REQUIRED MINIMUM AGE: All players must be ALREADY attending high school or older and be able to produce ID.
JERSEYS: Teams are NOT required to wear matching or numbered jerseys.
NET VIOLATION: Contact with any part of the net by a player between the antennae, during the action of playing the ball, is a fault. The action of playing the ball includes (among others) take-off, hit (or attempt) and landing. This includes the setter. If the setter hits the net digging the ball out of the net, or they brush up against it before/during/after playing the ball it IS A VIOLATION. Clothing touching the net IS a violation, hair is NOT a violation.
CENTER LINE VIOLATION: A player’s entire body can cross the center line under the net as long as BOTH ENTIRE FEET REMAIN behind, on, or above the center line and player does not interfere with play or safety.
ROTATE ON FIRST SIDE OUT: Teams must rotate after every side-out INCLUDING THE FIRST side out/first time to serve of each set after the other team has served.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Unlimited substitutions are allowed. Males can substitute for females and vice versa as long as the minimum number males or females that is required remains.
Players do not need to wait for the official’s approval and should make substitutions quickly between rallies. The team captain or player(s) coming into the game should alert the official by calling out “sub” if extra time is needed.
OPTIONAL POSITION SUBSTITUTION – If desired, teams may use “position substitution”, in which any and all players substitute in/out from the same court position (e.g. – when the team sides out, the player rotating into service position is replaced by a player from the bench). If this option is chosen, it must be used for the entire set and, barring exceptional substitutions (injury, etc.), other substitutions will not be allowed. In particular, a libero will not be allowed under this option.
LIBEROS
All teams are allowed to play with a libero except for teams using the “position substitution” rule listed above. Liberos may be male or female as long as the minimum number required male or female players remain on the court. For Coed, a libero may substitute for a male or female.
Liberos may substitute for more than one single player on a team within a set per USAV rules. Liberos may only serve for one player in a set.
Liberos must bump set if contact with the ball is made in front of the 3 meter line and then an attack made.
ADJACENT COURT RULE: We will follow the “adjacent court” rule when players are playing a ball on the sidelines. Players may play the ball up to the adjacent court’s side line but may NOT cross the adjacent court side line at any time EVEN AFTER PLAYING THE BALL if there is a game or a team on the court.
OUT OF BOUNDS: The walls and bleachers are all out of bounds. Any hanging obstacles (banners, beams, lights, basketball hoop if in playing area) are playable on the same side of the court only as long as the volleyball would have stayed on the same side or was not redirected to avoid hitting the wall, etc. This will be a judgement call by the ref. Players may run up to but never cross the adjacent courtside boundary line to pursue a ball.
BACKROW HITTERS: A back row player may jump and hit the ball above the plane of the net from the back row ONLY as long as his/her feet are in back of and do not touch the 3 meter (10 foot) line prior to their jump. He/She may land on or in front of the line after their jump. Back row hitting is allowed in ALL divisions.
CANNOT ATTACK ON SERVE RECEIVE: No player is permitted to complete an attack hit on the OPPONENT’S serve when the ball is in the front zone and entirely higher than the top of the net. Balls played directly back to the opponent’s court on one hit/touch on serve receive must have a significant upward trajectory when crossing over the net (this is a referee’s judgement call). Blocking the opponent’s serve is not permitted.
NOT ALLOWED IN C & B LEVELS: Jump serving is not allowed in C & B levels. Playing with a designated middle hitter is not allowed in C & B levels.

COED PLAYING RULES

Six players on the team of which a minimum two must be female (or 1 female if playing with 5 or less players).
A female player must play the ball if the ball is touched more than once on a team’s side. A block does not count as a touch.
One back row male can block in the front row if there is only one male in the front row of the rotation. They are not allowed to attack the ball, simply to block.
No rotation can have 3 men in the FRONT row. It does not matter if there are 3 men in the back row as long as there are still 2 females on the court.
Players in the back row with teams of 4, 5, or 6 players, are considered BACK ROW players and are not allowed to attack/spike in front of the 3-meter line.
One back row male can block if only one other male is in the front row.
Coed is played on a Men’s height net.

