Page 1 Junior Policies BOD approved 9/5/17 Updated 10/6/17 page 4 DEFINITION OF TERMS Junior Player indicates junior player and/or parent/guardian of junior player Club indicates club director, coach, team representative, or anyone in an authority position within the club Recruiting Policy A Junior Player, Club, player and/or parent affiliated with a team or club may not initiate contact with any third party in a position to influence a Junior Player for the purpose of recruiting a specific player, who is affiliated with another club*, on behalf of that club or team in any manner; at any time. o Note: *A Junior Player is affiliated with a club once a Letter of Commitment is signed by both Junior Player and Club. or a junior player has participated in a sanctioned event (including practice and/or scrimmage). This affiliation continues until the next tryout date, for the applicable age division, set forth in the North Country Region Tryout Policy or upon the approved release of the junior player from the club. The Recruiting Policy does not restrict a Club from communicating with a Junior Player who played the previous season with their club, nor does it prevent them from responding to an inquiry from a prospective Junior Player, provided that the contact is initiated by the Junior Player. The Recruiting Policy does not prohibit the use of informational and promotional materials that are circulated on a mass distribution basis, provided that such materials are not circulated in a manner, either directly or through a third party, that specifically targets a named or identified Junior Player. Once a Junior Player has committed to a Club for the current season, no one representing another Club may contact the Junior Player for the purpose of persuading them to leave the club they have already committed to.
Page 2 Tryout Policy To preserve the integrity of the high school season by ensuring no overlap between a junior player s school season and the USAV junior season a Club must not hold tryouts, or form teams, before the following dates. 14 and under, no tryouts may be held until the last Sunday in October. 15 s 18 s, no tryouts may be held until the day after a State s High School Tournament (in the state in which the club is located) is complete or until the date which is permitted by a particular State s High School Association rules, whichever is later. Commitment Date Policy (formerly Signing Date Policy) No binding commitment will be recognized between a Junior Player and a Club until the dates outlined in the North Country Region Volleyball Tryout Policy. A Club may not request or accept a financial commitment from a Junior Player prior to the dates set forth in the North Country Region Volleyball Tryout Policy. o Note: Payments that are collected from a Junior Player for training services or tryouts are NOT considered a financial commitment. Any informational meeting conducted by a Club, in which more than one Junior Player is present prior to the signing date set forth in the North Country Region Tryout Policy, must be open to all members of the public and must not target specific Junior Players. o Note: Informational meeting restrictions do not apply to individual meetings a Junior Player may request in order to gather information from a Club. On or after the dates set forth in the North Country Region Tryout Policy, a Club may contact a Junior Player who attended their tryout, but wasn t selected, only in order to determine if they will accept an offer to play for their club. The first question to be asked must be, Have you committed to play for another club? If the answer is yes, no further conversation can take place. Letter of Commitment No Junior Player should be asked to sign the North Country Region Letter of Commitment before the dates set forth in the North Country Region Volleyball Tryout Policy.
Page 3 Any Letter of Commitment signed before the dates set forth in the North Country Region Volleyball Tryout Policy is not binding. Once a Junior Player has committed to a Club by signing a NCR Letter of Commitment or has participated in a sanctioned event (including practice and/or scrimmage) that junior player is not allowed to transfer to another Club for that current season unless released by the Club whom the Junior Player committed to participate. Recommended Best Practices It is not recommended a Club guarantee a Junior Player they will make or be on a specific team or play a certain position/role before the dates set forth in the North Country Region Tryout Policy. It is recommended that a Club document all contact with Junior Players not currently affiliated with their club, in the event violations are alleged. It is recommended that a Club hold a tryout for all prospective junior players on or after the dates set forth in the North Country Region Volleyball Tryout Policy. However tryouts are not required in order to enact the binding agreement that can take place on or after the dates set forth in the North Country Region Volleyball Tryout Policy via the Letter of Commitment or participation in a sanctioned event (including practice and/or scrimmage) with a Club. It is recommended that all Junior Players and Clubs review the NCAA eligibility center, as well as their states high school eligibility bylaws before accepting any scholarship or financial assistance from a Club. It is recommended a Club make their club contact information easily accessible to prospective Junior Players. Once a Junior Player has signed a Letter of Commitment or participated in a sanctioned event (including practice and/or scrimmage) with a Club, that Club should educate all Junior Players on the name of their club, which team they are on and how they can contact their Club. It is recommended that a Club utilize the Letter of a Commitment to best document the commitment of a Junior Player to their Club, following the dates set forth in the North Country Region Tryout Policy.
