Indoor Court Construction

1) Construction Details

Dimensions / Playing Area - By NCAA standards, indoor volleyball courts include the playing area and the free zone. The entire playing area must be visible to all team members and officials. The court and a free zone area are at least 6' 6". adjacent to and surrounding the court must be flat, smooth and free of obstructions, other than net supports. The recommended free zone area is 10' outside the sidelines and 15' beyond the end lines. It is also recommended to have an overhead clearance above the playing area of 41'. Facilities constructed after 2006 must be free of obstruction above the playing are to a minimum height of 25'.

Playing Area - Volleyball playing area of the court is 29' 6" by 59' and is measured along the outer sidelines and end lines.

Center Line – The axis of the center line divides the playing court into two equal team courts measuring 29' 6" by 29' 6" each. The center line extends beneath the net from sideline to sideline.

Attack Lines - A solid line is drawn in each team court between the sidelines, parallel to the center line. The edge of the attack line farthest from the center line measures 9' 10" from the axis of the center line.

Sleeve Installation – Sleeves are to be installed within a window of 34' - 38' with the average pole to pole distance being 36'. Depending on the type of floor, sleeves are installed in different methods. Please call 1-800-494-3933 for personal assistance / instruction on sleeve installation. We offer step by step instructions along with photos to customers who purchase equipment from us.

2) Floor Sleeve Installation Types

3) Recommended Poles

We have a variety of poles coming in different sizes (3" - 4" diameters) and material types such as carbon fiber, steel and aluminum. What you decide to go with should not only be based on budget, but also pole flex preference and ease of setup and takedown of your playing area.

Carbon Fiber has quickly become the primary choice of Division 1 colleges due to their strength (similar to steel) and weight (lighter than aluminum) but come at a higher cost. Steel is the heaviest type of pole and will help provide courts with a more rigid and stiff aesthetic look, showing little to no pole flex when volleyball nets are at tension. Aluminum is the most popular choice, due to its lower price point compared to carbon fiber and having a lighter, more manageable weight than steel poles. You will notice some pole flexion with the nets at tension compared to steel and carbon fiber.

Our Patriot Pole is one of the best on the market due to its durability, ease of use. This style of pole use a pin-stop height adjustment system to quickly and easily set your playing height. Compared to our competitors, our Patriot Pole uses an aluminum pulley design due to feedback from coaches and athletic directors around the country who have used poles using plastic pulleys prone to breaking.

A couple other pole options are the Portable Indoor Poles (PIP) and Monson Slider poles. Both utilize a sliding mechanism to adjust net height, making them ideal when also playing net sports other than volleyball (badminton, tennis, pickleball, etc.).

The Monson Slider poles are designed for coaches, players and facility managers who wish to adjust their net height from junior's, men's, to women's heights. The key here is it can be done while leaving the net under full tension. The hassle of having to take the volleyball net down just to put it back up at tension is no longer there when using this system. Net adjustment is achieved by the stainless steel ball bearings which provide smooth adjustment from each height setting. This can be a great option for clubs or facilities with many different age groups playing volleyball and other net sports.

Like the Monson Slider system, the PIP Bazooka Slider allows for easy sliding adjustment but uses single point adjustment via Palm Bolt and an optional set screw that can be tightened using an allen key.

All of these poles include our own Clamp On Stainless Steel / Bronze Worm Gear Winch. This is a heavy duty winch, that will ship out pre-configured to fit the size of pole ordered. Compared to our competitiors, we use a collapsible handle in order to prevent loss. Other winches use removeable handles which if lost, can take weeks to replace due to them being made overseas.