UTGSU Volleyball League Rules Version: September 2017 1. The league uses standard FIVB volleyball rules with the exceptions outlined below. All team captains should be familiar with the rules. If not familiar with the rules, please download the rules and read them over carefully from the link above. 2. A maximum of six players per team is allowed on the court during play. There is no minimum number of players required to form a team, but: A maximum of 2 defaulted games will be allowed during league play. To cancel a match, please contact the coordinator and opposing team within 36 hours of the match to allow for sufficient notice for the opposing team. Failure to do so will result in a loss of 1 set win from the overall standings. Defaulted matches will be considered a loss of 1-0. Teams with greater than 2 default losses will be dropped from the league, and all matches involving a "dropped" team will be removed from the standings. Concerns or valid reasons for missing a match can be provided to the coordinator via email (volleyball@utgsu.ca) for consideration. As this is a co-ed league, there must never be more than 4 males on the court and no less than 1 female on the court at all times. In the event that only a single female player is present, the game may be played with 5 players (4 males and 1 female). As there is a wait list for teams, each team should have at least five players on the court at all times. Please inform the League Coordinator if this is not the case. Teams that do not have enough players will be dropped from the league. 3. Each person may play on one team only (a part of one team roster). Substitutes will be allowed during league games (at the discretion of the captains) with a minimum of 3 players participating from the original roster. During playoffs, substitutions are not allowed, and only players registered on the team roster will be allowed to play on their respective teams during playoffs. 4. Please place yourself on a team appropriate to your skill level. This makes participation much more enjoyable for everyone. It is dangerous and unsportsmanlike to have high caliber (ex-) varsity players on Intermediate or Recreation Division teams. Spiking the ball amongst unprepared players is going to result in an injury sooner or later. 5. All matches involve three sets to 25 points (27 point cap), using the rally point scoring system, (where one point is scored on each serve by one of the teams) within a one-hour time slot. Standings are based on percentage of sets won only, and all three sets "count". Match scoring differences between divisions are as follows: Competitive Division: the third set does not count if it is not completed within
the allotted time OR captains can agree to play a set to 15 (win by 2, cap 17). Intermediate and Recreation Division: the team leading when time runs out wins the set. If the set is tied; the incoming teams should let the match continue for one more point. If the teams cannot resolve a tie quickly or don't want to, it is fine to record the match result as 2-0 or 1-1. Games should always commence within ten minutes of the start time, especially for the Competitive Division. Teams can continue to play for fun if all three sets are finished before time has run out. 6. If a team is still waiting for players to show up when the warm-up period (no more than 10 minutes) is over, they can choose to play with fewer than six players (see rule #2), default the match, or default the first set. In the latter case, the teams would then play a set for fun. If the team is still waiting at the end of this first set, they may begin a second fun match. If the missing player(s) show up before this set is over, the match starts for real at that point, with the set score of 1-0. Late players can be added to the line-up at any time. 7. While there are no explicit substitution rules or limits, teams should establish a substitution pattern (e.g. when rotating, the player who was serving goes off; or, a team could play half-sets with a fixed line-up then switch bodies at 13 points). Under no circumstances, except injury, can a player leaving the front row return to the front row until that player s position has returned to the front row by rotation. 8. The match score must be entered onto the UTGSU volleyball league website. UNREPORTED SCORES COUNT AS DOUBLE DEFAULTS (-1 win from both teams). 9. There are no referees - players are responsible for calling infractions of the rules as appropriate to each division, and according to the following guidelines: Matches are played in the spirit of competitiveness and fair play. Sportsmanship is the key goal. The enjoyment of the game and the quality of the league (especially at the Competitive and Intermediate levels) depends on every player. Due to the short time slots, there are no time-outs during the set, and teams should take only a short (one-minute) water or strategy break between sets. In Competitive and Intermediate Divisions, all players are expected to call their own faults, and to call the lines properly. In an effort to prevent disagreement and to protect the nets, all net touches will be considered immediate faults (not new FIVB rules). A volley at/below the chest is most likely a lift, and any palm-up open-hand hit under the ball should be called a "lift" immediately by the offending side. If the players won't make the call, the team captain must step in; it should never be required that the opposing team gets involved in discussions about the play of your team. It is unsportsmanlike to:
o delay a time-limited set when you are ahead; o do anything except roll the ball gently by hand under the net to the serving team after the point is complete o serve before the other team is ready (five seconds should be sufficient); and o have players show up to meet the default rules and then exclude them from play Unsportsmanlike behaviour (as decided by the League coordinator) will result in the ejection of your team from the league permanently. The team captains should agree how strictly they want the match called before the match and within the following guidelines: o Competitive Division matches should be called very tightly. o Intermediate Divisions should call all net and foot violations, leaving ball handling (palming, directing and scooping) to be decided by the captains before the match. o Recreation Division is jungle ball; anything goes. Actions such as 4+ hits on one side, putting the ball into the wall, lights or floor, and attempting to take down the net should be called, but not much else. This means that almost all the other rules cited here regarding the finer points of play and technique do NOT apply, unless the Recreation Division is specifically mentioned. Regarding disputes over the rules: if the dispute involves a single play during a set, and the captains (only) cannot resolve the issue, the point is simply replayed. If the dispute occurs before the match (which will probably involve the default rules or players coming late), the captains should try to resolve the issue. If they cannot, the match should be played "for real", with the score being reported. The captains should then contact the League Coordinator the next day by email with their side of the issue; a decision will be made based on the posted rules. BUT, if the captains agree to an outcome before the match is played, that result will stand regardless of what the rules state. This is in keeping with the general policy that whatever the captains agree on before the match will stand. As a team captain it is your responsibility to know the rules, and to stand by your choices once you make one. 10. House Rule #1: Due to the small size of the gym, if the ball touches the roof, rafters, or lights on the receiving side of the court, the ball will be considered in play and can be played over the net (within the 3 contacts limit, with the ceiling not counting as a touch). Any contact of the ball with the opposing team ceiling will be considered out of play. Any ball contacting the walls of the gym are considered out of play. 11. House rule #2: there is no antenna, real or imaginary, so all shots that get over the net and land in the other court are legal. Any shots which either make contact with the blue support posts, or make a clear trajectory over the ropes outside of the net (as assessed by the captains) will be considered out of play.
