I. GENERAL A. Absolutely no carry-ins allowed B. No pets allowed C. All children must be kept away from the courts D. All players must be at least 16 years old. If under 18 years of age players must be playing with a parental guardian who has signed the waiver form giving them permission to play. All players 18 years of age and older must sign the waiver form. D.1. The team captain (or an acting captain if the captain is not available) must report to the volleyball bar prior to each match to check in their team and to have new players sign the waiver D.2. Waivers and rosters will be checked periodically throughout the season. If someone is playing on your team who has not signed the waiver, you will receive a forfeit loss for that week. E. Any team with players who are under the age of 21 and drinking alcoholic beverages will be removed from the league with no refund F. Smoking is allowed on the courts, butts must be disposed of properly II. TEAM RULES A. Max Roster of 10 players A.1. Minimum of three players must be present to play B. Each team must play with at least one girl on the court. Maximum of three guys can play when there is only one girl playing. C. Teams will ref their own games C.1. Call any rule violations on yourself or your own team C.2. If you believe that a violation has occurred on the other team, your team’s captain may discuss the violation with the opposing team’s captain after the volley has ended C.3. Only team captains may discuss a call or illegal hit C.4. If no agreement can be made, the point will be replayed C.5. The server or a teammate must announce the score of the game before each serve loud enough for both teams to hear III. MATCH PLAY A. Matches will consist of three games to 21 points (no cap) A.1. All games will be rally scoring A.2. Games must be won by two points (unless the time limit has been met) A.3. All matches will end at 55 minutes A.4. For final tournament, the time limits will be removed so that matches can be played in their entirety B. Matches will start at their scheduled times if both teams have the required minimum number of players B.1. A grace period will only be allowed to meet the minimum number of players required to play - After five minutes, the first game will be forfeited - After ten minutes, the match will be forfeited - These thresholds still apply for playoffs B.2. This rule is not subject to approval C. Late players may rotate in on their team’s next rotation C.1. Late players may rotate into any position other than the serving position D. Team captains will do “rock, paper, scissors” prior to the first game to determine serve/receive or side D.1. Subsequent games will alternate D.2. If weather conditions provide a favorable side, either captain can request to switch sides partway through the third game. Please inform the other captain that you would like to switch sides prior to game three. The teams will switch sides when the first team reaches eleven points. E. Players must rotate. F. Each team is allowed one time-out per game, not to exceed one minute IV. GAME PLAY A. Let serves are allowed A.1. A let serve is when the ball is served, hits the net, and falls onto the opposing side. B. It is illegal to block or attack a serve B.1. Attacking a serve: USAV and the National Federation rule book both rule books say that if a person receives a serve above the height of the net, and immediately takes the ball back over to their opponents, then the serve has been illegally "attacked". Now, this contact can be a block, hit, overhand pass, etc. It can be one-handed, two-handed, jumping, standing, etc. C. Players may set the serve D. Ball service may be made from any location behind the back E. Players in the back row may not block F. A ball crossing to the opposite side of the net must pass between the support poles G. If your team hits the ball two or more times, one of the hits must be by a girl G.1. If both captains agree the “Girl Rule” is in effect. If one team wants “Girl Rule” then the rule is in effect. If both teams say no then there is no “Girl Rule” H. The ball may touch any part of the body for a legal hit H.1. Players are allowed to use their foot, but not allowed to snap their leg (no soccer moves). Ball may touch any part of the body, including the feet, during play. I. If two team members hit the ball at the same time, it is considered one hit I.1. Either team member may hit the ball again I.2. If one team member is a girl, it will satisfy the girl rule J. Blocking is not considered a hit J.1. If a player blocks the ball, the player can hit the ball again K. You cannot reach across the net (break the plane) except for blocking an attack hit. Interference with the attack hit is not allowed. Any hit that will clearly cross the net is considered an attack hit. L. Spiking is allowed; however, aggressive spiking is not allowed in social leagues M. Directional tipping is allowed as long as the player does not change the direction of the ball more than once. Open handed redirection or pushing of the ball is a violation. N. A player may cross underneath the net, but if the player makes bodily contact with a player on the opposing team and / or interferes with the opportunity of the opposing team to play the ball, it will be deemed a violation O. Anytime a player contacts the net (clothing included), it will result in a violation. Anytime the ball hits the net, forcing it to touch a player, it will be considered incidental contact and not a violation. P. A ball contacting the boundary line is in Q. If a ball from another court lands on the court, the point will be replayed R. No Lifts allowed R.1. Lift: A lift is when you 'hold' the ball and lift it up rather than hitting it. If the ball hits the palm of the hand, it will most likely be called a lift. Most of the strikes need to be hard and deliberate to ensure they can't call it. A violation in which the ball is pushed in such a way that it stops its motion during a forearm pass or a set. V. Scheduling A. Rescheduling a Match A.1. You must contact the other team’s captain at least 24 hours before the start of the match to ask if the other team is willing to reschedule the match A.2. It is at the discretion of the opposing team to accept a request to reschedule a match A.3. You must EMAIL us to let us know that the match is being rescheduled at least 24 hours before the start of the match. If you do not email us, both teams will receive three losses for the match. A.4. It may not be possible to make up a match during league play. Please reschedule the match before or after league play or on Saturdays when we do not have a tournament scheduled. B. Forfeiting a Match B.1. You must contact the other team’s captain at least 24 hours in advance to let them know that you are forfeiting the match B.2. You must email us to let us know that you are forfeiting the match at least 24 hours before the start of the match B.3. If you have an emergency come up that requires that your team forfeit the match within 24 hours, you are still responsible for contacting the other team’s captain. You are also responsible for emailing us. B.4. If you forfeit two matches, you may be withdrawn from the league with no refund. B.5. If the team you are scheduled to play forfeits, please email us to let us know and or have the bartender write “forfeit” on the results page at the bar. C. Standings C.1. Your standings will be posted at the bar, on Facebook and emailed to captains within one week of the match being played. If there are an discrepancies, please email overboardatsams@gmail.com with corrections D. Season Format D.1. The season consists of thirteen games and a final tournament. Playoff weeks will be determined after registration is completed. D.2. Playoff schedules will be posted to Facebook and emailed to captains at least three days before that playoff match D.3. All teams will be seeded based on regular season records E. Rainouts E.1. Rainouts will be determined one hour before the start of play for that night E.2. If the determination has been made to cancel the games, it will be posted to Facebook and emailed to team captains E.3. You will be notified about make-up games at least 3 days prior to your league day via email Please note that these rules are not meant to be all-inclusive. For any rule that is not explicitly covered, standard volleyball rules apply. If you have any questions, regarding anything that is covered (or not covered), email Sam at overboardatsams@gmail.com