30+ Official Volleyball Hand Signals For Indoor Games (2024)

The first volleyball ref signals their arm out to the side, directly pointing at the player about to serve. This clarifies which team has possession and is responsible for starting the rally.

Simultaneously with pointing, the first referee raises their other fist vertically above their head. This indicates the readiness for the serve and signals to both teams that the rally is about to start.

The official signal for indicating the team to serve in volleyball combines 2 separate hand gestures:

• Pointing: The first referee extends their arm and shows directly at the player about to serve. This helps identify which team has possession and is responsible for initiating the rally.
• Open palm facing the serving team: Simultaneously with pointing, the first referee extends their other hand with an open palm facing directly towards the serving team. This reinforces the visual clue of who is serving and adds clarity to the direction of the service.

The change of court volleyball official hand signals is a straightforward one! It signifies that both teams need to switch sides of the court after reaching a specific score.

The first referee raises both forearms vertically, palms facing forward and while holding the forearms in position, the referee rotates their forearms around each other, switching the positions of their hands (left becomes right, and vice versa).

The referee raises one hand vertically with fingers extended and places the palm of the other hand horizontally across the fingers of the raised hand, forming a "T" shape.

While holding the "T" pose, the referee points toward the team requesting the time-out. This clarifies which team is taking the break and prevents any confusion.

The first referee hand signals in volleyball as he brings both forearms together in front of their chest, palms facing each other, and then makes a circular motion with their forearms around each other as if rotating a wheel. This visually represents the exchange of players.

Likewise, the second referee blows their whistle to officially halt play and authorize the substitution.

There is not a single dedicated volleyball referee hand signals specifically for "Misconduct Warning." However, referees use a combination of visual and verbal cues to indicate a minor infraction and warn the offending player or team.

The first referee holds up a yellow card briefly and then tucks it away. This is the universal symbol for a warning in various sports, including volleyball.

The referee might point towards the area where the misconduct occurred, such as the net for net contact or the sideline for an out-of-bounds ball.

For some particular violations, the referee might subtly imitate the player's movement to illustrate the misconduct, like raising their hand slightly for an illegal block above the net.

The first referee raises a red card high and displays it directly towards the offending player and coach. This universally recognized symbol in various sports signifies a direct penalty and dismissal from the game.

Along with showing the red card, the second referee blows their whistle sharply to instantly halt play and draw everyone's attention to the expulsion.

In volleyball, the signal for disqualification contains visual and auditory aspects comparable to expulsion, but with some subtle distinctions.

The first referee, similar to expulsion, raises a red card high and presents it directly to the guilty player and coach. In rare circ*mstances, instead of a single red card, they may hold up two red cards together.

This could be done to underline the seriousness of the infringement or to indicate a team disqualification rather than merely individual player expulsion.

The signal for "End of Set or Match" in volleyball depends on whether the set has ended or the entire match has ended.

End of Set:

• Whistle blow: The second referee blows their whistle decisively to signal the set's final point.
• Hand gesture: The first referee raises their closed fist vertically over their head at the same time, holding it there for a few seconds. This marks the end of the set and pauses before starting the next.

End of Match:

• Whistle blow: Similar to the set ending, the second referee blows their whistle sharply to mark the match's conclusion.
• Hand gesture: The first referee again raises their closed fist vertically, but this time for a longer duration compared to the end of a set.

The first referee raises their arm vertically, palms out, and points directly at the serving team. This denotes the team that committed the offense.

At the same time, the referee raises their other hand and makes a closed fist, holding it horizontally in front of their chest, knuckles pointing downwards. This hand gesture denotes a service error relating to the toss or release.

The second referee blows their whistle loudly, bringing the game to a halt and drawing attention to the service failure.

The referee might first verbally warn the server by saying "Time" or "Hurry up" to prompt them to initiate the serve quickly.

If the delay persists, the referee raises eight fingers, spread open, emphasizing the time already elapsed and urging the server to serve quickly.

After a significant delay, the referee might award the point to the opposing team without any specific hand signal. This penalty signifies the server's failure to adhere to the time limit for initiating the serve.

The signal for "Blocking Fault or Screening" in volleyball is determined by the type of fault committed:

Blocking Fault:

Raised arm and pointing: The first referee raises their arm vertically with their palm facing outwards and points directly at the blocking team, as with other service faults. This denotes the team that committed the offense.

