2008 Star of the North Games
Volleyball Tournament Rules
The
tournament will be divided into four age divisions:
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12 & under: one level offered
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14 & under: two levels offered, A/B & C
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16 & under: two levels offered, A/B & C
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18 & under: two levels offered, A/B & C
The tournament will be played
at different sites. Teams are seeded into pools of three or four teams for the
First Wave of pool play, which starts at 8:00 a.m., Saturday, June 21. All
teams will be seeded into new groups for the Second Wave of pool play, which
will start at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and continues on Sunday, June 22, at 8:00 a.m.
All teams will again be seeded into the Playoffs -- Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron,
Brass, Granite or Quartz playoff brackets of eight or four teams. The playoffs
begin at 11:00 a.m. Sunday.
This
yearÕs Star of the North volleyball tournament will utilize over 50 courts at
different venues in the Saint Paul area.
The
specific venues to be used for each age group will not announced until after
the close of registration on May 23, 2008. All venues are within an approximate
20-minute drive of each other and downtown Saint Paul.
For
Wave 1: The first match starts at 8:00 am Saturday. All subsequent matches will
be played in order. Teams need to be ready to play when their match is
sequentially ready,
For
Wave 2: Matches 1-4 will be played on Saturday, with the first match beginning
at 2:30 pm. The officials are authorized to begin this match early if all three
teams (two playing teams, one refing team) are present and agree to start
early. Matches 5-6 will be played on Sunday, beginning at 8:00 am.
For
Playoffs: Matches will begin at 11:00 am Sunday. All subsequent matches will be
played in order. Teams need to be ready to play when their match is
sequentially ready.
No
team should leave a venue once a wave or playoffs have started. Matches may run
ahead of schedule. Teams need to be ready to play.
D.
KNOW YOUR POOL PLACING
It
is each teamÕs responsibility to know where it has finished in its pool during
the First and Second Waves. These placements will determine subsequent pool
assignments for the Second Wave and for the Playoffs. All matches within a specific pool are played on the same
court, and results will be posted on wall charts. Overall record will determine
pool-play placing. In the case of ties in the overall record, a tie breaking
procedure will be used. See below.
Please
have at least one representative of your team (player, coach, parent) remain at
the venue to learn your teamÕs pool placing. If you are still confused about
your teamÕs placing, please consult with the venue manager on duty at each
facility. You may also call the Star of the North volleyball tournament
headquarters, at the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center, (phone TBA).
Pool
results will also be updated periodically on the Star of the North Games
website: www.starofthenorthgames.org.
Some
teams will need to move to a new venue for the Second Wave or for the playoffs.
Please allow enough time to travel between locations.
It
is relatively common to have 2 or 3 teams tied with the same record in pool
play. Here is the tiebreaking procedure:
If
2 teams tie with the same pool-play record, the tiebreaker will be head-to-head
competition.
If
3 teams tie with the same pool-play record here is hierarchy of tiebreakers:
1. The
winning percentages of total sets played within that current pool are compared.
(i.e., 5-3 would be first seed, 4-3 would be second seed, and 4-4 would be 3rd
seed.) If all three teams had the same winning percentage, the #2 tiebreaker
will be used.
2.
The
most favorable point differential in ALL sets played within that pool will be
compared. If all three teams had the same point differential, the #3 tiebreaker
will be used.
3.
Blind
draw to determine the highest-seeded team.
Important:
If at any time during the #1, #2, or #3 tiebreakers, one team sets itself apart
from the other two, the tie between the remaining two teams will be broken by
the results of their head-to-head match.
Four
team pools: All matches will be the best 2 out of 3 sets. The first two sets
will be rally point sets to 25 and the third set, if needed, will be a rally
scoring set to 15. There will be no cap on any sets.
Three
team pools: All matches will be 3 sets, regardless of which team wins the first
two. The first two sets will be rally point sets to 25, and the third set will
be a rally scoring set to 15. There will be no cap on any sets.
Medals
will be awarded in the following manner:
8-team
playoff groups: Playoff champion team: Gold Medals; Championship match losing
team: Silver Medals; Semifinal match losing teams: Bronze Medals.
4-team
playoff groups: Playoff champion team: Gold Medals; Championship match losing
team: Silver Medals. No bronze
medals will be awarded in 4-team playoff bracket.
USA
Volleyball Rules will apply to all matches with the following clarifications:
1.
The ceilings in all gyms are in play regardless of the height above the playing
floor.
2.
Players may not, at any time during play, step on an adjacent court or cross
the extension of the sidelines of the adjacent court.
3.
No coolers, pop, or food will be allowed on the gym floor at any site. Water in
plastic bottles may be brought to the team bench area only. Players, coaches,
and parents found violating this rule will be asked to remove the food and pop
from the gym floor.
4.
All players are required to have matching jerseys with visible numbers on the
front and back, and matching shorts. Teams will not be allowed to play the
match if six players on the court do not have matching uniforms.
5.
The first match of each wave will not start before the indicated time on the
schedule, with the exception being Wave 2, when the officials are authorized to
start early if all three teams are present and agree to the early start.
Subsequent matches in a wave will be played in sequential order.
6.
A five-minute warm up will be used for all matches. During the warm up, both
teams get the net by themselves for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The serving team
will have the court first. Teams need to bring their own volleyballs for warm
ups.
7.
The lowest seeded team will call the coin toss for the first set and, if
necessary, the highest seed will call the toss for the third set.
8.
It is the responsibility of the team serving first to provide the game ball.
9.
A player may serve from anywhere behind the end line. The ball may be played
off any part of the body as long as it is not carried.
10.
Players may not block the serve.
11.
