Wiltshire Volleyball Association

League and Competition Rules (Amended 15 Jun 2019)

1. Affiliation, League and Competition Entry

Before competing in any Wiltshire Volleyball Association (WVA) League and/or Competition each club must both, be affiliated to Volleyball England, and have paid its WVA League, Competition and Goodwill Deposits
Teams are required to enter the League prior to the commencement of each season; entry forms are to be submitted to the WVA League Secretary and the fees to the WVA League Secretary/Treasurer by the specified closing date
New Teams can only enter into the lowest division of the WVA Open League prior to the season, unless there are exceptional circumstances, which are to be approved by the WVA Executive
Where a club enters more than one team into the WVA Open League at the beginning of a season, the teams must be designated as 1st Team, 2nd Team etc. based on a team's playing ability
A team withdrawing from the WVA League due to unforeseen circumstances may be refunded its entry fee provided no matches have been played by that team. Where a team withdraws from a WVA Competition, no fee will be refunded as the viability of the particular competition will have been based on the number of teams entering in advance of the competition

2. Rules

The playing rules that are applied will be those currently endorsed by the FIVB and verified by Volleyball England and the WVA, including any revisions to the rules
The WVA has a responsibility to ensure our referees are safe and so first referees at all WVA matches are only to referee from a proper stand, which is fit for purpose, or at ground level
The referee must make a judgement as to whether or not the referee's stand is fit and proper for use

3. Registration and Player Rules

All players must be registered with the WVA League Secretary and must have paid their registration fee (as applicable) prior to playing in any WVA league or competition. One registration covers all WVA leagues and competitions (including Ladies & Juniors League and Competitions)
All players' names will have a WVA Registration Number which must be on the score sheet together with their surname and initial
Players are to display a visible shirt number on the front & back in all league & competition matches. For all players registered after the start of the season, it would not be expected that a new player will have a numbered shirt on their first game. Any new player will be expected to obtain a numbered shirt within 28 days of their registration date or their next game after their initial game whichever is shorter
Teams in all divisions of the WVA Open League will be allowed to include male, female and junior (under age 18) players
A current list of all registered players, with registration numbers, will be maintained on one central list by the WVA League Secretary. The current list will be published to the WVA clubs on a regular basis
Players must be registered to play for a specific WVA club team before playing in the WVA Open League (for exceptions see Rule 3.j.). Registration and eligibility of players in WVA competitions, including the Ladies & Juniors League and competitions, is as follows:
1. Before playing in the Pre-Season Tournament, players must be registered to a WVA club team, although a player may play for any team in the tournament, including teams from other clubs, with the permission of the WVA Competitions Secretary, within the spirit of the game. The WVA Competitions Secretary may apply this rule as he/she sees fit to ensure sufficient teams can compete in the tournament
2. Players playing in the End-of-Season Tournament, must be registered to the WVA club they are playing for in the tournament, and must have played at least one match for any team within that WVA club in the WVA Open League in that same season. Players who have only played in the WVA Ladies & Juniors League or Tournament, may also play for any team from 'their' registered WVA Club in the tournament, with the permission of the WVA Competitions Secretary, within the spirit of the game. Teams entering this tournament may only use WVA Club 'team names' that have played in any division of the WVA Open League in that same season. The WVA Competitions Secretary may apply this rule as he/she sees fit to ensure sufficient teams can compete in the tournament
3. Players playing in the Dave Kinder Knock-Out Cup Tournament, must be registered to the WVA club they are playing for in that tournament. Players may play for any team within that club, but can only play for one team, within that WVA club in the tournament in any one season, even if that player subsequently transfers to another WVA club during that season
4. Players playing in the WVA Ladies & Juniors League or Tournament, must be registered to a WVA club, although a player may play for any team in the league or tournament within the spirit of the game; the WVA Ladies Development Officer may apply this rule as he/she sees fit to ensure sufficient teams can compete in the league or tournament
Clubs must register a player by phone or email no later than the day before a scheduled WVA Open League fixture. Registration fees must be paid to the WVA League Secretary/ Treasurer within 24 hours of registration unless agreed otherwise. For the Pre-Season Tournament or Ladies & Juniors League or Tournament, players must be registered with a WVA club, or they may register with the relevant WVA Officer or their nominated deputy prior to playing in that competition. The registered list of players must be filed with the WVA League Secretary as soon as practicable after that competition
No player may play for more than one WVA club within the WVA Open League and/ or Competitions in any one season, unless a player transfer between clubs has been notified to the WVA League Secretary no later than 24 hours prior to the start time of a scheduled WVA Open League fixture
Team Captains/ Coaches must print their team players surname followed by initial (name on score sheet must be unique), and their WVA Player Registration Number on the match score sheet prior to the match commencing
Player Short System. Within any one season each club has the option to nominate up to 4 players per team who can be used to play down in a lower designated team from the same club, i.e. 2nd, 3rd team etc. The player nominations can be made at any time during the season. A maximum of 2 nominated players can play down in a team that they are not registered for per match if the following conditions are met:
1. Players can only play down 1 team below their registered team, e.g. 1st team player cannot play for 3rd team
2. A limit of 8 uses per team of the player short system has not been reached, e.g. 2 players x 4 matches, 1 player x 8 matches (once reached the player down rule can no longer be used for that team). Note - Use of the 'player short' system only counts when the player goes onto court and actually plays; if the player is listed on the score sheet, but does not play this does not count as a use of the player short
3. Nominated players cannot be changed during the season
4. A nominated player down can only go on court (play down) if there are less than 6 players from the team's registered squad fit or available to play (e.g. the nominated player can be a substitute, but can only play if a player gets injured)
5. There is no restriction on players playing above their registered team
6. Any abuse of this system will lead to disciplinary action by the WVA Executive

