Prior to the start of each season rules briefings are held by Officials Working Group Lead, Nick Heckford, designed to help Volleyball England registered referees, coaches and bench personnel, better understand changes to the FIVB Rules of Game and new rule interpretations. 

While the last set of FIVB Rules of Game were updated on 1st January 2025, since then, there have been some significant developments within the world of volleyball - and Volleyball England has adopted these interpretations from 1st September 2025. 

Summary of the 2025-26 rule and intepretation changes 

New Rules of the Game, introduced January 2025 

• Ball outside the crossing space (rule 10.1.2.3).
• Additional wording to the screen (rule 12).
• Serving Team Positions (rule 7.4).

New interpretations of the following playing actions 

• Judging the positions of the recieving team. 
• Ball contact on the second internal team hit.
• Players entering the opponent court.

How to view the full 2025-26 rule briefing recordings 

• Log into or sign up to Volleyball England Learning. 
• Once logged in or registered navigate to the webinar section of the platform. 
• Under featured webinars you will find both the referee and coach briefing delivered by Nick Heckford (Officials Working Group Lead). 

Following the briefings, some referees and coaches have taken the opportunity to ask clarification questions about the rules and regulations. These questions and answers have been shared below for the benefit of the volleyball community.