The governing body was formed on April 24 1981 at a meeting in Bonn, Germany, during the European Sitting Volleyball Championships.

When it was founded it was known as the International Sports Organisation for Disabled Volleyball Committee before changing its name to the World Organisation Volleyball for Disabled in 1996.

It then became known as World ParaVolley in 2014.

World ParaVolley has also recognised a host of individuals for their contributions to the discipline of standing volleyball.

Players, coaches, referees, classifiers, technical officials and individuals involved with governance of the sport have all been recognised.

To mark the anniversary a new edition of the World ParaVolley History podcast has also been released, featuring an interview with the organisation’s former development director John Kessel.

During the episode, Kessel looks back at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games and reflects on his 25 years of service to World ParaVolley, while also sharing his thoughts on the future of the sport.

An article looking back at highlights from the history of standing volleyball has been released to coincide with the anniversary.

Among the statistics included are that there have been 44 international standing volleyball competitions during the discipline’s history with Germany winning the most gold medals - 18.