4. Match Duration (WVA Open League)

All league matches shall be of 3 sets duration up to 25 points, with a 2 point lead and no cut off or points cap
All matches must be played on the pre-arranged date specified by the WVA League Secretary. Any changes to the fixture dates must be made to the WVA League Secretary within 2 weeks of publication, together with the consent of the opposing team
Matches can only be postponed in the event of exceptional circumstances - see below
Unless both teams agree matches shall not be scheduled to start before 7pm (Mon - Fri) and not after 9.30pm (any day)
If a team arrives late for a scheduled start time then the match will start as soon as both teams are ready, as decided by the first referee. If the allotted time runs out then all further points for the match will be forfeited by the late team. For example, if the score is 14-19 in the second set when the time runs out, and the away team is the late team, then the score will be recorded as 25-19 in the second set and 25-0 in the third set
Every home team must state a warm-up time and start time on their WVA Contact Form
Warm - up time is a minimum of 10 minutes, provided the visiting team arrives on time
The rules regarding match duration and competition format for all WVA competitions other than the WVA Open League, are to be determined by the WVA Competitions Secretary or WVA Ladies Development Officer as applicable. These rules may vary from year to year at the discretion of the relevant WVA officer, though rules regarding registration and player eligibility, outlined in paragraph 3, must be complied with

5. Postponement and Cancellation of Matches

Postponement or cancellation of matches can only be approved, at the discretion of the WVA League Secretary, due to exceptional circumstances
Any team postponing due to exceptional circumstances within 10 days of the fixture will result in the offending team paying for court hire
If a league fixture is not played due to exceptional circumstances then both teams concerned must inform & explain to the League Secretary in writing within 48 hours of that fixture date
A team wishing to postpone a fixture must get the agreement of the opposing team representative in writing. If there is no agreement to postpone the fixture from the opposing team, then the match can be claimed by the opposing team. Where a match is to be considered for postponement following a request from one of the teams involved, the League Secretary must be informed at all times

6. Match Responsibilities

Home team responsibilities are:

Confirming fixture to the match opponents no later than 10 days prior to the specified date, which must include date, venue, warm-up time, start time and travel directions
Ensuring that equipment is checked and playable prior to the fixture
Providing the venue, suitable equipment and officials at their own expense
Officials will consist of a 1st & 2nd referee, scorer and preferably at least 2 line judges as a basic minimum for any league or competition match. All clubs should actively be trying to improve the standard of their officials so that at least the 1st Referee should be qualified and registered with Volleyball England
Providing a visible score-board
Booking a minimum of 90 minutes per single match, which includes a warm-up and start-time
Completed score sheet must be either:
1. Scanned or electronically formatted and e-mailed to the WVA League Secretary within 5 days of the match. If requested, the original must be posted or rescanned at the request of the WVA League Secretary
2. Posted to the WVA League Secretary within 5 days of match

7. League Points

League Points will be awarded as follows:

One point will be awarded for every set won
Two points will be awarded for every match won
One additional league point shall be awarded if the result of a match is submitted on-line by the home team within 5 days of the match being played and one point for the away team if the result is verified within 10 days of the match (or 5 days after the home team submitted the result on-line)
Opposing Teams failing to turn up for a scheduled fixture shall forfeit all that fixtures' league points to the other team and face possible disciplinary action by the WVA Executive. Court hire costs will also be charged to the offending team

