Vienna Youth Volleyball 2011 Rules

Vienna Youth Volleyball 2011 Rules Vienna Youth Volleyball (VYI) will follow the rules as per the Official United States Volleyball (USAV) rulebook except as amended as follows: The VYI Code of Conduct must be adhered to at all times. This applies to all players, coaches, volunteers, and fans. We want to provide a safe, fun, environment for all players in our league. Any conduct issues or concerns should be addressed by the referees at games and after the games to the Commissioner (volleyball@vyi.org). Safety - No jewelry of any kind will be allowed during games. This includes watches, rings, earrings and any other thing that could, in the view of the referee, cause an injury. Parents need to monitor/control children (siblings) who are in the gym and are not participating in the game. The gym should be used for volleyball only and not gymnastics, basketball, or other sports during the games. Coaches and Players need to try to keep all equipment and water bottles away from the playing area to avoid injuries. Only water is allowed in the gyms (not food or other drinks). 4 th thru 6 th Grade Level 7 th thru 8 th Grade Level Net Height 7 7 4 Service Line 25 (underhand servers) 30 (all servers) 30 (overhand servers) Ball Volley Lite National Federation of High School (NFHS)-certified Warm-ups 10 minutes (1 st game) 2 minutes between games 10 minutes (1 st game) 2 minutes between games Time-Outs (2) 30-second per game (2) 30-second per game Substitutions Continuous substitution Unlimited (not tracked) Scoring Rally scoring, 25 points per game, 3 games per match, winner of last game has most points when time limit reached (7:00pm, 8:00pm or 9:00pm), maximum of 5 consecutive points per server Rally scoring, 25 points per game, 3games per match, winner of last game has most points when time limit reached (7:00pm, 8:00pm or 9:00pm), maximum of 5 consecutive points per server Playing Time Equal playing time policy (all players are encouraged to play the same amount of time within reason) Equal playing time policy (all players are encouraged to play the same amount of time within reason) 1

BEFORE THE MATCH: The referee will call a captain s meeting within 5 minutes of the scheduled start time of each match. The two team s captains and coaches will meet with the referee for instructions and to conduct the coin toss. The referee will determine which team s captain makes the first coin call. Teams will share the court during 10 minute warm up time, including hitting and serving. Prior to the start of the first game, the players in the starting lineups will stand on the baseline of their court. Prior to the start of the match the referee will signal the teams forward to shake hands at the net. DURING THE MATCH: The referee will summon the starting 6 players from each team onto the court. At the start of games 2 and 3 the players go directly to their positions on the court without directions from the referee. Breaks between games during a match will not exceed 5 minutes. Each team will be allowed two time-outs per game. Time-outs last 30 seconds. The designated team captain is the only player allowed to talk with the referee during a game. If a coach desires an interpretation or explanation of a call made by the referee, the team captain, as the coach s representative, must talk with the referee. It is noted that at the 4 th -6 th Grade Level the head coach may be allowed to inquire of a call made by a referee. At the conclusion of games 1and 2, the players on the court will be signaled by the referee to their sidelines prior to switching sides of the net. The team on the left of the referee moving behind the referee and then directly to sideline. The team on the right will walk around the court. AFTER THE MATCH: At the end of the match (after the third game) the teams will be signaled to the base line by the referee. Subsequently the referee will signal the teams forward to shake hands at the net. All players and coaches are expected to participate. Failure to participate violates the sportsmanship rules outlined in the Code of Conduct that each player and coach agree to when registering with VYI Volleyball. The coach of the winning team (2 or 3 wins out of 3 games) is responsible for posting the scores of the match to the VYI website within 24 hours after the game time. If not posted after 24 hours, all three games are officially recorded ties. 2

BASIC RULES OF VOLLEYBALL: Each team is entitled to a maximum of 3 hits to return the ball to their opponents. A ball may NOT be caught, thrown, held, or lifted. A player may not contact the ball twice in succession, except for the first hit. A block of the ball at the net does NOT count as a hit. Contact with the net by a player is not a fault, unless it interferes with the play. A ball driven into the net may be recovered within the limits of the 3-team hits, so long as the contact with the net is within the antennae. Ball may never touch the antennae. A player s hands and feet are allowed to be on or over the centerline, but NOT across the centerline. If any other part of the player s body touches the floor on the opponent s court, it is a violation. This paragraph is dealing with hands and feet play below the net and not above the net. A ball hitting the net and going over the net is legal and in play, even on the serve. THE PLAYING AREA: The lines on the court are considered part of the playing area. If any portion of the ball falls on any portion of the line, that ball is IN. All basketball backboards, rims, and anchoring equipment attaching them to the ceiling are out-of-bounds. If the backboards are raised they become part of the ceiling and balls touching them are playable. A ball off the walls of the gym is out-of-bounds. A ball in the bleachers is out-of-bounds. A ball hitting the gym divider on a serve is out-of-bounds. The rest of the gym is considered playable. If during a volley, the ball hits the gym divider, ductwork, or ceiling rafters, and comes back to the team that hit it, they may continue to play it, as long as they are still within their 3 hit maximum. MATCH FORMAT: Every regular season match will try to complete 3 games (within the 1 hour time allotment). Match won-lost record and game won-lost records will be used to determine standings. Every team must provide at least one volunteer for every match. Each match requires a work team consisting of (1) score flipper and (2) end-line judges working with the official on the stand. The match referee reserves the right to overturn any call made by the linespersons. Matches will begin on time throughout the day; beginning as close to 6:00 PM as possible. Teams should arrive at the playing site at least 10 minutes prior to scheduled match time. Each 3-game match will have a 90-minute time limit. 3

