Week 3

Hand Signals Used in

Volleyball
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Authorization to serve
• The 1st referee’s hand moves to indicate the
direction of the service after confirming that both
teams are ready to play and that the server has
the ball. (Images are
screenshots from:
• Team to serve http://www.fivb.or
g/EN/Refereeing-
• The arm is extended towards the team who will Rules/Documents/
FIVB_Volleyball_Ha
serve, occurring mostly after a fault. nd_Signal_Poster_2
015-2016.pdf,
retrieved on March
29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Change of courts
• Arms are raised on the front and back and twist
them around the body to indicate switch in courts
every set.
• Time-out (Images are
screenshots from:
• A letter “T” is formed with the hands then an arm http://www.fivb.or
g/EN/Refereeing-
points to the team requesting the time out. Rules/Documents/
FIVB_Volleyball_Ha
Lasting 30 seconds on average, time outs can only nd_Signal_Poster_2
015-2016.pdf,
be called when ball is “dead”. retrieved on March
29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Substitution
• The forearms do a circular motion around each
other to indicate substitution of players.
Substitution is when a player enters the game in
place of a participating player who needed to (Images are
screenshots from:
exit the court. http://www.fivb.or
g/EN/Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/
FIVB_Volleyball_Ha
nd_Signal_Poster_2
015-2016.pdf,
retrieved on March
29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Misconduct warning/Misconduct Penalty

• The referee holds up two colored cards to indicate
misconduct. A yellow card signals warning. A red
card signals a penalty. Warnings refer to minor
misconducts committed by the player. The referee (Images are
screenshots from:
always issues a verbal warning first before the http://www.fivb.or
g/EN/Refereeing-
appearance of the yellow card. Major misconduct Rules/Documents/
FIVB_Volleyball_Ha
may result to a penalty. The team member is nd_Signal_Poster_2
015-2016.pdf,
penalized with a point and service to the retrieved on March
29, 2017)
opponent.
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Expulsion
• Both cards are held up in one hand indicating
expulsion. Once signaled with an expulsion a
player must be substituted immediately. The
player must stay in the penalty area. (Images are
screenshots from:
• Disqualification http://www.fivb.or
g/EN/Refereeing-
• Both cards are held up in separate hands Rules/Documents/
FIVB_Volleyball_Ha
indicating disqualification. This requires the nd_Signal_Poster_2
015-2016.pdf,
player who committed the misconduct to be retrieved on March
29, 2017)
substituted at once and leave the Competition-
Control Area for the rest of the match.
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• End of Set or Match

• Forearms cross the front of the chest with both
hands splayed open indicating the end of match or
set. Matches are best of 3 or best of 5 sets.
• Ball not tossed or released at the service hit
• An extended arm lifts with the palm facing up to
indicate that the ball was not tossed or released at
the service hit. During service, the ball must be hit
by the player with his/her arm or hand. (Images are screenshots
from:
http://www.fivb.org/EN/
Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/FIVB_
Volleyball_Hand_Signal_P
oster_2015-2016.pdf,
retrieved on March 29,
2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Delay in service
• Referee holds up eight fingers to indicate the
delay in service. The server must hit the ball
within 8 seconds after the referee’s whistle.
• Blocking fault or screening
• Both arms are raised vertically to indicate a
blocking fault or screening. Screening is executed
by waving arms or jumping and moving sideways
during the service. The members of the serving (Images are screenshots
from:
team must not block the view of the server from http://www.fivb.org/EN/R
efereeing-
the opponents. Rules/Documents/FIVB_V
olleyball_Hand_Signal_Post
er_2015-2016.pdf,
retrieved on March 29,
2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Positional or rotation of fault

• The forefinger moves in a circular motion. A
positional fault is when a player is not in their
designated position during service. Rotational
fault is when the server is not the person who is
supposed to serve according to the service order.
• Ball “In”
• The arms and fingers point toward the floor to
signal that the ball is in the game. The ball is
considered “in” if some part of the ball touches
the court including the boundary lines. (Images are screenshots from:
http://www.fivb.org/EN/Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/FIVB_Volleyball_Hand_Signal_Poster_2015-
2016.pdf, retrieved on March 29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Ball “Out”
• Forearms are raised vertically with both hands
and palms open toward the direction of the body.
The ball is “out” if the ball falls outside of the
boundary lines or if it touches outside the court.
• Catch
• One forearm is lifted slowly with the palm of the
hand facing upward. Catch is when the ball is
caught or thrown but it does not rebound from
the hit.
(Images are screenshots from:
http://www.fivb.org/EN/Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/FIVB_Volleyball_Hand_Signal_Poster_2015-
2016.pdf, retrieved on March 29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Double Contact
• Two fingers are raised to indicate double contact.
Double contact is when the player hits or touches
the ball twice consecutively.
• Four hits
• Four fingers are raised up in the event of four hits,
or when the members of the team hit the ball four
times before passing it over to the opponents’
side.

(Images are screenshots from:

http://www.fivb.org/EN/Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/FIVB_Volleyball_Hand_Signal_Poster_2015-
2016.pdf, retrieved on March 29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Net touched by player/Served ball fails to pass to the

opponent through crossing space
• The referee points to the respective side of the
net where the player touches it or if the served
ball does not go to the opponent’s side. This is
caused by a player from the serving team
touching the ball or failing to cross the vertical
plane of the net.

(Images are screenshots from:

http://www.fivb.org/EN/Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/FIVB_Volleyball_Hand_Signal_Poster_2015-
2016.pdf, retrieved on March 29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Reaching beyond the net

• The referee places a hand above the net with the
palm facing downwards to indicate the the player
has touched the ball or an opponent’s space
during or before the opponent attacks.

(Images are screenshots from:

http://www.fivb.org/EN/Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/FIVB_Volleyball_Hand_Signal_Poster_2015-
2016.pdf, retrieved on March 29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Attack hit fault

• From a vertical position of the arm above the
head, the forearm makes a downward motion
with the hand open. This fault is made if a player;
hits the ball within the playing space of the
opponent team, hits the ball to an “out,” hits the
ball for an attack from the front zone in the back
row at the moment when the ball is higher than
the top of the net.

(Images are screenshots from:

http://www.fivb.org/EN/Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/FIVB_Volleyball_Hand_Signal_Poster_2015-
2016.pdf, retrieved on March 29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Penetration into the opponent court/Ball crossing the

lower space or the server touches the court (end line)
or the player steps outside his/her court at the
moment of the service hit
• The referee points to the center or the relevant
line on the court when the player commits the
aforementioned faults.
• Double fault and replay
• Both thumbs of the referee are raised vertically if
two or more faults are committed by the
opponent side consecutively. The rally replays (Images are screenshots from:
after. http://www.fivb.org/EN/Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/FIVB_Volleyball_Hand_Signal_Poster_2015-
2016.pdf, retrieved on March 29, 2017)
Week 3: Hand Signals Used in Volleyball
Official Hand Signals used in Volleyball

• Ball touched
• The open palm of one hand brushes against the
tips of the fingers of the other hand in a vertical
position.
• Delay warning/Delay penalty
• The referee covers his/her wrist with the yellow
card or red card, depending on what the player
has committed. The first delay warrants a
warning. If the same team makes another penalty,
a point and service is awarded to the opponent.
(Images are screenshots from:
http://www.fivb.org/EN/Refereeing-
Rules/Documents/FIVB_Volleyball_Hand_Signal_Poster_2015-
2016.pdf, retrieved on March 29, 2017)