8. Promotion, Relegation and Play-offs

The winner of the Premier Division will be the WVA Open League Champions. The winning team of lower divisions shall be promoted as champions by one division. The bottom team of Premier Division and any other division other than the lowest shall be relegated by one division
League positional play-off's, (2 or more teams being equal on league points) on completion of fixtures, the following will apply in order
1. Number of matches won
2. Number of sets won
3. Number of sets against
4. Points difference
5. If still equal, then the WVA League Secretary will arrange a play-off if separation of the teams is required to determine; the champions, runners-up, bottom positions, and promotion/ relegation play-off positions
  1. Between seasons the WVA Executive may need to adjust the divisions to achieve a balance in the number of teams. This may involve further promotions or relegations
  2. Promotion/ relegation play-off. At the end of the season the second from bottom team in each division (other than the lowest division), and the second from top in each division other than the Premier Division, shall play each other. The winner of this match shall play in the higher division the following season and the loser of this match shall play in the lower division the following season. The match shall be played as soon as possible after the last match of the season at a venue agreed by both teams and the WVA League Secretary. The match will be best of 3 sets. The court costs will be met by the WVA. Players playing in the 'Play-Off' match must only be those registered with that team during that season; the player short system (Rule 3.j.) may only be used within the spirit of the game and no 'new' players may be registered for this match. Any exceptions to this rule must be agreed with the WVA League Secretary

9. Player Discipline

A player or coach will be charged with 3 disciplinary points if he/she receives a penalty (yellow card), 7 for an expulsion (red card) and 10 for disqualification (red and yellow cards). If a player or coach accumulates more than 15 points, they will then face disciplinary action by the WVA Executive

10. Club Discipline

Any club /team failing to conform to the Association, League or Competition rules, or are deemed as being consistently unreasonable, shall forfeit league points, be fined or even expelled from the Association and/or League, at the discretion of the WVA Executive. In all cases the club or team concerned has the right to appeal in writing to the WVA Chair within 7 days of being notified of expulsion. Any club/team expelled from the Association, League or Competition will forfeit all its goodwill deposit and all their matches played will be void

Rule Breaches

The following breaches of the rules carry penalties (see paragraph 12):

Failure by any club to attend a WVA AGM or other compulsory meeting
Failure to reply to any WVA written communication within the specified deadline
Failure to give notice of fixture postponement of a league/competition match to the opposing team & WVA League/Competition Secretary, due to exceptional circumstances
Postponement within 10 days of league/ competition fixture
Failure for a player to display a visible shirt number in a league/competition match
Failure to provide home team responsibilities
Failure to arrive for a scheduled fixture
Playing or attempting to play an un-registered player
Abuse of nominated player short system
Failure to pay registration fee within the specified deadline
Failure by the home team to supply a completed score sheet to the WVA League/Competition Secretary within 5 days of matc
Failure to inform opposing team of any change of venue & start time of match
Failure to inform the WVA League/Competition Secretary & opposing team of any postponed fixture
Any other offence which in the opinion of the WVA Executive contravenes the spirit of the rules
Failure to inform the WVA League/Competition Secretary in writing of an unplayed fixture within 48hrs
Any 'Rule Breach' for which a penalty is imposed as above, must be notified in writing by the WVA League/Competition Secretary to the affected team(s) within 28 days of the rule breach quoting the match, date, circumstances, rule breach and penalty (the WVA Chair must also be notified). An affected team(s) wishing to lodge an appeal must do so in writing to the WVA Chair within 14 days of receiving notification of a rule breach and penalty – see Rule 13

Penalties

The penalties are as follows:

Rule 11d = court costs
Rules 11a, 11f, 11o = £10
Rule 11g = Loss of match points + court costs
Rules 11b, 11e, 11j, 11k, 11l, 11m = £3
Rule 11h = Loss of all match points for that league match or withdrawn from entered competition
Rule 11n = Up to £15 and/ or a deduction of league points
Rule 11i = Loss of match points
Rule 11c = court costs

13. Disputes and Appeals Procedure

Teams are urged to make every effort to resolve and settle disputes between themselves at the time of the dispute
Both teams must inform the referee during or immediately after the match, that there is a dispute. The referee must record the dispute on the score sheet
If the dispute is not resolved at the time it must be referred to the WVA League/ Competition Secretary within 7 days of the match date
The WVA League/Competition Secretary will inform the opposing team of the dispute who then have a further 7 days to reply in writing to the WVA League/Competition Secretary
The WVA League/Competition Secretary has the right to settle all disputes subject to any appeal
Teams lodging an appeal regarding a dispute or 'Rule Breach' and 'Penalty' notification, must do so in writing to the WVA Chair within 14 days of being notified of the WVA League/Competition Secretary's decision
The WVA Chair will then convene a WVA Appeals Meeting to resolve the appeal. The Appeals meeting shall require a minimum of three Executive Members to conduct the meeting. This meeting will also include a representative from each club/team concerned
The WVA Executive's decision is final
If a team has an issue with any official, the team captain / co-ordinator must report the matter to the relevant WVA League/Competition Secretary who will investigate