Can You Wear Jewelry in Volleyball? (Explained in Details)


can you wear jewelry in volleyball

Some jewelry could be highly significant for some people to the point where they just can’t remove them even during physical activities …

But, what about volleyball, can you wear jewelry while playing such a sport? Jewelry are generally not allowed for safety reasons in case you are playing at a pro or semi-pro level. However for recreational purposes, you can still wear them even if they are ultimately not recommended.

This article explains the rules managing jewelry usage while playing volleyball in details. I also dive into some kinds of risks and important precautions you need to consider.

Do volleyball rules allow jewelry inside the court?

Nearly all types of jewelry are forbidden during a volleyball game, those being earrings, body piercings, rings and necklaces …

Even hair accessories are forbidden in volleyball, those being the ones that can compromise the safety of the players. The reason behind the restriction is quite simple, safety.

Volleyball is a fast paced game, and being like that makes it dangerous for people who are wearing jewelry on court. The opposing teams are separated by a net, yes, but that does not mean they are safe from injury.

Quick Recommendation: There are several important rules and safety measures that few volleyball players know about. I highly recommend you to check this helpful book. You will learn everything there is about volleyball.

Wearing jewelry can cause some serious injury. Imagine a player wearing earrings. His team mate went for the spike and the players earring was caught by accident by the hand of the spiker. The teammates hand will keep going on with the swing, taking your earring with him, and maybe your ear. The worst case scenario is a split auricle.

Necklaces for instance are a different kind of hazard. They can get in your way while jumping, or they can get caught by your teammates hand, similarly to the earrings getting caught.

That however does not mean players are completely unable to wear jewelry on court. They have the option of wearing just a small ring, a flat band (a wedding band) or minimum hair accessories for keeping the hair out of the way during gameplay.

Can you wear earrings in volleyball?

No, you cannot wear earrings to a volleyball game. Earrings are banned from volleyball because they can cause serious ear injury.

No matter the type of earring you are wearing, they can and they will cause injury if they are accidentally caught by a team mate’s hand.

The auricle is the softest part of the ear, and is the most usual place for earrings. Women and men alike make little holes in it in order to place earrings in them. Being the softest part of the ear it can easily be damaged by the earring ripping through it.

Imagine you are wearing earrings to a game, and you toss yourself for a dig. The side of your head hits the floor with average force, nothing too special. Your ear however starts bleeding and your earring is loose in your ear. You realize that the cavity the earring is in is now wider, because the impact stretched it.

You get the idea why earrings are banned in volleyball, just like any other sport.

Is jewelry allowed during volleyball warm ups?

During a volleyball warm up, you should not be wearing jewelry. The things that we have mentioned before still apply. Jewelry is dangerous on the court.

However it depends on which warm up you have shown up to. If you have shown up to a pre-game warm up it is best you do not wear any jewelry, since there is a chance that you get a warning from the refs or the coach.

If you have shown up to a regular practice, of which a warm up is just a part of, and you forgot to take your jewelry of, than that can be tolerated and is not punishable. Just do not forget to take the jewelry of before the game or the practice get in full swing.

To a warm up you can wear your jewelry, but still at a cost of a potential injury, so it is best not to do so.

Can u play volleyball with a nose piercing?

Piercings are regarded as jewelry in volleyball rules book and in real life, and as such are forbidden when playing a game of volleyball.

First let us talk about piercings in general. Some volleyball players wear piercings as a regular part of their body. As such they tend to tape the piercing during a volleyball game. This method however is not safe.

The tape can get wet from the sweat; it can loosen up and fall of, exposing the piercing. When the piercing is exposed it presents a hazard for the player, similar to an earring.

The situations that can arise from the piercing being in direct contact with another player are somewhat the same as the situations with the earrings.

If you are wearing a septum nose piercing that has a split in the middle, and if you can put it up in your nose, than it is best to put it up there and not get it out until after the game. If you are wearing the closed septum piercing, that one goes off during a game. All other types of nose piercings are required to be taken of.

Does all this apply for beach volleyball?

Yes, all that we have mentioned so far does apply to beach volleyball as well. Beach volleyball also prohibits the wearing of jewelry in every single case. Be it a game, a practice or a warm up.

Beach volleyball prohibits the wearing of necklaces, earrings, piercings, and hair accessories. It prohibits all of the jewelry out of the same practical reason, safety.

Players in beach volleyball have a higher chance of injury when wearing a piercing however. They can get hurt easily because their bodies are more exposed than those of indoor volleyball players.

So for beach volleyball players it is recommended to take the piercings off, not just tape them. The sand can also easily mess with the tape.

Although playing beach volleyball might seem like there is less chance of injury because of the sand, and a lower number of teammates, do not let it fool you. There are still plenty of possibilities for injury.

At any given time during a game you can bump in your team mate accidentally, or have a bad contact with the ball. That being a bad platform for a pass, a direct hit to the ear, nose or any other part of the body a piece of jewelry can be located.

Risks of wearing jewelry in recreational practices.

Recreational practice can carry the same amount of dangers as a regular game, when it comes to jewelry. It might seem fine and not such a big of a deal to wear jewelry to a practice, but know that it is a big deal if you are wearing jewelry to a practice.

A practice is there to help you improve your skills, it is there to help your team and your coach to perform better. It is the place where you win the games before playing.

Jewelry in a practice means the same thing as jewelry in a game, danger. Wearing jewelry to a practice is dangerous for the player because of the reasons we have already mentioned.

Of course in a practice, players are less likely to use their full potential than during an actual game. There is not so much contact during a practice like there is during a game, but that however does not mean that there are no chances that you will get hurt.

Lastely, if you are interested in other safe accessories that you can use in this sport, then you might want to use an Apple watch. In this short Post, I explain how you should use an Apple watch in volleyball … I think you will find it really helpful and interesting!

Final Thought …

One more risk of wearing jewelry during a high pace activity like volleyball is losing you piece of jewelry. For example, it is very easy to get your necklace (that could be highly valuable) broken during a game/or practice and then lose it in the process …

So, all in all, I really recommend playing any kind of sport jewelry-free! That’s the right thing to do.

Finally, you can learn more about other things that are not allowed in volleyball!

Carissa Harmer

Carissa Harmer has over 6 years of volleyball experience between playing the sport at a semi-professional level, following the biggest volleyball teams & leagues out there as well as helping beginners to get started on the right path.

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