How is Volley 4s different from normal volleyball?

Volley 4s is Volleyball England's 4 v 4 entry competition for players aged Under 14 and below, with separate girls' and boys' pools and four Grand Prix events in 2026/27 (boys: 31 October, 28 November, 6 February, 20 March; girls: 1 November, 29 November, 7 February, 21 March). Its adaptations:

• Court: ideally a badminton court using the outside tramlines (about 13.4 m x 6.1 m).
• Timed sets: usually 3 sets of 8 minutes (6 to 8 minutes is preferred and can be adjusted), so results are 3-0 or 2-1. If the ball is in play when the whistle goes, the rally is finished and counts. A tied set is decided by one final point.
• Time-outs: one per set, when the first team reaches 8 points.
• Substitutions: squads of more than 4 choose either normal substitutions (A replaces B, and only B can come back for A) or a rotation system where players rotate off and back on to serve. No substitutions in the last 3 minutes of a set unless using the rotation system.
• Serving runs: after 3 successive serves by one player the team rotates but keeps serve; after 6 successive serves the ball passes to the other team (the score doesn't change).
• Ball contact: any part of the body may touch the ball, but kicking is a fault and loses the point.
• Roles aren't specialised, and the server counts as a back-court player.
• Reduced-weight balls (Mikasa VS170W recommended) are advised.

Referees come from the teams in the pool and are asked to let the game flow, setting a level of ball handling that suits the players' development.