The art of the ball

The entire process to make a volleyball ball takes 25 minutes although following inspections and evaluations at different stages of the process, the time stretches to two days   Reprinted from FIVB e-News, November 14, 2011: Hiroshima, Japan, November 9, 2011 – See how a crucial part of the Mikasa ball is made with this great illustration of part of the volleyball ball making process at the Mikasa main factory in Hiroshima, Japan. The entire practical process to make a volleyball ball - starting from rubber cleaning, heating, stretching, shaping to sewing and shaping the ball inner before applying the outside coating - takes 25 minutes although following inspections and evaluations at different stages of the process, the time stretches to two days. This video shows the painstaking, hand made process of "dressing" the ball with the colourful Mikasa colours. Mikasa is an official supplier of the FIVB and a total of 660 Mikasa balls are used during the FIVB World Cup 2011, covering both genders while the total number of volleyball balls made by Mikasa per year is two million. Video courtesy of La Gazzetta dello Sport