IOC’s latest decision on the AP Athlete Policy is announced. FIVB

There will be some flexibility regarding the volleyball regulations at the Olympic Games. This is reflected in the latest decision made by the International Olympic Committee, which confirmed this week that it will ease the Late Athlete Replacement policy in order to streamline the competitions.

As officially announced, the Olympic volleyball event will, for the first time in its history, allow each participating team to include one AP (non-competitive) athlete to replace a competitive AA (competitive) athlete if the latter is injured or has to withdraw for medical reasons. This change will increase the roster size of national teams from 12 to 13 players, providing greater support to withstand emergency situations.

While the AP athlete included in the squad will be entitled to attend matches and train with the team, their participation in events will be limited, and they will not be accommodated in the Olympic Village unless additional support is granted by the National Olympic Committee (NOC). Essentially, this is a provision designed to ensure that the team is not left without a replacement and can continue competing.


Volleyball match between national teams. GETTY IMAGES
Volleyball match between national teams. GETTY IMAGES


Another change introduced by the new replacement policy relates to how these substitutions will be carried out. The previous version of the rule for AP athletes only allowed for a permanent replacement without the possibility of the injured athlete returning to the team once recovered. However, the IOC will exceptionally allow teams to reinstate the athlete at Paris 2024, provided that they recover from their injury.

The number of AA athletes at any given time must not exceed twelve per team, and in accordance with the usual LAR policy, a medical certificate issued by the National Federation (NF) and the National Olympic Committee (NOC), and validated by the FIVB Medical Officer, must be presented to ensure the players' health status is fit for the matches.

The replacement process can be repeated multiple times according to the updated procedure outlined in Article 1.3 of the AP Athlete in the Volleyball Competition Regulations. However, it is important to clarify that the new policy adopted by the IOC is exclusively for this edition of the Olympics, although it is expected to review its implementation with the International Federations (IF) and the relevant NOCs before confirming athlete quotas and the LAR policy for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.