Can I Wear Jewelry in Volleyball?
❌NO Jewelry Is Allowed When Playing Volleyball
When it comes to jewelry on the volleyball court, the official rules state that NO jewelry is allowed. Players cannot wear earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, or body piercings. The only exceptions to this rule is a flat band ring, like a wedding band and/or a medical bracelet.
Because volleyball is such a fast-paced sport. It is for the safety of the players that they can not have jewelry. Although it is non-contact sport, players can accidentally collide with each other throughout the game.
❗️There Are Simply Too Many Bad Scenarios
Volleyball also involves a lot of jumping, running, diving, and aggressive arm movements (think spiking and hitting the ball). Not only can jewelry distract player, it can potentially cause injury to the player if the jewelry were to get hit or yanked out. Players are also often positioned in front of the net where rings, bracelets and even earrings, can get snared and/or caught in. There are simply too many scenarios where jewelry, even small studded earrings, can cause an injury. For example, it is very possible to get ball in your head. Let’s be real, accidents happen. Getting spiked in the head would be bad enough, but would be even worse if it hit a piercing.
❗️It would also be a very unpleasant experience to have a player have an earring ripped out of their ear.
Not only would the player probably require medical attention. But depending on the severity of the injury, the team may lose that player for the rest of the game. Which could negatively impact the team.
❗️Besides injury, jewelry is not allowed to prevent loss and theft.
It is highly recommended that all players not bring their jewelry at all, and to leave all of their jewelry at home. Volleyball games can draw large crowds of people, especially at tournaments where there are multiple teams sharing one locker room. Personal belongings can easily be misplaced, accidentally picked up, or intentionally stolen by someone else.
Some players will try and bypass the no jewelry rule by using tape to cover earrings and body piercings. Volleyball players often sweat profusely while playing, which would ultimately make the purpose of the tape useless. Even when officials let players tape their piercings. If the tape or band-aid would come off, the game would stopped to re-tape the piercing. Again, this would take time away from the game. It could also be detrimental to a team if they were doing well due to building momentum. To interrupt that momentum for a player to re-tape a piercing, could cause the team to lose that momentum, and worst-case scenario, lose the game.
That being said, it should be reiterated that it is best for all players’ jewelry to just be left at home.