Rules & Regulations | Milwaukee Gay Volleyball Association

RULES & REGULATIONS.

Milwaukee Gay Volleyball Association Summary of Rules & Regulations

MGVA follows the 2021-2023 rules of USA Volleyball (USAV), found here, except as stated below. All rules and regulations are subject to be modified, cancelled, or appended at any time per the discretion of the officers of the MGVA Board of Directors. If any rules are changed, the MGVA Board of Directors will communicate and make the new set of rules available at first convenience.

If there are any further questions regarding the rules and regulations, do not hesitate to ask any MGVA Board Member or email us at MGVAmembership@gmail.com.

REGISTRATION:

Registration for the ensuing league season typically opens 7 weeks prior to the opening date of play and closes 2 weeks prior to opening day. Team slots are filled on a first-registered, first-paid basis.

The league currently accepts registrations by individuals or entire teams. Teams consist of 6 or 7 players. Should an individual need assistance in being placed on a team, the Board reserves the right to add individuals to existing teams. For teams, full payment prior to the season opener is required.

TEAM DEFINITION & SUBSTITUTION RULES:

A team is required to have 4 players present on the floor and at least half must be roster players. Current rosters can be checked every week on the scorekeepers' clipboards.

A team can use substitutes to field a team, but that team must maintain as many roster players as substitutes. If a team elects to play with more substitutes than roster players, they will forfeit 1 set for each substitute above the 1:1 roster-to-sub ratio. For example, if a team of 6 plays with 4 subs, they will forfeit the first set of the match. If they play with 5 subs, they will forfeit the first 2 sets of the match. If they have 6 subs, they will forfeit the entire match.

A team cannot play with fewer than 4 people on the floor. Should a team fall below that 4-player minimum, they must find a substitute to finish the match. Otherwise, they will forfeit the remainder of the sets for that match.

Only under extenuating circumstances (e.g., the loss of a roster player due to injury suffered during a match) can a team can remain eligible with fewer roster players than substitutes.

All substitutes must have an official waiver and Rules of Conduct form signed and on file with MGVA. Substitutes must be from the same or lower division or of a similar skill level of the team for which they are subbing. The Board reserves the right to deny a team’s sub should they not be at an equal skill level.

For playoff/bracket matches, all substitutes must be registered with MGVA and approved by the Board of Directors at least 1 week prior to the first round of play. Approval of these subs can be requested through email to any board member.

REFEREEING:

Along with the playing schedule, each team in the league will have refereeing duties throughout the season. These reffing duties are found on the regular season schedule.

Refereeing teams are asked to provide an R-1 (Up-ref), R-2 (Down-ref), and Scorekeeper (Flip-score). It is acceptable for the R-2 to also keep the official paper score sheet in their hands. Upon completion of the match, this refereeing team is responsible for making sure the winner, score, and Ball of Fame nominees are clearly stated for the match.

A copy of the official hand signals are available in the "Resources" section of the MGVA website. Should a team need assistance or referee training for a match, they must contact a board member prior to that match.

FORFEITURE:

A season schedule will be released, and teams must be ready to play and/or ref their scheduled matches, unless otherwise communicated. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture.

Teams may use any unoccupied courts for the purpose of practice or warm-up. Teams will be allotted a 5-minute warm-up period that begins immediately at the start of their stated match time. Teams must be prepared to play after this 5-minute warm-up period concludes.

Should a team be unable to field a full team at the end of the warm-up period, a 5-minute grace period will begin. If at the end of those 5 minutes a team still cannot field a valid roster, that team will forfeit the first set of their scheduled match. If they are unable to field a valid roster after an additional 5 minutes, they will forfeit the remainder of their match.

For record-keeping purposes, a forfeit is scored 25-0, 25-0, 15-0 and the forfeiting team will receive (-65) points for that match.
If a team knows in advance they cannot field a team on a given night, an agreement with the opposing team to reschedule is possible only if there is time and space to reschedule the match. This reschedule must take place during regular MGVA court time and will be addressed on a first-request first-filled status. Both team captains must work with the MGVA Program Director, who will make a reasonable effort to accommodate the rescheduled match.

Should neither team be able to field a team, and rescheduling is not an option, both teams will receive a match loss (3 set losses) and the games will be scored 0-0, 0-0, 0-0 with a net point differential of (0).

PREMATCH PROTOCOL:

Matches will begin with the meeting of team captains (or team representative) wherein a coin toss or other means will determine which team will serve and which team will choose the side of the court to play the first set.

