2010 SUMMER VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT RULES

Welcome to the IBM Summer fun Volleyball tournament, 2010, the 27th year of the tournament.
Please send ALL correspondence regarding the tournament to 3POVB@uk.ibm.com

PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM READ THESE RULES AND GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE RUNNING OF THE TOURNAMENT & LAST EVENING.

SPECIAL NOTES

The rules of this tournament vary slightly from the standard internattional volleyball rules. These rules can be found on the FIVB website.

These variations are minor and are either for reasons of increased safety to players or aligned to the structure of the tournament, i.e. footfaults at the centre line, playing the ball above the waist and substitutions.

Here is a quick summary of points to remember:

  1. SCORING POINTS OCCURS WITH EVERY RALLY.
  2. THE BALL MAY TOUCH THE NET ON A SERVICE.
  3. NO PART OF YOUR FOOT MAY TOUCH OR CROSS THE CENTRE LINE.
  4. A PLAYER MUST NOT TOUCH THE NET.
  5. THE BALL CAN BE PLAYED BY ANY PART OF THE BODY ABOVE THE WAIST (NO KICKING).

Also note rules on guest players and agreements BEFORE the match is played.

This year, we are only playing two matches per evening, which will start at 6:30pm and 7:30pm. If you are scheduled to play at 6:30, please arrive early to assist putting up the nets. If you are scheduled to play at 7:30 please take the nets down after the match. The wet weather decision will be made at 4pm.

General Organisation

Before the beginning of the tournament each season the venue will be arranged by the tournament committee. The venue is communicated to all teams in good time.

The venue for 2010 will be HAVANT RUGBY CLUB, HOOKS LANE, signposted off New Road Havant. All matches will be played at the venue on the scheduled days, i.e. Wednesdays or Monday in the event of rain on Wednesday.

Directions and parking instructions will be sent separately to these rules. If you do not know the location, let us know and we will give you the details.

Matches are scheduled in one of three hourly periods starting at 6.30pm and 7.30pm. and are played on Wednesdays.

The first matches will be played on Wednesday 19th May 2010.

Fixtures will be sent out in advance of the start of each half of the tournament.

The tournament is organised in two sections or halves. In the first half teams are grouped into divisions, according to their standard where known. At the end of the first half, teams will be regrouped into new divisions according to their performance in the first half, thus the second half teams will be playing teams of similar standards.

Each division will play its matches on the court whose number is the same as their division.

WET WEATHER

If it is raining on match day, a decision is taken whether to play or not at 4pm on the day. Once that decision has been made teams should abide by it, if the decision is to play and it rains heavily after 4pm then the team MUST ATTEND and then refer to the ABANDONMENT RULES. If either captain decides that the ground is too slippery to play safely then them match will be postponed. If there has been a decision to play and a TEAM fails to turn up at the venue when it is subsequently wet, then that team will lose by default.

We have a telephone recorded message service called the WETPHONE for these decisions the number is 023 9256 8056 externally, 37258056 internally. This number is also on the footer of all our e-mails. This website will also indicate the decision on the homepage.

Postponed fixtures will be rescheduled by the organisers, usually on the following Monday, unless that day is a bank holiday. Timings of postponed fixtures will be as per the original fixtures.

Each week 4 of the teams in a division play one match and the 5th team referees all the matches played on an adjacent court on that day.

Fixture Notification

Teams will be informed of the fixtures for the first half of the tournament at the earliest opportunity after all teams have registered, and will be posted to this website.

At the end of the first half of the tournament all teams will be informed of the fixtures for the second half of the tournament as soon as possible after the final section one matches. Again, the fixtures will be posted here. There may be a gap week between the first and second halves again this year.

Refereeing Duty

NOTE WELL! (in other words...this bit is important...but the least liked!!!)

You will not referee matches in your own group. You will ref on the court next up the sequence, i.e. group 6 will ref matches on court 5, group 5 will ref group 4 etc. and group 1 will ref group 6.

Your team's reffing duty is to provide at LEAST 2 officials, ONE REFEREE and ONE SCOREKEEPER, line judge(s) would also help - they are allowed to drink whilst reffing, so long as they are in control.

Teams failing to provide 2 officials for a game OR who fail to arrange for replacement referees will lose one league point for EVERY game missed. NOTE - asking the ORGANISERS to find or supply replacement referees will cause a loss of league points.

The referees of the last matches on each court are responsible for handing in the scoresheets and the rest of the equipment for your court. Details on where to deliver these to will be on the scoresheets.

See the 'Rules of Volleyball' section for how refereeing is to be conducted.

