Association Competition Rules 2009-2010
Tuesday 2nd March 2010
Competition Rules
Rule 1.
These rules govern competitions organised by the West Midlands Volleyball Association (herein after referred to as “the Association”).
Membership consists of clubs approved by West Midlands Volleyball Association and affiliated to the Volleyball England
The season will normally run from the First Sunday in September to and including 30th April
Late application may be accepted at the discretion of the Committee
Rule 2.
The playing rules to all these competitions will be those currently issued by the F.I.V.B. and endorsed by the National Executive Committee of the Volleyball England unless otherwise stated and endorsed by the Executive Committee of the Association.
Rule 3.
Before competing in any competition each team MUST
a) Be affiliated to the Volleyball England.
b) Have paid in full any competition entry fees that are due.
c) Have paid in full the surety fee
d) Have paid in full any fines that may have been imposed during the previous season.
e) Register all players
The Executive Committee of the Association will decide the level of competition entry and surety fees annually.
Rule 4.
Clubs that have two or more teams in the WMVA league must specify to which team players belong. A member of a higher-ranking team is not allowed to play in the lower league if that player has played more than TWO matches in the higher league.
Once a player has played for one team in a cup competition, he/she is not eligible to play for another team.
Of the players recorded on the score sheet for any game no more than four may be registered National league players.
Any team found to be playing ineligible player(s) would be liable for forfeit all matches in which the player(s) participated.
Rule 5.
Any entry or surety fees will not normally be refunded after acceptance of entry.
Rule 6.
League fixtures:
a) All matches will be played to the best of five sets.
b) Women are ineligible in Men’s competitions and vice-versa accept Men’s Division 3 so long as the women player doesn’t play for another women’s team within the West Midlands structure.
c) Fixture should normally be played on the date and at the venue specified by the Competitions Secretary.
d) Fixtures must be sorted and confirmed by the opposition by 31st October, you can’t just make up dates and expect the opposition to be able to play (there must be choices). Divisional Commissioner to be informed of these agreed dates by 1st November.
e) Home team should contact away team, divisional commissioner and match officials 10-14 days before fixture to confirm:
i. Date of match
ii. Warm up time
iii. Match start time
iv. Venue and travel directions (including postcode).
v. Names of match officials where known.
f) If confirmation of the match has not been received 7 days before the scheduled date, the visiting team should contact the home club secretary and, if necessary, the divisional commissioner.
g) Volleyball England score sheets should be used for all matches and completed score sheets should be e-mailed/phoned to Divisional Commissioner with in 24 hours of completed match. Scoresheets should be sent off within 2-3 days (yellow/red cards, illegal players).
Cancelled Fixtures
h) Matches can only be cancelled with a reasonable excuse, and with a minimum of 3 days notice. Games cancelled with only 1-2 days notice will only be allowed to be played at the discretion of the Committee. Any game cancelled on the day will be automatically awarded to the non-offending team.
i) Divisional Commissioner must be informed immediately by home team.
j) To prevent backlogs and games not being played, the Home team must offer 3 alternative dates (where possible), within 2 weeks of the match being called off. The dates can be anytime during the season, but the new date must be confirmed to the Divisional Commissioner within those 2 weeks by both teams.
k) Non compliance of the above will attract 1 league point deduction from the offending team for each offence. When 5 points have been accumulated the team will loose its surety.
l) League points will be awarded as follows:
Winning Team: 3 points Losing Team: 1 points
Any team failing to fulfil their match commitments without reasonable excuse will have no points awarded for that match and their opponents will be awarded 3 points. The match score will be deemed to be 3-0 (25-0, 25-0, 25-0).
m) At the end of the season in the event of two or more teams finishing with equal league points,
a. league positions will be determined as follows:
- By sets difference
- By sets won
- By sets lost.
- By points won
- By the points lost
b. In the event of a tie still persisting a new clarification will be drawn up considering only the results of games between the teams involved.
c. In the event of a tie still persisting and it being necessary, the Competitions Secretary will arrange a play off.
n) If 75% of the games have not been played by the end of the season ALL played results will be removed from the table.
o) Team withdrawal; In the event of a team withdrawing and not completing 75% of its fixtures, the record of that team shall be deleted from the league and their surety fee will be forfeited.
Rule 7.
To reduce Men’s Div 1 to 8 teams, 3 teams will be relegated with two teams being promoted from Men’s Div 2. The teams from the other leagues with the lowest number of League points in each higher division shall be relegated and the champions and runners-up in the lower divisions will be promoted unless otherwise decided at the annual General Meeting
New teams entering the league will be entered into the lowest divisions excluding National League teams.
Rule 8. Player Registration:
a. All teams will provide a list of players prior to the start of the Season, new players can be registered during the season by recording the players name on the score sheet and informing the respective league commissioner at the earliest opportunity. Division One teams are also to provide a passport size photograph of each player, this is optional for the other leagues. All players are requested to provide an e-mail address to enable Association information to be passed on to the individual.
b. Player registration card must be presented to the scorer prior to the start of the match.
Rule 9.
