How do you organise a volleyball tournament?

Under FIVB Rule 6.2 a set goes to 25 points with a two-point lead and has no cap, so 24-24 runs on to 26-24, 27-25 and beyond. The match goes to three sets won (6.3.1), and a 2-2 match ends in a fifth set to 15, again with a two-point lead (6.3.2).

The rulebook does not tell a school or club tournament which format to play. Your regulations can, for example, set two sets to win with a third set to 15. Write it down before the draw and apply it to every match of a stage, because a format that changes mid-day turns the table into an argument.

In a group where every team meets every other once, the number of matches is n(n−1)/2:

Divide the total by the number of courts and you get the number of time slots. Sets have no time limit, so no rule gives you the length of a slot. Time a few matches at your own level, use that number, and keep the last slot of the day free for overruns.

There is no single volleyball table. The Polish federation (PZPS) uses two systems in its Sports and Organisational Regulations (PSO, version of May 2025), and FIVB events rank in yet another order.

Tie order under PSO §52: points, then number of wins, then set ratio (sets won divided by sets lost), then the ratio of rally points, then the matches between the tied teams. In the FIVB ranking system published for the 2022 Club World Championship, number of wins comes before points.

With 2/1 scoring and no walkovers, a team's points equal its wins plus its matches played. Two teams level on points after the same number of matches therefore have the same number of wins, and the set ratio decides. Under 3/2/1/0 that is no longer true: a team with two 3-2 wins and one 2-3 loss has 5 points, and so does a team with one 3-0 win and two 2-3 losses. Under PSO §52 the first team ranks higher, because it has more wins.

The court is 18 × 9 m with a free zone of at least 3 m on all sides, and the free space above the court is at least 7 m high (FIVB Rule 1). Those are the minimums for any match played to the FIVB Rules. FIVB world and official competitions ask for 5 m beside the side lines, 6.5 m behind the end lines and 12.5 m of height.

The net is 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women (2.1.1), measured at the centre of the court. Over the two side lines both ends must be at the same height, no more than 2 cm above the official one (2.1.2). Bring a measuring stick and check the net before the first match.

Youth heights are set nationally. The Polish edition of the rules and PSO §55 give 2.35 m for boys and 2.15 m for girls in the młodzik age group, the youngest national youth category in Poland. Elsewhere, look up the youth regulations of your own federation before you print the schedule.

A team has up to 12 players for a match (FIVB Rule 4.1.1). In FIVB senior competitions up to 14 may be recorded on the score sheet. For a school or club event, your regulations decide the number, so state it in the invitation.

Each team may designate up to two liberos from the players on the score sheet, recorded on their own lines (19.1.1, 19.1.2). Only one libero is on court at a time. In FIVB senior competitions a team with more than 12 players listed must name two.

One player is the team captain, marked on the score sheet (4.1.2). Once the coach and the captain have signed it, the listed players cannot be changed (4.1.3). Collect squad lists before the day starts and the scorer only copies names. Six players must be in play at all times (7.3.1), so a team arriving with five cannot start.

The FIVB refereeing team is the 1st referee, the 2nd referee, the scorer and four or two line judges (Rule 22.1), plus a challenge referee and a reserve referee in FIVB competitions. With two line judges, each one stands at a corner and watches both the end line and the side line on that side (29.1).

In Polish federation competitions, PZPS appoints the 1st and 2nd referee, and the regional association (WZPS) appoints line judges and the scorer, so the host club has to request them in advance (PSO §57).

A school or amateur tournament may not find a full crew for every court. Decide in the regulations who replaces whom: one trained referee on the stand, a second adult as 2nd referee, and the scorer's job and line flags handed to the teams resting that slot. In a group of four on one court, two teams always rest while the other two play, which gives you a ready crew of twelve or more people.

A team that refuses to play after being summoned, or does not appear on court on time without a justifiable reason, loses 0-3, with 0-25 in each set (FIVB 6.4.1, 6.4.2). Write into your regulations how late counts as not appearing. The rule itself only says on time.

A team declared incomplete during a set or a match loses that set or match. The opponent gets the points, or the points and sets, needed to win, and the incomplete team keeps what it had already scored (6.4.3).

In PZPS tournaments a walkover loss is worth 0 table points where an ordinary loss is worth 1 (PSO §53). Leagues go further: a team can forfeit at most two matches in a season, and a third forfeit withdraws it from the competition (PSO §23).

Every interval between sets lasts three minutes (FIVB 18.1). During it the teams change courts and the scorer records the line-ups for the next set. The organiser can ask the competent body to extend the interval between the second and third set to as much as 10 minutes.

Teams change courts after every set except before the deciding one. In the deciding set they change once the leading team reaches 8 points, and player positions stay as they were (18.2).

Each team may request up to two time-outs and six substitutions per set (15.1), and a time-out lasts 30 seconds (15.4.1). None of these limits tells you how long a match lasts, because a set ends on points. Build the timetable from slots you have measured, and post the order of matches and who referees each one where the teams warm up.

Volleyball runs as a club tournament: teams enter by club name, without player accounts, and the default squad holds 14 names. The formats are round robin, knockout, and groups plus knockout (one to four groups: a single group sends 2, 4 or 8 on, two or four groups send the top 1 or 2 of each, and three groups send the group winners plus the best runner-up, or the top two of each plus the two best third-placed teams).

Match format. "Points per set" (11, 15, 21 or 25) and "Sets to win" (1, 2 or 3) are set once for the whole draw or changed for a single match.

Table. A new volleyball draw starts on the FIVB rules: 3 points for a 3-0 or 3-1, 2 and 1 for a 3-2, and the number of wins ranks first. In the format step you can switch to PZPS leagues (PSO §51–52), PZPS tournaments (PSO §52–53, 2/1/0) or "Custom points", the older table. A league defaults to 3/2/1/0 and offers the same three rule sets in the wizard and in Settings, plus two custom tie-break orders. The PZPS rule sets check wins right after points, as §52 does; FIVB puts wins first. A tie the rules cannot settle is left for the organizer to order. A walkover goes into the table as a 3-0 in a best-of-five draw. Under FIVB and both PZPS rule sets the forfeiting side gets 0 points and each set counts 25-0; with "Custom points" a walkover counts like any 0-3 loss: 0 points under 3/2/1/0 by sets, and 1 point only with flat scoring that gives 1 for a loss.

Courts and people. Courts are resources: give a start time and a slot length, and the scheduler lays the matches out and flags clashes. Each match has its own referee QR code, which opens the score panel for that match only, and the codes print on one sheet. Match slips and the drawn bracket print to PDF.

Screen. The volleyball live scoreboard counts sets to 25 and 15, shows the rotation number 1–6 of the serving team, and runs on a big screen.

What it does not do. No two-leg ties: PSO §54 settles those with a golden set, and JudgeMate offers two-leg ties only in sports with a penalty shoot-out. No player statistics, because points are not credited to individual players. No libero or captain fields. No online payments: entry fees are recorded as paid, waived or unpaid.

Set up a volleyball tournament, or sketch it first with the bracket generator and the schedule maker. Scoring rules in detail: how volleyball scoring works and the volleyball referee guide.