Hand gestures for referees

This post is also available in: Dutch

Whistling a match is part of playing at a volleyball club. Still, some find it exciting, and it can sometimes be a bit difficult if you haven’t done it so often. To help you on your way this season, we’ve listed a few hand gestures for you.

Practice the volleyball rules

On Volleybalmasterz.nl, candidate referees can practice the rules of the game and study them in understandable language. When the final test has been successfully completed, the ‘volleyball master’ is qualified and registered with Nevobo within a day to whistle matches in the 3rd class and below. Read more here.

The hand gestures in a row

Paired with whistling, you hereby give permission to serve the ball:

Scored a point or made a mistake?
First indicate which team you give the point and can therefore serve:

Then indicate what kind of point it was.

The ball is hit out:

The ball has been hit in:

The ball has been touched twice by the same player:

The ball has been played four times:

The net has been touched by a player:

The ball has been touched by a player (also known as touché) before going:

Another ball enters the field/you cannot see whether the ball was in or out (also called double foul):

A few more important things to whistle a match

  1. Be on time so that the match can start on time.
  2. Don’t be afraid to admit your own mistake by pointing out a double foul.
  3. Be sharp with net errors! Touched the net = opponent’s point!
  4. Don’t be fooled by what players say. Trust your own eyes. If you don’t see something, you don’t see something, but don’t give a point because one team shouts just a little louder than the other.
  5. The first time may be a little scary, but the more often you do it, the more confident you become.

And most importantly: have fun!