REVERSE COED PLAYING RULES

Six players on the team of which a minimum two must be male (or 1 male if playing with 5 or less players).
A male player must play the ball if the ball is touched more than once on a team’s side. A block does not count as a touch.
One back row female can block in the front row if there is only one female in the front row of the rotation. They are not allowed to attack the ball, simply to block.
No rotation can have 3 females in the FRONT row. It does not matter if there are 3 females in the back row as long as there are still 2 males on the court.
Players in the back row with teams of 4, 5, or 6 players, are considered BACK ROW players and are not allowed to attack/spike in front of the 3-meter line.
Male players on or in front of the 3 meter (10 foot) line of the rotation directing a ball into the opponent’s court must ensure the ball has an upward trajectory immediately after contact. Male players are not allowed to block or make any type of blocking above the plane of the net motion.
Reverse Coed is played on a women’s height net
Sample Video: This video should give you a good idea of how the ladies are the front row hitters and blockers and the guys mostly set and/or are back row hitters: Reverse Coed Video

DIVISION DESCRIPTIONS

Mostly listed in order from lowest skill level to highest skill level Not ALL divisions are offered in leagues and tournaments. Divisions may be combined if too few teams register or be split up into two separate divisions if there is a high number of teams within a division to allow for more parity. Teams may be moved to different divisions during the season/tourney based on their observed level of play or win/loss records. It will be up to the Director’s discretion along with Referee input for any moves or changes. Teams will be required to follow the Platinum Sports SA Rated Player rules when forming teams. FROM LOWEST TO HIGHEST:

“C” teams are comprised mainly of recreational, family, and beginner players. Teams usually are learning to set the ball and hit over the net consistently. Most players can pass the ball and serve over the net. Absolutely NO players who can crush the volleyball and possibly injure opposing players are allowed in this division. No Rated Players are allowed in this division without prior approval by the directors. Playing with a designated middle hitter is NOT ALLOWED. Jump serving is NOT ALLOWED.
“SENIORS” teams ONLY OFFERED AT SELECT TOURNAMENTS are comprised mostly of players aged 50 years and older. At times we may have a separate Seniors 50+ and a Seniors 60+ division depending on the number of teams registered. If there are not enough teams within a Seniors division, the two divisions may be combined with each other or combined with the B or A LEVEL divisions.
“B” teams are comprised of low intermediate level players. All players can pass satisfactorily and serve well. Playing with a designated middle hitter is NOT ALLOWED. Jump serving is NOT ALLOWED. Usually these teams play a 4-2 offense. No Rated Players are allowed in this division without prior approval by the directors.
“NO RATED” teams are comprised of low to intermediate level players. Rated Male/Female players are NOT allowed without our prior approval/restrictions. This is usually our LOWER to INTERMEDIATE level Men’s or Reverse Coed divisions.
“A” teams are comprised of high INTERMEDIATE level players. Teams usually play a 5-1 or 6-2 offense with middle hitters, have hard hitting players and good blockers, a couple jump servers, can set the ball well and are able to consistently spike the ball successfully. Male or female Advanced players are NOT allowed. Male Bubble Rated Players are NOT allowed. Multiple FEMALE Bubble rated players ARE allowed. If a team is too strong for “A” we will move the team to higher division. For WOMEN’S A teams NO rated players are allowed.
“1BUBBLE” teams are comprised of high intermediate level players. Teams usually play a 5-1 or 6-2 offense, have hard hitting players, a couple jump servers, can set the ball well and are able to consistently spike the ball successfully. “1BUBBLE” division teams will be Limited to ONE BUBBLE rated male player in ONE SAME SINGLE ROTATIONAL POSITION on the team per set. In addition, multiple Bubble & Advanced rated Women are allowed on teams. NO Male advanced rated players are allowed in this division. Usually only offered as Coed at leagues.
“BUBBLE” or “BUBBLE++” teams are comprised of very high intermediate level players. Teams usually play a 5-1 or 6-2 offense, have hard hitting players, a couple jump servers, can set the ball well and are able to consistently spike the ball successfully. These division teams are allowed multiple Bubble rated male players. In addition, multiple Bubble & Advanced rated Women are allowed on teams. NO Male advanced rated players are allowed in this division.
“ADVANCED MODIFIED” teams are at very high intermediate to low advanced level and usually comprised of A level players and Bubble players AND are Limited to ONE ADVANCED rated male (for Men's/Coed teams) or female (for Women's teams) player in ONE SAME SINGLE ROTATIONAL POSITION on the team per set. Teams usually play a 5-1 or 6-2 offense, have hard hitting players, a couple jump servers, can set the ball well and are able to consistently spike the ball successfully.
“ADVANCED” or "RATED" teams are comprised of as many Bubble and ADVANCED level players per team as desired. Usually current/former college players and higher play this level. Teams usually play a 5-1 or 6-2 offense, have hard hitting players, a couple jump servers, can set the ball well and are able to consistently spike the ball successfully. Any player non-rated or rated, male or female, is allowed to play in this division. This is the higher level of the Men’s or Reverse Coed divisions. This is our HIGHEST level of play for our divisions.