Teams not having six players when called to the end line at the beginning of a
match will forfeit the first set after one minute. The team will forfeit the
next set and match if they do not have six players within ten minutes after
forfeiting the first set. Time has been allowed for the changing of gyms at the
end of each wave, and the site managers will notify the next site if matches
run longer than anticipated.
12.
Protests: Only rule interpretations can be protested, not judgment calls made
by the officials. A protest must be filed at the time of the infraction and
settled before the set continues. A committee of the First Referee and the two non-playing
coaches/captains from the pool will resolve the protest. The three members of
the committee will vote to deny or uphold the protest; their decision is final.
13.
For the 14Õs and 12Õs only: One service tossing error will be permitted per
service.
14.
For the 12Õs only: Seven-foot net will be used, and a ÒLiteÓ ball will be used
for all matches and will be provided.
15.
The Libero position may be used. Teams will be allowed 12 team substitutions.
(USAV rule 11.2.1)
16.
Net serves WILL be allowed. Play will continue if a served ball touches the net
and crosses the net to the opponentÕs playing area.
The
Star of the North Games will provide a ÒFirst RefereeÓ for all matches. All
teams will provide additional official (ÒrefingÓ) help as scheduled throughout
the tournament. When scheduled, each team will provide two line judges, a
scorekeeper, a scoreboard operator, and a coach/adult as the Second Referee
(bring a whistle.) Teams must be
on time for their refing responsibilities as if they were playing. Teams which
do not show up for their scheduled refing will lose the first set of their next
match by a 0-25 score.
In
all 8-team playoffs, the semifinals and championship matches will be refed by
LOSING teams from the previous round. This is a necessary and unavoidable
situation. We understand that this
is an inconvenience for teams wishing to Òhit the roadÓ after elimination from
the playoffs. However, the smooth and fair operation of the tournament depends
on teams fulfilling this responsibility.
In
a 4-team playoff, the championship match will be refed by one of the LOSING
semifinal teams.
After
losing in the playoffs teams should check with the venue manager and/or
referees to make sure they do not have a commitment to referee one more match.
Teams failing to fulfill their referee duties in the playoffs may face a
sanction and/or financial penalty at the 2009 Star of the North Summer Games.
Each
volleyball team has been assigned a unique name and number. This number begins
with a ÒVBÓ followed by four digits. We hope this number will help you locate
your team and avoid any confusion between teams with similar names. It will
also help the registration staff quickly process your team when you arrive at
registration.
In
some age divisions, there are two or more teams representing the same club.
These teams are usually differentiated by color (ÒMoorhead BlackÓ), number
(ÒAirborne Attitudes IÓ), or coachÕs name (ÒWabasha/LindaÓ). In listing these
teams on the schedule, we have used the designation provided us by the coach or
team contact. If no such designation was provided, our registration staff
applied a unique designation to each team that we hope will be immediately
recognizable.
Rosters
will be frozen at registration, and no players may be added to a team roster
after registration. No player may be rostered or play on more than one team.
Violation of this rule will cause a team to forfeit any match(es) that an
illegal player participated in.
The Jimmy Lee
Recreation Center is conveniently located just off the Lexington Parkway exit
off Interstate 94, at the corner of Iglehart Ave and Lexington Parkway N.
DRIVING
DIRECTIONS TO HEADQUARTERS
From I-94 take
the Lexington Pkwy exit (Exit #239).
Westbound, turn
left on Lexington Pkwy, cross over I-94, then immediately left on Concordia
Ave, then immediately right on Oxford St, then immediately right on Iglehart
Ave.
Eastbound, do
not turn on Lexington Pkwy, but take a slight left onto Concordia Ave, then
immediately right on Oxford St, then immediately right on Iglehart Ave.
Link to Yahoo
Map:
¥ Check in will be open:
Thursday, June 19: 5 - 8pm.
Friday, June 20: 2 - 8pm.
Saturday, June 21: beginning at 7am. Note: all teams begin play at 8 am
Saturday.
Please
call the Star of the North Games office, 763.785.5603 or 800.756.7827 toll
free. After June 19, all calls should go to the Games headquarters at the Jimmy
Lee Recreation Center in Saint Paul, (phone TBA).
Each
site will be staffed with a Venue Manager, who will have access to a first-aid
kit.
An
athletic trainer will be on duty at the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center during the
tournament. Full medical information will be available at check-in. All major
emergencies will be handled through the Ò911Ó emergency response network.
It
is the responsibility of each team to bring their own:
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Ice (fill a cooler at home or at your hotel each morning.)
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Basic first-aid supplies (bandages, gauze, tape, rubber gloves, etc.)
Passes are required for
admission to all Star of the North Summer Games events and may be purchased for
$7 per person at registration check-in, or at any of the venues. Admission is free for children 12 and
under. All athletes and up to two
coaches per team receive a credential for free admission to all competitions
and events during the Summer Games.
Registration
questions prior to June 19:
Star
of the North Summer Games Registration Office
763.785.5603
or 800.756.7827
Tournament
questions after June 19:
Games
HQ at the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center
Phone
TBA
Volleyball
tournament questions (rules and schedule interpretations, venue locations,
etc.)
Darla
Heikes, Star of the North Volleyball Commissioner
507.529.4199
FIRST WAVE
Begins Saturday, 8:00 am
Pools of three or four
teams
Round-robin format, each
team plays 2 or 3 matches
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Teams re-seeded based on
pool finish in First Wave.
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SECOND WAVE
Begins Saturday, 2:30
pm, Continues Sunday, 8:00 am
Pools of three or four
teams
Round-robin format, each
team plays 2 or 3 matches
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Teams re-seeded a second
time based on pool finish in Second Wave.
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PLAYOFFS
Begin Sunday, 11:00 am
Single elimination
Medals awarded upon
conclusion of playoffs