Tournament Rules

Game Format

Games are 50 minutes long - 25 minutes each way.

Play begins at 35 minutes past the hour. A rest period of 5 minutes at half time is allowed if wanted.

Scoring is for the whole 50 minutes - i.e. a game could finish 70 - 65. There are no sets.

2 league points will be awarded for a win, 1 for a draw.

Guest players are allowed , however :-

A TEAM MAY NOT HAVE MORE THAN 3 GUEST PLAYER(S) PER MATCH. If this rule is obviously abused then points will be deducted from the team in question.

If a team does not have 6 players ( including guest(s) if applicable ) by 5 minutes past the start time then that team loses the game by default 20 points to 0. Unless BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT BEFORE the captains decide to play the game and abide by the result.

HOWEVER, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE GAMES ARE PLAYED, SO IF YOU KNOW YOU ARE SHORT OF PLAYERS...PLEASE STILL TURN UP. THERE ARE ALWAYS PEOPLE LOOKING FOR EXTRA GAMES TO PLAY AND SOME TEAMS WILL HAVE MORE THAN 6 PLAYERS SO MAY BE ABLE TO 'LOAN' YOU SOMEONE FOR THE GAME.

Deciding League Positions

In both the first and second sections the following logic will decide the sequence of teams in the leagues.

  1. The higher number of league points
  2. The higher game points difference i.e. 'The number of game points scored for in all games in the section minus the number of game points scored against in all games in the section'
  3. The winner of the game between 2 drawn teams
  4. If level on all the above or 3 or more teams drawn then the higher number of points scored in all matches in the section.
  5. If still level then by the toss of a coin.

Abandoning Play Procedure

In the event of a week's matches being called off in advance of play starting, a note will be sent out to all Captains and a recorded message will be put on the IBM Volleyball Club telephone to this effect. The number to ring is 37258056 internal to North Harbour, or 02392 568056 EXTERNALLY.

The final decision will be made at 4:00pm on the day of play.

If you are unsure if matches have been cancelled or not then you must ring this number. DO NOT CONTACT THE ORGANISERS. If you are unable to gain confirmation that the matches have been cancelled then you should turn up - failure to play matches which have not been abandoned may cause forfeit of games.

If games are cancelled due to the weather then they will be played at the same time of the day on the FOLLOWING MONDAY. If these matches are also rained off then the games will be rearranged by the tournament organisers.

In the event of rain during matches the following procedure is to be followed by the referee and team captains.

Teams and individuals should realise that if they consider it too dangerous to play then they are not being forced to continue and they should use their own judgement concerning their own safety.

Equipment

These rules exist due to the loss of large amounts of equipment in previous years.

  1. At the start of the evening all refereeing teams must ensure that the courts they are refereeing have a full compliment of equipment.
  2. If any equipment is missing, the referee must contact The organisers BEFORE the start of play.
  3. Referees of subsequent games on each court must ensure that all the equipment is still there at the start of their game. If any equipment is missing they must re- solve this with the previous referee!
  4. At the end of the last game of the evening, the refereeing team is responsible for ensuring that the full compliment of equipment is returned to the equipment store. A Volleyball Club representative will be there to check the equipment in.
  5. If any equipment is not returned at the end of the evening then the refereeing team will be held responsible for the cost of replacement. Legitimate loss of equipment which can be confirmed - such as the loss of a volleyball in the bushes - is exempt from this rule.
  6. If a refereeing team fails to compensate the volleyball club for the cost of any lost equipment within two weeks then that team will be disqualified from the remainder of the tournament. A reserve team will be invited to take their place.

The full compliment of equipment for each court is defined as

N.B. The scoresheet/clipboard and whistle/pen must be returned to an organiser at the end of play, PLEASE DO NOT PUT THESE ITEMS IN THE NET BAG, IT TAKES US AGES TO LOCATE THEM!!!

Teams who play at 6:30 must help with getting the equipment from the store and putting up the nets.

Teams who play at 7:30 must help with the taking down of the nets and carrying the equipment to the equipment store.

Rules of this volleyball tournament

The following are the rules of volleyball AS APPLY TO THIS TOURNAMENT ONLY. They do not encompass all the rules of the game and there are some additional rules implemented specifically for this tournament.

**SAFETY**
RULES IN CAPITALS ARE IMPORTANT AND THEY MUST BE STRICTLY APPLIED BY REFEREES AND PLAYERS TO AVOID INJURY.

Rules 2 and 3 should be especially noted by both referees and players, as in previous years there have been many disputes on court about the particular rulings!!

