Editing Volleyball (section)

=== Refinements and later developments ===
[[File:Mazanar volleyball 00166u.jpg|thumb|Japanese American women playing volleyball at the [[Manzanar]] internment camp during [[World War II]] in {{Circa|1943}}]]
[[File:Nudist-naturist volleyball.jpg|thumb|A [[Naturism|nudist/naturist]] volleyball game at the Sunny Trails Club during the 1958 Canadian Sunbathing Association (CSA) convention in [[British Columbia|British Columbia, Canada]]]]
The first official ball used in volleyball is disputed; some sources say Spalding created the first official ball in 1896, while others claim it was created in 1900.<ref name="Timeline1">{{cite web | url = http://volleyball.org/history.html | title = History Of Volleyball | access-date = 2007-09-21 | publisher = Volleyball World Wide | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110513035616/http://www.volleyball.org/history.html | archive-date = 2011-05-13 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="SportsKnowHow">{{cite web | url = http://www.sportsknowhow.com/volleyball/history/volleyball-history.shtml | title = History of Volleyball | access-date = 2007-09-21 | publisher = SportsKnowHow.com | archive-date = May 13, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200513162953/https://sportsknowhow.com/volleyball/history/volleyball-history.shtml | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.volleyball.com/volleyball_history.aspx | title = History of Volleyball | access-date = 2007-09-21 | publisher = volleyball.com | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070924042339/http://www.volleyball.com/volleyball_history.aspx | archive-date = 2007-09-24 }}</ref> The rules evolved over time: in 1916, in the Philippines, the skill and power of the set and spike had been introduced, and four years later a "three hits" rule and a rule against hitting from the back row were established. In 1917, the game was changed from requiring 21 points to win to a smaller 15 points to win. In 1919, about 16,000 volleyballs were distributed by the [[American Expeditionary Force]]s to their troops and [[Allies of World War I|allies]], which sparked the growth of volleyball in new countries.<ref name="Timeline1" />

Like basketball, volleyball spread quickly due to its simplicity and promotion by the YMCA and [[YWCA]].<ref name=":2" /> The first country outside the United States to adopt volleyball was Canada in 1900.<ref name="Timeline1" /> During and after [[World War I]], the presence of YMCA instructors in American forces led to the spread of volleyball in Europe, where clubs were established in [[France]] as well as several [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] nations.<ref name=":2" /> An international federation, the [[Fédération Internationale de Volleyball]] (FIVB), was founded in 1947, and the first World Championships were held in 1949 for men and 1952 for women.<ref name="FIVB History">{{cite web|url=http://www.fivb.ch/EN/FIVB/History.htm |title=FIVB History |access-date=2007-09-21 |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Volleyball |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070919033125/http://www.fivb.ch/EN/FIVB/History.htm |archive-date=September 19, 2007 }}</ref> The sport is now popular in [[Brazil]], in Europe, where especially [[Italy]], the [[Netherlands]], and [[Eastern Europe]] have been major forces since the late 1980s, in [[Russia]], in other countries, including [[China]] and the rest of [[Asia]], and in the [[United States]].<ref name="FIVB Volleyball History" /><ref name="ncva" /><ref name="FIVB History" />

[[Beach volleyball]], a variation of the game played on sand and with only two players per team, became a FIVB-endorsed variation in 1987 and was added to the Olympic program at the [[1996 Summer Olympics]].<ref name="Timeline1" /><ref name="FIVB History" /> Created by William G. Morgan in 1895, beach volleyball is a game of volleyball played by two teams of two players on an outdoor sandy court.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olympics: Volleyball {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/olympics-volleyball |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Volleyball is also a sport at the [[Paralympics]] managed by [[World ParaVolley]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=World ParaVolley - Welcome! |url=https://worldparavolley.org/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=World ParaVolley |language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[Naturism|Nudists]] were early adopters of the game with regular organized play in clubs as early as the late 1920s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Merrill|first=Frances|title=Among The Nudists|year=1931|publisher=Garden City Publishing Company, Inc.|location=Garden City, New York|pages=Illustration Plate following p. 188}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Merrill|first=Frances|title=Nudism Comes to America|year=1932|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|pages=Illustration Plate following p. 57}}</ref> By the 1960s, a volleyball court had become standard in almost all [[Naturism|nudist/naturist]] clubs.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Weinberg|first=M.S.|title=The Nudist Camp: Way of Life and Social Structure.|journal=Human Organization|year=1967|volume=26|issue=3|pages=91–99|doi=10.17730/humo.26.3.t61k16213r005707}}</ref> Recently a debate has arisen within the sport regarding the inclusion of [[transgender]] players. With transgender athletes including [[Tifanny Abreu|Tiffany Abreu]] joining professional volleyball teams alongside other non-transgender teammates, many professionals, sports analysts, and fans of volleyball either express concerns about the legitimacy and fairness of having transgender players on a team or convey support for the transgender players.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last1=Darlington |first1=Shasta |date=17 March 2018 |title=Transgender Volleyball Star in Brazil Eyes Olympics and Stirs Debate |language=en |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/world/americas/brazil-transgender-volleyball-tifanny-abreu.html |access-date=2018-08-04 |archive-date=August 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804075707/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/world/americas/brazil-transgender-volleyball-tifanny-abreu.html |url-status=live }}</ref>