would show an unnecessary delay call by
bringing the hands to the top of the waist, almost as if
the official was going to rest their hands on their waist.
24. End of Game
• This signal is used to indicate the end of the game.

• The end of the game

is indicated by the 1st
referee taking both
arms and crossing
them across the chest
to form an X shape
with the arms.
25. Change of Court Sides
• In volleyball after each set the teams must switch sides.

• After the referee has signaled the end of the set they will
place one arm in front of them and the other arm behind
them.

• This indicates one team

must rotate round to
the other side of the
court in front of the
referee whilst the other
team rotates behind the
referee.
26. Set Point (Honorable
Mention)
• So one very common hand signal that isn’t displayed
on the chart but is regularly used is the set point hand
gesture.

• When a team is on set point an official will clench a fist

on the side of the team who has set point and hold it
directly up in the air.

• This indicates to all players, officials and spectators

that a team has set point.