Teams will switch sides and serve responsibilities for the second set.

Prior to the third set (when necessary), captains will again determine who serves and on which side. Teams will also switch sides midway through the third set.

Each team will be given two 30-second timeouts per set.

Match play will consist of rally scoring with let serves in play. For sets 1 and 2, both teams will start at 0 and play to 25 (points capped at 27). Set three is played from 0 to 15 (points capped at 17). A team must win each set by 2 points, except when reaching the scoring cap.

The initial receiving team must rotate upon a side-out, prior to its first service.

LINE-UPS, ROTATIONS, "SUPER MIDDLE" & LIBERO PROTOCOL:

Lower Divisions: Teams of more than 6 players may rotate players into whichever consistent location(s) the team chooses.

Upper Divisions: Teams will typically be utilizing 5-1 or 6-2 rotations to facilitate higher level play. In order to allow maximum participation, teams may utilize "super middles" (a.k.a. typewriter middles). In other words, each team is only required to have 1 middle blocker that stays in the front row for the entire match. The libero will serve for this middle in all circumstances.

A Libero, should teams choose to use one, must follow the same guidelines as those designated by USAV 2021-2023 regulations. Liberos should be pointed out to the refereeing team prior to the start of the match. Any changes to this position should be communicated to the reffing teams between sets.

Official line-ups do not need to be submitted to the refereeing team prior to the start of the match.

INJURIES:

A waiver must be signed by each league member before they can step onto the floor.

For safety precautions, a player is ineligible to continue if blood is visible at any time. If necessary, an official’s timeout, at no charge to the injured team, can be used to clean and bandage the wound. That player may return to action once blood is no longer exposed.

A First Aid kit is provided for each league date. Please contact a board member if any further assistance is needed.

FACILITIES – BEULAH BRINTON COMMUNITY CENTER AND NEW BERLIN SPORTSPLEX:

A ball will be considered out of play if a player contacts any apparatus (wall, bleachers, gym divider, etc.) before contacting the ball. However, a ball played before the player contacts the apparatus shall remain live and in-play.

A ball that contacts an apparatus connected directly to the ceiling is live and in-play, as long as the ball remains on that team’s side of the net. A ball that contacts an apparatus connected directly to the wall is out of play. A ball that contacts an apparatus connected to the ceiling but lands on the other side of the net is out of play. A ball that contacts an apparatus connected to the ceiling on the other half of the net is out of play, regardless of which side the ball lands.

MGVA does not allow pursuit rules for safety reasons.

When traveling between Courts A & B, please use the atrium walkway—do not pass through the gym mat dividers and disrupt play. Likewise, be aware of play on Court B as the entrance to that court is very close to the service line.

Please roll the ball under the net to avoid injury.

LEAGUE STANDINGS / TIEBREAKING PROCEDURES:

Standings will be updated following each week of play. Overall match record is the first criterion for league standings, while set record and point differential are kept for tiebreaking purposes.

A team’s postseason tournament seed shall correspond to its regular-season finish. In case of any ties, the following procedure to determine proper seeds will be used.

Two-Team Tie: 1. Overall set record 2. Overall point differential 3. Head-to-head match record 4. Head-to-head set record 5. Head-to-head point differential 6. Match record versus divisional champion 7. Coin flip

Multiple-Team Tie: 1. Overall set record 2. Overall point differential 3. Collective match record among tied teams 4. Collective set record among tied teams 5. Collective point differential among tied teams 6. Match record versus divisional champion 7. Coin flip(s)

4-PERSON TEAM RULES:

These rules apply to any 4-person division or event (indoor or outdoor) run by MGVA. These rules do not apply to teams playing with 4 players in a 6-person division or event.

Rotation – In 4's divisions, teams do not have to rotate players around the court, but must rotate servers. Servers should serve in the same order during a single set. Order of servers may be changed between sets. Teams are responsible for keeping track of the order of their servers.

All 4 players are considered front row players and may hit the ball in front of the 10-foot line.

Illegal contact – In 4’s divisions, open handed tips are not allowed. Let serves (serves that contact the net before going over) are still allowed.

Substitution - A team is required to have at least 3 players present on the court, 1 of which must be a roster player, determined by a submitted roster at the beginning of the season.

A team can use up to 2 substitutes to field a team, but that team must have an equal number or more roster players compared to substitutes (ie. a team with 2 roster players can use 2 substitutes; but a team with 1 roster player cannot use 3 substitutes).

APPROVED by Majority Vote of the Board, 2/5/23