Sitting Volleyball

Current Programs (Updated November 2025)

Weekly Training

TORONTO

Location: Variety Village 3701 Danforth Ave, Scarborough, ON M1N 2G2
Dates: Friday evenings at 6:00pm from Sept 19 to Dec 12, 2025
Level of Play: Open (A mix of drills and games perfect for newcomers and seasoned players
Athletes: Youth and Adults Inclusive - a mix of persons with disabilities and able bodied persons
Cost: Free - covered by OVA Outreach

DURHAM

Location: Durham College/Ontario Tech University 2000 Simcoe St N, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5
Dates: Tuesday evenings at 6:00pm from Oct 28 to Dec 16, 2025
Level of Play: Open (A mix of drills and games perfect for newcomers and seasoned players
Athletes: Youth and Adults Inclusive - a mix of persons with disabilities and able bodied persons
Cost: Free - covered by OVA Outreach

Current Tournaments

Variety Village Classic

February 8th, 2026,

TORONTO

Location: Variety Village 3701 Danforth Ave, Scarborough, ON M1N 2G2
Time: 10:00am - 3:00pm
Level of Play: Open - Coed - Youth and Adults Inclusive - a mix of persons with disabilities and able bodied persons
Cost: Free - covered by OVA Outreach
Registration: Email kmaharaj@ontariovolleyball for more information

College & University Championships

March 5, 2026
Location: Durham College/Ontario Tech University 2000 Simcoe St N, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5
Time: 10:00am - 3:00pm
Level of Play: Open - Coed - Youth and Adults Inclusive - a mix of persons with disabilities and able bodied persons
Registration: Email kmaharaj@ontariovolleyball for more information

Ontario Sitting Championships

April 18th, 2025
Location: Enecare Centre, 100 Princes' Blvd, Toronto, ON M6K 3C3
Cost: TBD
Registration: Email kmaharaj@ontariovolleyball for more information

High Performance Camps

Team Ontario Sitting Volleyball: Investing in Athlete Development

The OVA is proud to confirm that all logistics have been finalized for the Team Ontario Sitting Volleyball Camp, taking place:

March 6–8, 2026
Durham College - Scheduled directly after the University & College Championships for seamless athlete progression.

This camp represents a targeted investment in inclusive high-performance pathways, ensuring that athletes with disabilities have structured opportunities to develop and compete at elite levels.

Registration information can be found here: https://teamontariovolleyball.org/sitting

General Rules

While the core and goals of the game are similar to its indoor and beach cousins, sitting volleyball differs in the following ways:

smaller court size (6m X 5m, attack line 2m off centre line)
lower net height (1.15m for men; 1.05m for women)
smaller net (7m long X 80 cm wide)
blocking the serve allowed by front-court athletes
contact with opponents under net is allowed (as long as it doesn't interfere with opponent's movement or play)
some part of the body from the shoulders to the buttocks must be in contact with the ground when playing the ball

Learn more about the sport with our Sitting Volleyball Information Guide including:

Background of Sitting Volleyball
Characteristics of the Game
General Rules of Sitting Volleyball
What to Wear
Equipment Needed for Sitting Volleyball
The guide also features a skill overview and fun activities to get participants familiar with the sport

Sitting Volleyball Information Guide

Anyone Can Play

Sitting volleyball is a sport that's growing across Canada both amongst able-bodied and disabled athletes alike. As a result, one of the most interesting features of this discipline is that it is open to a wide range of participants without discrimination (skills levels, age, and gender). Therefore, it holds a strong potential for social inclusiveness, especially if addressing young people.

Although Canada's sitting volleyball program did not start until 2007, this sport was introduced internationally in 1950 as a rehabilitative sport for World War II veterans.

Today, sitting volleyball enjoys Paralympic Game status (1980 for men; 2004 for women), and its popularity continues to increase as it offers a unique and enjoyable twist on the traditional sport of volleyball.

In addition to the Paralympic Games, Canada competes in the Invictus Games, which use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for wounded, injured, and sick Servicemen and women.

Sitting volleyball in Ontario is currently community-grassroots based and done in partnership with Parasport Ontario. Competitions are hosted by the OVA, community partners like the Brock Niagara Penguins, Variety Village, Durham College, UfT Scarborough and bi-annually with the ParaSport Games, Ontario.

More Information

If you are looking for more information on how to play, support or even host sitting volleyball in your area, please contact:

Kerish Maharaj

Manager - Community Outreach & Grassroots Programs

Phone: 647.477.2942

Be a Sitting Volleyball Referees

Sitting Volleyball Referee interacting with the athletes

The referees for sitting volleyball for an important part of its community. While there is currently no certification for referees in Canada for sitting volleyball, World Para-Volley has created a casebook to guide you using the full international rules.

At the OVA we modify the international rules to promote inclusivity, increase the number of contacts and maximize the enjoyment of the participants, especially at the grassroots level. These modifications include:

3 chances on services
Serving closer to the net
Smaller court size for 3v3 or 4v4 games (5mx4m per side with no attack line)
Shorter sets (0-15 and best of 3)

Check out the OVA Referee's Town Hall on Sitting Volleyball which will give you a comprehensive description of officiating sitting volleyball in Ontario.

Team Ontario and Team Canada Sitting

Team Ontario

The OVA is thrilled to announce the launch of our very first Team Ontario Sitting Program, set to begin in 2025. This overnight training camp offers para-athletes from across the province a chance to train in a high-performance sitting volleyball environment. The program is built to create a seamless transition between local community programs and the national team level. While this camp is specifically designed for para-athletes, we are also inviting able-bodied athletes to join, to complete a training group. The coaching staff will focus on developing key aspects of the game, ensuring comprehensive growth in both on-court skills, strength and conditioning, nutrition, etc.

For more information CLICK HERE or email:

Oklend Llakaj

Athlete Development Lead

Team Canada Men's team in training - Photo Courtesy Volleyball Canada

Team Canada

Currently, Ontario has 5 athletes on Team Canada:

Women's Team

Anne Fergusson – Carleton Place, ON
Jolan Wong – Petawawa, ON

Men's Team

Darek Symonowicz - Toronto, ON
Bryce Foster -Thunder Bay, ON
Nasif Chowdhury - Toronto, ON

If you want to play on the National Team or in the Paralympic Games, there are classifications for competition, as well as, international rules. For more information about the Team Canada, Sitting Volleyball program visit Volleyball Canada's information page.