  1. The referee is in SOLE CHARGE of the game and MUST know these basic rules. The game is controlled by the referee with a whistle. The referee MUST blow the whistle to START each point and when each point ENDS. Players must NOT argue with, or intimidate, referees. If the referee is unsure which way to award a decision they should play a LET.
    1. Any disputes MUST be solved between the referee and the two captains BEFORE the teams depart the playing court. The score sheet result will not be altered except in case of obvious human error.
  2. A PLAYER MUST NOT TOUCH THE NET. Note this is now different from official volleyball rules, but we will continue with this rule for simplicity and for safety. HOWEVER - if the net is moved towards a player e.g. by the ball, or by the wind, then the player touching the net is NOT at fault. If players from both sides touch the net and it is impossible to determine which player(s) is/are at fault then the referee should call a LET.
  3. A PLAYER'S FOOT MUST NOT TOUCH THE LINE UNDER THE NET. NO PART OF THE FOOT MAY TOUCH, OR CROSS, THE LINE.This is different from official volleyball rules, but for this tournament (as it is outdoors), we feel this rule will make the game a lot safer. The most common injury is damaged ankles due to two players landing on one another under the net.
  4. A PLAYER MAY NOT TOUCH A PLAYER FROM THE OPPOSING TEAM UNDER THE NET.
  5. BACK COURT PLAYERS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO BLOCK OR ATTACK FROM THE FRONT COURT. The definition of a back court player is one who is on any of the 3 rotations along the back of the court.
  6. The lines which form the boundary of the court area are part of the court. i.e. a ball ON the line is 'IN'.
  7. A team consists of 6 players on court at any one time. Additional players may be used as substitutes and can be brought on at the SERVICE position when a team commences serving. There is no limit to the number of substitutes used.
  8. At service, the serving player must be outside the court. If the server's foot touches or crosses the lines of the court that is a footfault and results in the lose of the rally.
  9. Each team must return the ball across the net between the side lines of the court into the court of the opposing team using a MAXIMUM of THREE hits (excluding a block) without the ball touching the ground, any non-playing person or any object. THE BALL CAN BE HIT WITH ANY PART OF THE BODY ABOVE THE WAIST.
  10. A player may not play a subsequent shot until the ball has been played by another player - EXCEPTION if a player blocks the ball at the net and the ball falls on the side of the blocker, the blocker may play a second shot. The block (see below) does NOT count as one of the three permitted touches.
  11. A block is the action of one or more players simultaneously preventing a ball which is passing over the net towards the blocking team from crossing the net. A service may NOT be blocked and is a fault.
  12. PLAY MUST STOP AS SOON AS A BALL FROM ANOTHER COURT COMES ONTO COURT. THE POINT IN PROGRESS WILL BE REPLAYED. ANY player or referee may halt play by calling "BALL ON COURT!!!".
  13. The ball may not be held or caught as part of the play. By "held" it is meant that the ball is in contact with a player for more than half a second.
  14. If a player touches the ball before it hits the ground ( inside or outside the court ) they are deemed to have played it.
  15. The team who wins the rally score a point.
  16. If the non serving team win, they rotate positions clockwise on the court and the player moving to the back court takes the next service.
  17. No time outs are allowed.

The Last Day of the Tournament

As in previous years there will be a fancy dress competition with a prize going to the best dressed team on court. After the matches have been played there will hopefully be ENTERTAINMENT at the clubhouse. The trophy presentation and prize-giving will precede this.

Additional 'special prizes' will also be awarded this year:

The Players of the tournament will be decided by YOU - the scoresheets will have appropriate places for the OFFICIALS each week to mark down their choice of player(s) for each match they referee. This is optional - if you don't think anyone deserves a nomination - fair enough! Those getting most nominations throughout the tournament will be awarded a prize on the last night.

The 'Spirit of the Tournament' prize will be judged in the main by the 'Organising Committee'. However nominations will be accepted from you, with brief citations if possible (i.e. why you are nominating them!).

Please send any nominations to our e-mail address.

Equipment Usage

Due to the loss of equipment in previous years and the admin involved, the volleyball equipment is NOT AVAILABLE for use outside of the Summer Social Volleyball Tournament except for use in other tournaments if the tournament organisers agree.

Organiser Requests

Please ensure that you do NOT leave beer glasses next to courts. Please tidy up when you leave the court.

Please be aware that our venue is a public park, and people live adjacent to it. PLEASE PLEASE thererfore respect the publics privacy and right of access to their propoerty when parking. Also because it is a public park extra care must be taken regarding personal & club property. You have been warned!

If you have any queries regarding the Tournament please send us an e-mail to 3povb@uk.ibm.com.

Have a fun tourney !