FIVB’s 2026 tip-rule test: what is still legal?

Tips are not banned in the FIVB’s 2026 indoor volleyball test. A tip with “very short contact” remains permitted, but the test calls for strict enforcement against caught or thrown attacks and specifically prohibits pushes, carries, two-hand attacks, open-hand block outs and attack actions involving changes of direction. The distinction is the contact—not simply whether the attack is soft. FIVB’s rule-test announcement

What changed—and what was already a rule?

A tip is a soft attacking touch used instead of a full spike. The existing 2025–2028 FIVB indoor rules already say:

• Rule 9.2.2: The ball must not be caught or thrown; it can rebound in any direction.
• Rule 13.1.2: Tipping is permitted only when the ball is cleanly hit, rather than caught or thrown.

So the underlying no-catch rule is not new. The 2026 test introduces an explicit, stricter application to attack contacts, identifying actions that will not be permitted. Official Volleyball Rules, Rules 9.2.2 and 13.1.2

The announcement’s key sentence is: “Only the action of ‘tipping’ the ball, with very short contact will be allowed.” In context, this distinguishes a permitted tip from the prohibited push–carry–catch–throw actions; it does not mean spikes are being replaced by tips. FIVB announcement

Which contacts are legal under the test?

Attacking action	Contact ruling under the announced test
Clean tip with very short contact	Permitted, subject to the other attack rules
Catching or throwing the ball	Fault
Pushing or carrying the ball	Not permitted
“Attack actions involving changes of direction”	Not permitted
Two-hand attack	Not permitted
Open-hand block out	Not permitted

These categories come from the FIVB’s attack-contact test. The announcement supplies no numerical contact-time limit: it says “very short,” not a specified number of milliseconds. It also does not give detailed criteria for judging “changes of direction.” The standing rule permits a rebound in any direction, so that phrase should not be read as a blanket ban on aiming an attack at a different target.

Nor should “open-hand block outs” be shortened to “all open-hand contacts are illegal.” That would be broader than the announcement.

A two-hand set to a teammate is also different from a two-hand attack over the net. FIVB defines an attack hit as an action directing the ball toward the opponent, excluding service and block. Its separate second-contact interpretation allows double contact during setting provided the ball stays on the same side of the court. That allowance does not authorize a two-hand attack under this test. Official rules, Rule 13.1.1; 2026 interpretations

Where does it apply?

The announcement names three indoor testing settings: the 2026 Volleyball Nations League, FIVB Volleyball U17 World Championships and 2026 Continental Championships. It says any update to the Official Volleyball Rules is subject to review during testing. This announcement therefore should not be treated as automatic adoption by every NCAA, school, club or recreational competition; check that competition’s rules. FIVB test scope

Beach volleyball has a separate rule: its 2025–2028 Rule 13.2.3 already prohibits an attack using an open-handed finger action, or fingertips that are not rigid and together. The indoor test is not permission to use a conventional open-finger tip in beach volleyball. Official Beach Volleyball Rules

What does a tip fault do to the score?

Imagine Team A attacking at 24–24 in one of the first four sets under FIVB indoor rules:

• A legal, very short tip lands untouched inside Team B’s court: Team A leads 25–24.
• The referee instead calls Team A’s contact a carry: Team B leads 25–24 and has the next serve, even if the ball subsequently lands in its court.

Neither result ends the set, because a two-point lead is required. A contact fault awards the opponent a rally point; it is not merely a warning or a replay. FIVB Rules 6.1–6.2 For the broader scoring framework, see how volleyball scoring works.