REFEREES

For Leagues: We provide referees for all matches/games.
For Tourneys: All teams take turns reffing. When reffing please be considerate and pay attention to the game you are reffing. When playing remember, the refs are PLAYERS JUST LIKE YOU and not paid professionals.
Absolutely NO SHOUTING or YELLING at the refs will be allowed. Captains should be the only players approaching the ref to question or ask for clarification. Referees my penalize teams with a yellow/red/ejection card depending on the circumstances.

FREE AGENTS

We have a process in place for players looking for a team or captains looking for a player: Free Agents

DRAWING A PLAYER TO FILL A TEAM (TOURNEYS)

For Tourneys only, all teams take turns being the draw team for a match. If a team finds themselves short a player, they may RANDOMLY draw from the draw team to fill their team for that match. Teams are not required to draw for players to fill their team however if they do not then they MUST PLAY WITH A GHOST(s) player for each position not filled. Players who are drawn to help out a team are not required to play. This is a courtesy to the teams to help keep the tournaments running smoothly.

RATED PLAYERS

Captains & players are responsible for checking our Rated Players list to ensure compliance. Teams will be forced to move to the appropriate division. Rated Players List

MALE TO FEMALE RATIO ON TEAMS

Women’s teams allow ONLY female players
Men’s teams are allowed female players (no limit). There is no minimum number of men required to be on a coed or men’s team (i.e., a coed or men’s team can play with 6 women if they choose to do so).
For Coed: A minimum of 2 female players is required for coed team (or 1 female if playing with less than 6 players). There is NO minimum number required of male players. When playing with 4 to 5 players, at least one player on the court must be female.
For Reverse Coed: A minimum of 2 male players is required for reverse coed team (or 1 male if playing with less than 6 players). There is NO minimum number required of female players. When playing with 4 to 5 players, at least one player on the court must be male.

MINIMUM # PLAYERS REQUIRED

Teams are required to have a minimum of 4 players to start a set/match. If a team is not on the court/does not have min 4 players from their roster when the court ref is ready to start the match, two points will be counted off per minute against the no-show team for the first set. If the team has still not arrived at completion of counting off points for the first set, then countdown will commence for the 2nd. After those points have reached the maximum points for the set for the opposed team, they will be forced to forfeit the match.
Teams of either 4 or 5 players are REQUIRED to use a “ghost” player for each position. Keep in mind that there cannot be 3 males in the front row in a rotation for Coed, nor 3 females in the front row for Reverse Coed. When playing with a ghost player, the captain must inform the ref where the ghost player(s) is located and the rotation must stay intact as if there were a player in that position (i.e., side out on the serve when the ghost player reaches the serving position, only two hitters at the net when the ghost is in the front row, etc.).
For tournaments teams with less than 5 players and drawing for players for the majority of the tournament will not qualify for prizes. This is up to the tournament director’s discretion.