Screening:

The first referee lifts both arms with palms facing inward and crosses them in front of their chest. This gesture symbolizes screening and obstructing the opponent's vision of the ball.

The first referee extends their arm, forefinger vertically pointing, and then performs a little circular motion with their finger, as if painting a circle in the air. This simple gesture universally denotes a flaw in the team formation's player positioning or rotations.

Hence, depending on the situation, referees may vocally proclaim exactly what is wrong, referring to it as "Positional fault" or "Rotation fault" to clarify the issue.

When the ball lands within the court's boundary lines, whether touching or totally within them, the first referee simply waves their arm downwards in an unambiguous gesture. This indicates that the ball is "In" and play continues.

The first referee lifts their arm vertically, palm out, and points directly to the side of the court where the ball went out. This identifies the team that was accountable for the point's loss.

At the same time, the referee raises their other hand and extends it forward, open palm facing upwards. This gesture indicates that the ball landed outside the boundary lines, resulting in an "Out" call.

Catching the ball is not allowed in volleyball. The rules state that players can only contact the ball with a bump, set, spike, or tip.

To show the signal of catch, the referee slowly lifts the forearm, the palm facing upward.

The first referee extends their arm vertically with their palm facing outwards and points directly at the player who committed the double hit. This hand signals for volleyball identifies the individual responsible for the infraction.

Simultaneously, the referee raises two fingers, if the ball is contacted more thanonce by a player, the block does notcount.

The first referee extends their arm vertically, palm out, and points directly toward the team that committed the four-hit penalty. This indicates the team in charge.

In the same way, the referee raises their other hand and spreads all four fingers wide. This particular gesture denotes the excessive amount of contacts (four) made with the ball before returning it to the opposing team's side.

The referee mimics the player's illegal contact by placing their other hand flat on the net cable. This gesture indicates that the net touch directly interfered with the ball's or the opponent's play.

Similarly to the preceding example, the first referee points to the serving team when their player contacts the net during the service attempt.

The signal for "Reaching Beyond the Net" in volleyball is a distinct visual cue followed by optional verbal communication.

The referee places a hand above the net, palm facing downwards if a player touches the ball or an opponent in the opponent's space before or during the opponent's attack hit.
Referees may declare the call verbally as "Reaching beyond the net" or "Reaching fault" for greater clarity.

To show the attack hit fault, the referee makes a downward motion with the forearm, and hand open.

The specific hand gestures and verbal communication give clear information about the type of attack hit fault and its consequences.

The first referee raises their hand just beyond the height of the net, palm horizontally facing the opposing team's side of the court. This gesture denotes a player entering the opponent's space during play.

The first referee makes a "time-out" or "pause" gesture with both hands, thumbs elevated and palms facing each other. This represents the double fault.

At the same time, the referee lowers their other hand, palm down, and extends two fingers (typically the index and middle finger). This special gesture denotes the point being replayed because of the double fault.

If the ball hits a player and then lands inbounds on their side of the court, the referee may brush the fingers of the other hand, held vertically, with the palm of one hand. This gesture usually denotes a valid touch and the continuation of play.

To signal the delay warning or delay penalty in volleyball, the referee covers the wrist with a yellow card (warning) and with a red card (penalty).

If required, the second referee might blow their whistle to reinforce the warning and halt play momentarily.

To indicate the crossing space faults in volleyball, the volleyball line judge signals the flag over the head and points to the antenna or the respective line.

When the referees in volleyball can not make the judgments then they raise and cross both arms and hands in front of the chest.

Referees express their doubts about the action directly, recognizing the difficulty in determining the correct verdict. They may seek advice from the second referee or line judges to gain additional viewpoints before making a final decision.

The referee raises both hands with open palms facing each other and quickly moves them back and forth in a clapping motion a few times. This exact gesture denotes making two successive contacts with the ball or holding it for a brief while before releasing it.

The first referee raises their arm vertically, fist clinched above their head. This gesture represents the completion of the game and the rally.

At the same time, the referee points their other hand towards the winning team, clearly identifying the recipient.

The "Point" signal in volleyball is quite simple and uses a consistent, universally recognized gesture. It indicates the winner of the rally, signaling one finger raised on the side of the courtthat won the rally.

Hence, this single gesture indicates the awarding of a point to one of the teams.

The first official extends their arm and points directly down, palm toward the court. This gesture denotes the location of the ball's landing within the borders.

Referees may sometimes make a sweeping motion with their open palms across the court in the direction of the ball's landing to emphasize its legitimacy.