The home team is responsible for:
a) Arranging the availability of the venue and equipment. Only equipment approved by the BVF should be used, unless otherwise agreed by the Association. The playing conditions should conform to those laid down in the current F.I.V.B. rulebook. Referees should note down on the score sheet any inadequacies of the court equipment. Any such inadequacies are deemed to be responsibility of the home team and NOT of the sports centre or its staff.
b) The venue should be booked for at least 2 1/2 Hours and the time and date must be reasonable.
c) Appointing officials for the match and for the payment of £7.00 referees fees per match and travelling expenses at 20 pence per mile incurred by these officials payment must be made at the conclusion of the match.
d) The payment of any entrance fees to the venue of the officials or visiting team.
e) Supplying a scorer, two lines persons and a visual scoreboard.
The appointed referees must normally hold a Grade IV Refereeing Qualification or above. The Scorer and lines persons must be competent in their duties. Any inadequacies in these respects should be noted by the First Referee on the score sheet.
Rule10.
The stated match time should be the start of the match proper. At least 20 minutes should be allowed for setting up the court and for adequate warm-up.
Any team failing to appear on court ready to start the match within fifteen minutes of the scheduled start time shall forfeit the first set. The set shall be 25-0.
The second set shall commence 15 minutes later i.e. 30 minutes after published start time. A team arriving between the start times shall be able to use the available time for warm-up. If a team is not on court ready to play 30 minutes after the published start time, then they shall lose the second set 25-0.
The third set shall start 15 minutes later; i.e. 45 minutes after the published start time. A team not on court ready to play at that time shall lose the third set 25-0 and thus loses the match 3-0.
Any team arriving late MUST be given at least 10 minutes to warming up and stretch.
Exceptions to this rule will normally only be considered in case of:
Bad weather conditions making travel impossible
Other circumstances beyond all reasonable control of the team concerned
If time at the venue runs out then;
If less than 2 1/2 hours sports time has been booked, normally the home team will lose the set in progress and any subsequent sets but will retain all points and sets it has already won. Exceptions to this rule may apply in the event of the visiting team arriving after the scheduled match start time.
If a player is not present at the start of the match, notice of the expected late arrival must be made to the Referee and the name of the player recorded on the score-sheet. A player arriving late may not take part in the set in progress unless through an injury whereby a legal substitution cannot be made. He/she will be permitted to play in subsequent sets.
Rule11.
In any season no player may play for more than one team in the same competition, unless officially transferred by agreement with the Competitions Secretary. The Competitions Secretary must be informed verbally or in writing of any transfers of players that take place between clubs. The club who the player transfers too, should ensure that the competitions secretary and the club that the player is leaving are informed of the transfer in writing as soon as possible after the transfer is agreed.
Rule12.
All players should wear a clean strip of uniform colour and design with numbers front and back.
Rule13.
The referee shall record on the score sheet each occasion on which a player or coach is warned or penalised. In the event of disqualification or expulsion the referee will submit written report to the divisional commissioner.
Disciplinary points will be awarded as follows:
Yellow Card (Penalty) 3 points
Red Card (Expulsion) 5 points
Red & Yellow Card (Disqualification) 8 points
The following penalties shall apply when a player, coach or authorised bench personnel accumulate disciplinary points in the same season:
8 Disciplinary points 1 Match suspension
16 Disciplinary points 3 Match suspensions
Player’s suspension applies to the next fixture in any competition; all matches in whom a suspended person participates will be forfeited. Such suspensions must be for either the same team or, if transferred the new team in such competition. The onus rests with the team to ensure the suspension is served correctly. Coaches and authorised bench personnel, who receive suspensions, will serve their ban in their next scheduled match with the team they accumulated the points with.
Disciplinary points shall not carry forward from one season to the next. If suspensions have to be served and there is no opportunity to do so in the current season then such suspension shall be served in the next available match/matches of the following season
Rule 14
It is anticipated that teams will abide by the letter and the spirit of these rules and it is intended that wherever possible matches will be decided on the court of play. Any dispute regarding a match must be submitted in writing to the Association within seven days of the match. All interested parties (referees and opposing team) to the dispute must also be informed in writing by the team making the complaint.
Rule 15
Any player found to be using substances defined as being in contravention of the official list of approved drugs published by Sport England in an attempt to enhance performance, will automatically be banned from further competition until his/her case can be considered by the Association. The ban is likely to become permanent unless it can be shown that the player was undergoing approved medical course of treatment for illness or injury.
Rule 16
All persons liable to disciplinary proceedings will have the right of appeal to the Association and ultimately to the Volleyball England Disciplinary Sub-Committee. Any appeal to the Association shall be in writing within seven days of notice of such proceedings. A deposit of £25.00 must accompany the notice of appeal, which is refundable only in the event of the appeal being upheld.
Rule17.
In Women’s Divisions 2 & Men’s Division 3 it is permitted to nominate a different Libero for each set, but the Referee must be informed before the start of the game and the first libero must be entered in the designated box on the score sheet and any additional names must be entered in the comments box.
Rule 18.
Each club that enters the cup competition will provide 1 person to assist in the running of the cup Final. Failure to meet the requirement will be penalised by loss of surety.
(Amended July 2008)