Page 4 Complaints (Informal and Formal) The Board of Directors of North Country Region USA Volleyball ( NCR ), through its Executive Director, is responsible for the enforcement of the Junior Club Personnel Code of Ethics, USA Volleyball Code of Conduct, USA Volleyball Guidelines and similar rules and regulations governing appropriate conduct and behavior by coaches, team representatives, chaperones of athletes and other participants in NCR s events, meetings and functions. Any person who believes that someone has violated such codes, rules or regulations has the right to file a complaint with the Executive Director. *10/6/17 updated highlighted wording from Junior Coach Responsibilities to Junior Club Personnel Code of Ethics. Also updated the image below to remove NCR handbook and include ncrusav.org. Sanctions A Club that is found to have violated the Recruiting, Tryout, or Commitment Date Policies may be subject to appropriate sanctions, including but not limited to a monetary fine, being prohibited from competing in any NCR sanctioned events, USA Volleyball National Championships, and/or Qualifiers, or being denied membership in NCR for a period of one year or a length to be determined, at the discretion of NCR. USA VOLLEYBALL (USAV) AGE AND IDENTITY FALSIFICATION POLICY Grade Policy A Club that has a Junior Player, whose date of birth places them in an age division older than their current grade (Age Classification Guidelines), is eligible to register that team under the following options:
Page 5 REGISTER THE ENTIRE TEAM AT THE DIVISION OF THE OLDEST PLAYER This option is required if the team wishes to play outside of NCR sanctioned events. REGISTER ENTIRE TEAM AS A GRADE TEAM This allows the team to play at the current grade in NCR sanctioned events, excluding the NCR Regional National Bid Tournament. Grade teams that wish to play in other USA Volleyball Regions, participation would be at the discretion of each tournament director If a grade team later decides to play in the NCR Regional National Bid Tournament, USA Volleyball National Championships and/or a Qualifier, they would have the following options: o Keep the grade player on the roster and register in events based on age classification (play up). o Register and pay team fee for a new team (with a new name). 1. Submit a new roster with all grade junior players removed. Officiating Team Policy 2. The newly formed team may not use their win loss results while they were a grade team. 3. The new team s rank will automatically be placed in the next consecutive order within that age division of the club. All members of an officiating team shall have completed officiating training for the positions they are working. No personal electronic devices are allowed for the officiating team (R1, R2, line judges and scoring team) while officiating. Tournament director and/or an assigned paid official have discretion to address non compliance issues. Teams are responsible for fulfilling all officiating responsibilities. Failure to do so may result in sanction. Transfer Policy A junior player who is no longer playing in USAV sanctioned tournaments, can join another club which is still competing if the below requirements have been met. Until all these requirements are completed, the player in question is not to be allowed to participate with a different club in any manner.
Page 6 TRANSFER PROCEDURE Junior player must request release from current club, in writing, to NCR. Current club must agree to release junior player. New club must agree to accept junior player. NCR will provide final approval, after verifying agreement of all parties and upon compliance with Transfer Parameters. Junior player is not allowed to participate with new club until transfer is approved. TRANSFER PARAMETERS No previous transfer of junior player has occurred during the current season. Junior player is not transferring to a team that has already qualified for the Girls Junior National Championships (any division). Junior player has not been on the official roster for a National Qualifier. Clubbing Policy Clubs can join together in what is known as clubbing, as long as all the below parameters are meet. A club may only club with one other club; which will be effective at all age divisions. Once clubbing has been approved by NCR, it will remain for the duration of the current season. When clubbing, no more than four (4) teams per age division will be allowed. Clubbing requests must be made before the first weekend of the Regional National Bid Tournament. CLUBBING PROCEDURE Register and pay team fee for a new team (with a new name). Submit a new roster with all Clubbed junior players added. The newly formed team may not use their win loss results while they were affiliated with their separate clubs. The new team s rank will automatically be placed in the next consecutive order of the lowest age division between the two clubs. The intent of the Clubbing Policy is to allow two separate clubs struggling to fill rosters within the same age division, join together in order to form full teams. If it is determined by NCR, the Clubbing Policy is not being utilized as intended, clubbing requests may be denied or revoked.