12. For the service, at least one foot must start outside the court (red lines). The server may serve from anywhere between the extensions of the sidelines. First service may be decided by a coin flip, ball spin, or rock-paper-scissors; for subsequent sets, first service should alternate between the teams. For the Recreation Division only, there is a limit of five serves per player. Following 5 serves the next player in line will serve. 13. Although only three hits are allowed per side, the ball may be blocked at the net (a block is made above the top of the net, with the blocker's feet off the floor) and then hit by the same player without penalty for a double hit, and his/her team still has two hits remaining - in effect, the block does not count as a hit no matter which player makes the next play. A service may not be blocked or spiked. 14. Players may reach over the top of the net only on the follow-through for a spike or block. A player may never touch the ball when it is entirely in the opponent s court (defined by the plane of the net) until after the third hit by the other team. 15. Players may not touch the net at any time, or land with either foot completely across the center red line under the net. 16. A player starting play in the back row may spike provided they leave the ground behind the red three-meter line across the court. 17. The UTGSU gym is very small, and the boundaries of the volleyball court go very close to the walls, benches and net supports. Be very careful about going outside the court boundaries to play the ball. Spectators and players entering for later matches are requested to be respectful and to avoid the field of play as best as possible. 18. The standings are normally updated on Friday morning and the website is updated automatically when the entered scores are processed. If there are missing scores at that point, the match will show up with a 0-0 score. Score reports or modifications will be accepted up to the following Friday, only for matches from the previous week. To "correct" a score from more than one week ago, both team captains will need to agree in writing (e.g. e-mail) that the posted score is incorrect. In case of a dispute, the score submitted will be used, so it is in the interest of both captains to make sure the correct score is entered on the website. The "official" standings are ALWAYS what is visible on the UTGSU Volleyball League website. Captains should get into the habit of checking the standings every week. 19. For all divisions, the final standings are determined by the total points accumulated divided by the number of games played. A team must play at least ten matches to be eligible for the playoffs. If tied teams are both within the playoff pool, ranking will be decided based on a coin-flip. However, if a tie occurs where one team will not make the playoffs, captains will be contacted for a sudden-death match
(3 sets, with third set to 15) to decide the tie. If the sudden-death match is not possible due to scheduling conflicts, a coin-flip performed by the league coordinator will be used to decide the tie. Playoff schedules will be sent by email close to the end of the season. NOTE: There are no playoffs in the Recreation Division; the standings are kept only for the reference of the teams and the League Coordinator for re-alignment purposes next season. 20. Rule changes for playoff matches: For the competitive division, the matches are a best of five sets; the first four sets are to 25 points (win by two, no cap) using rally point scoring as usual. The fifth set, if necessary, is to 15 points. For the intermediate division, the matches are a best of three sets; the first two sets are to 25 points (win by two, no cap) using rally point scoring as usual. The third set, if necessary, is to 15 points. One short (60 second) time-out per team is allowed during each set, and teams can take a longer (two-to-three minute) water or strategy break between sets. A referee will be provided for the Competitive Division playoffs. 21. If a new team captain takes over part way through the year, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that this be conveyed to the League Coordinator. Failure to do so may result in the team being dropped from the league, since the League Coordinator must be able to contact team captains quickly and reliably. 22. If the University officially closes, which can be seen at the U/Toronto weather web site, matches can probably still be played as the UTGSU almost always stays open. However, the default rules are no longer in effect. If both teams show up and agree to play with whatever players they have, the match counts. A team CANNOT be forced to play a match, and neither team can claim a default win under any circumstances. Otherwise, the captain(s) should report the match as a "no game" (by email), and the teams can play pick-up; you may want to ask players from the previous game to stay around if the numbers are short. It is very unlikely any missed matches can be made up later in the schedule. 23. SETTING UP THE NET: Please see the detailed instructions on the walls of the gym. Matches are played with the net set at the average man s height, which means the second hole from the top of the blue net supports, and the second hole from the bottom. DO NOT USE THE BOTTOM HOLES IN THE BLUE NET SUPPORTS on the bottom of the net - this puts too much tension on the net and the ropes. DO NOT UNTIE any ropes from the spring clips or cranks. DO NOT TIE ANY ROPES DIRECTLY TO THE NET OR SUPPORT POSTS; always use the spring clips. If you cannot locate the spring clips, check the badminton net as they may have been removed with it. Do not be creative with your knots on the net s ropes. DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN THE NET the ropes are 1000 plus LB. tensile
strength and yet they are still being broken!