The referees appointed by VYI will be the official timekeepers and are responsible to see that the matches start and end on time. TEAM RULES: Players, coaches, and assistant coaches are the only ones allowed on the court sidelines. The coaches may stand on the sideline with the rest of their team, beyond the attack line and give instructions to players, but cannot distract, disturb or delay the game. A coach who purposely delays the game to gain an advantage will be issued a warning or penalty. Team players should be on the wall side of the courts. The official will be located on wall- side of the court. Score flippers will be opposite the official. Teams will normally play with 6 players on the court. A minimum of 5 players is required to start play. If a 6th player arrives, that player may enter the game immediately. When playing with 5 players, the team will not lose the serve when the 6th player hole goes to serve. The next player in the rotation will serve. SPECIAL 4 th -6 th GRADE RULE: Teams in the 4 th and 5 th grade division may field up to 8 players on the court at one time. If less than 5 players are on the court 10 minutes after the scheduled game start time, the entire match is declared a forfeit and the match is recorded as a 3-0 win for the opposing team. Teams are encouraged to split up available players and use the remaining scheduled time to play for fun. SCORING: VYI will use rally point scoring. In rally point scoring, every play results in a point being awarded. A serve into the net or out-of-bounds is a point for the other team. Let serves are now considered good. If the time limit of 60 minutes is invoked in any of these scenarios, the team ahead at that time will be declared the winner of that game. A game is won by the team which first scores 25 points with a minimum lead of two points. In the case of a 24-24 tie, play is continued until a two-point lead is achieved (26-24; 27-25; ). SPECIAL 4 th -6 th GRADE RULE: At the discretion of the referee, an extra point is awarded to a team that executes an intentional bump-set-hit that leads to an immediate win. The set can either be an overhand hand set or a forearm bump set. The hit must involve an arm swing above the shoulder and can be executed by a front-row or back-row player. Rolls and dinks are counted as hits, while bumps and sets are not. The opportunity to earn an extra point on a bump-set-hit combination is nullified if the opposing team legally returns the ball over the net and into play. A team can earn a maximum of 5 bump-set-hit extra points in any given game. 4

SUBSTITUTIONS: Substitutes may enter the game in the position of a teammate in the starting lineup. More than one substitute may enter the game at a time. The player subbing in must stand between the 10-foot line and the net. An unlimited number of substitutes are allowed. If a player is injured and there is only one substitute available, that sub may enter the game for the injured player, regardless of where he/she subbed in before. SPECIAL 4 th -6 th GRADE RULE: To promote equally playing time, continuous substitutions is played. Continuous substitution is defined as using the players on the bench and the players on the court as one continuous line-up with a player in a specific position leaving the court and the next available player on the bench entering the game into that position. Substitution continues in this manner every time there is a rotation of players on the court, with the order of players in the entire line-up remaining constant throughout the game. If the coach elects to keep the same line-up for the next game, players on the court at the end of the previous game must start in the new game at the same exact positions. If the coach elects to change the line-up for the next game, the first 3 servers cannot be any of the first three servers from the previous game. Violations of this rule will result in the cancellation of all points scored by the serving team while the illegal substitute was in the game. THE SERVE: The server must always wait for the referee to signal for serve, prior to the serve. If a serve is executed before the signal to serve, the referee will signal a re-serve. Servers must always be positioned behind the end line prior to contacting the ball. The entire width of the court is available to the server. A foot on the line at the time the ball is contacted is a foot fault violation and will result in loss of serve and a point for the opposing team. If the ball, after having been tossed or released by the server, lands on the floor without touching the player, the server is allowed to re-serve. This is called a service error. The server is allowed one service error per serve. A team serving out of rotation will forfeit the serve and result in a point being awarded the opposing team. The rotation must be correct at the time of the serve. SPECIAL 4 th -6 th GRADE RULE: Servers may be allowed to use the USAV modified service line, only if he/she is serving under-hand, which is about 5 feet in from the end line (or 25 from the net). If a player serves overhand then he/she must serve behind the end line of the court (or 30 feet from the net). Players serving at this level should be positioned behind the modified service line, or actual end line prior to the serve. A foot on the modified service line or end line at the time the ball is contacted should not be considered a foot fault; however, players should not be allowed to go beyond the serving lines. Each player on his or her first serve in a new service rotation is allowed a first bad serve and then one re-serve. 5

There is a 5 point cap on the number of serves a server can win off of his/her serves and then the serve goes to the other team, with no point awarded to the other team at the time the serve is turned over to them. FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT Net height is be no higher than 7 feet for the 4 th -6 th Grade Level and 7 feet 4 inches for the 7 th -8 th Grade and High School levels. The VYI coaches should bring VYI-assigned volleyballs and a First Aid kit to the games. Teams are responsible for the set-up and takedown of the equipment. 6