World ParaVolley Trains 60 Sitting Volleyball Officials
Level 1 and level 2 certification courses were delivered in Rwanda and Slovenia as part of World ParaVolley's Coaching Certification programme.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Volleyball
World ParaVolley trained 60 technical officials in Africa and Europe through sitting volleyball certification courses. Eighteen of the trained officials, including seven women, received IPC grant funding.
Why it matters
The training aims to strengthen the pool of qualified coaches in sitting volleyball across regions. Courses combined self-paced e-learning with in-person practical sessions to build that capacity.
Training figures come from World ParaVolley's own course records: 60 officials were trained, 18 received IPC grants, and each camp hosted 30 participants. The extraction does not report how many participants completed certification or when the next courses will run.
The players
World ParaVolley
The international governing body for parasport volleyball that runs the Coaching Certification programme for sitting volleyball officials.
International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
The global governing body of the Paralympic Movement, which funded officials through grants and runs the Sport for Mobility programme.
The details
Level 1 and level 2 courses were held in Rwanda and Slovenia under World ParaVolley's Coaching Certification programme. The Rwanda camp at the NPC Rwanda Gymnasium in Kigali was hosted by the National Paralympic Committee of Rwanda, while the Slovenian camp in Ljubljana was hosted by the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia.
Timeline
Participants began the online certification course almost two months before the in-person sessions.
The IPC Sport for Mobility programme launched in 2025.
Season Trajectory
The IPC's Sport for Mobility programme, launched in 2025 and supporting 22 International Federations across 26 sports, is channelling grants into officiating and coaching pipelines. Funding sitting volleyball officials extends that effort into the technical side of parasport beyond athlete participation.
Sitting volleyball clubs and national federations gain additional certified technical officials from this training cohort. Players and fans in participating countries may see more trained officiating at local and regional competitions as those participants return home.
The takeaway
Expanding certified officiating and coaching is a practical route to growing sitting volleyball in regions with fewer trained personnel. Participants like Janeth Mlay, a Tanzanian participant, have said they will carry this work back to their own countries.
Further reading
For more on the sport, explore our Volleyball coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by International Paralympic Committee.
