A Deeper Look At The Disability Of Sitting Volleyball

Sitting Volleyball began early in the 1950s and was feature in the 1984 Paralympic Games. The sport is played in over 50 countries and over 10,000 players participate in the game. Kaleo Kanahele is among these 10,000 athletes, but she was almost denied the right to participate on the U.S. National team. Kaleo Kanahele has a club foot which is considered a disability, but the sport’s governing body over Sitting Volleyball questioned whether she was disabled enough to play. On and off the court, Kanahele had to fight to prove herself as an athlete.

As Kanahele grew up, she noticed that her classmates were different from her in certain aspects. As her classmates were skipping and hopping around, Kanahele was not capable of doing these same motions

The rules of sitting volleyball are primarily based on able-body volleyball, though a few modifications have been added. The court in sitting volleyball is smaller, about ten by six meters, with a net that is significantly lower than normal. The games go by a best-of-five set ruling, with the first team to reach twenty-five being rewarded the set if they have a two-point lead. As compared to able-bodied volleyball, sitting volleyball is a much faster game due to the differences in the gameplay court. The game requires that six players be on the court at all times and at least one part of the athletes’ butt must be in contact with the floor when they make contact with the ball. For an athlete to be eligible to play, the players must range from minimal disability to disabled, meaning the most physically able to the least physically able. Two player on a sitting volleyball team can have minimal impairments while the rest of the team is classified as disabled. Like able-body volleyball, teams have three passes before the ball must return to the other side of the net. Unlike Olympic Volleyball, Paralympic volleyball players can block the serve from the other

had already been defeated by China earlier in the week of gameplay. During the first set, I sat with my face about an inch from my computer screen, hoping that the U.S. team would be able to start with a victory in the first set. Once they cinched the first set, I managed to relax for the next set, where team USA managed to win again. The third set was the most exciting because the U.S. was so close to the gold, I imagine they could almost taste it. At the same time, I felt a little worried because when the U.S. had fought against China the first time, they had been ahead by two sets and China managed to win anyway. The game was close and to me it seemed like it would go on forever, but finally the U.S. team pulled ahead and won. Watching the faces of the U.S. team after their victory was an incredible moment, the joy seemed like it was overwhelming every