For the first time, Sitting- and Standing Volleyball was officially on the Paralympic program. The Netherlands submitted its candidacy for these Games after it became known from Russia that “there were no disabled people there”.
These Games were so special because, for the first time, there were four disability (then called handicap) categories: Cerebral Palsy, Amputees, Blind and Paralysed athletes, who could compete together in one event. It also presented additional organizational problems, because no integrated programs were allowed. For each category, all events were organized separately.
| PARALYMPICS | SITTING VOLLEYBALL |
| Year: 1980 Location: Arnhem, The Netherlands Date: June 21- July 5, 1980 Total athletes: 2500 ( ? men & ? women) Number of countries: 42 Total sports: 13 Name of the mascot: Noggi & Joggi Top 5 countries: ? | Edition: 1st men Sitting Volleyball Period: June 23 -July 4, 1980 Venue: de Rijnhal Number of teams: 7 Number of countries: 7 |
| Medals | |||
| Men Sitting | Gold – NED | Silver – SWE | Bronze – YUG |
| Men Standing | Gold – ISR | Silver – POL | Bronze – FRG |
Mascotte Noggi & Joggi
The squirrels were chosen by the population of the Netherlands as they are frequently found in the forests of Papendal.