ROSTER GUIDELINES

ROSTER DEADLINE FOR LEAGUES: Rosters must be completed and submitted online by the posted deadline for that league/season, usually after the 2nd week of league play. Teams who have not submitted or fully completed a roster by the deadline (with all last names included) will be penalized 10 points against for the first set the team plays in Week 3. Additional penalties if still not submitted. There is a MINIMUM 8 players must be listed and a MAXIMUM of TWELVE players on a team league roster to include subs.
ROSTER DEADLINE FOR TOURNEYS: Rosters must be completed within 2 hours of the tourney start time. Team Players must have played at least 2 sets of round robin with the team if playing in playoffs. There is a MAXIMUM of EIGHT players on a team’s tourney roster. Club or recreational teams contact us directly if you have more than 8 players.
ROSTER CHANGES: After the roster submittal deadline no changes are allowed to the rosters except for extenuating circumstances as deemed by the Directors. Do not assume it is acceptable to sub or add a player for ANY reason. The option to alter rosters is our decision alone.
PLAYERS ALLOWED ON MULTIPLE ROSTERS: Players are allowed to be listed and play on more than one team/roster within their division or other divisions with a MAXIMUM two divisions. These teams must be within one division level of each other. For example, a player currently on a roster for a Coed A division team is allowed to be on the roster on a Coed Advanced Modified team which is one level up OR can be on a Coed B division team which is one level down from A. Coed A players are NOT allowed to play on a Coed C division team (which would be TWO divisions down from Coed A).
CHALLENGING A ROSTER: After rosters are turned in the Captains or referees may challenge the roster of an opposing team if they feel a player playing with the opposing team is not listed on the opposing team’s roster or not of high school age or playing more than one level down/up from their normal level of play/current level of play. This challenge is best if brought to the Court Ref’s or Tourney Director’s attention PRIOR TO COMPLETION of the match when possible. The Director will check BOTH team rosters and if a player is not listed on the team roster or if the player cannot produce ID verification or if it is found the team committed a roster violation, that team will forfeit the set(s) or match affected.

ID CHECKS

After rosters have been submitted & posted, rosters will be randomly checked by the referees or director prior to play. Players must be able to produce an ID at any time or be subject to points docked or forfeit. ID’s must have a photo and be issued by a federal, state, city, or local school agency. Photos of the ID are acceptable. Social media accounts are NOT acceptable. 100% ID checks will be done during the last two weeks of a league season.

TIME LIMITS

WARM-UP: Each team will participate in shared court warm-up before their games. Warm-ups will last no more than 4 minutes beginning at designated start time or immediately following previous match IF time allows. If matches are running late, not on time, etc., warm-up time will be reduced appropriately at the referee’s or tourney directors’ discretion.
TIME OUT: Each team is allotted ONE 30 second timeout per set. If matches are running behind, timeouts will only be allowed at the referee’s/tourney director’s discretion.
TIME ALLOTTED FOR GAMES: For LEAGUES, each match will have 45 minutes to be played out. Referees will keep track of time and may cut a set short if the 45 minute window is expiring. This is to ensure that the following teams all get their allotted playtime. For TOURNEYS, the schedule will display the times certain matches are to start. If running behind on time matches may be condensed.

DETERMINING WINNERS/SEEDS

Team winners and team seeds (if the division participates in playoffs) will be determined after round robin play. Seeding determined by:

Total Match Wins, if still tied then,
Head to head, if still tied or if teams did not play each other or if multiple teams did play each other but no overall winner then,
Overall set differential (total # sets won divided by total # sets played), if still tied then
Overall point differential (total # points scored divided by total # points against), if still tied then
Random blind draw. NO additional sets/matches are planned to be played to break a tie unless approved by the tourney director.

PLAYOFFS

Teams are not allowed to bring in “ringers” for playoffs. Any noticeably “new” players playing in playoffs who are obviously above the level of play of the rest of the team or the division and who have not played in at least TWO sets during round robin on the team throughout the league season/tourney will be subject to forfeiting their team’s matches. This will be at the discretion of the Directors and the Referee. We ask for teams to practice good sportsmanship and be aware of the skill level of your players with respect to the division.

For Tourneys: Playoffs are OPTIONAL for all divisions and as time allows.
All teams are included in playoffs when playoffs are scheduled. It is the captain's/team's responsibility to check the online schedule for ANY changes or updates.

PRIZES

For Leagues: League Champs T-shirts are awarded to the No. 1 seed of each division unless otherwise stipulated (shortened season, etc). Playoff Winners are usually awarded medals. Captains may request up to a maximum 8 prizes for their team.
For Tourneys: T-shirts or medals will be awarded to players of teams winning 1st place in their division OR if playoffs are held then to the playoff winner. There must be at least 3 teams in the division to win prizes. Captains may request up to a maximum 8 prizes for their team.

POST LEAGUES/TOURNEY

Teams winning their overall division should attempt to register UP a division level for the following tourney or leagues they play in AND if the team is bringing back the majority of the same players. This enforcement will be up to the discretion of the Directors.

WATCH YOUR KIDS & BELONGINGS

Fans, players, or players with children playing on NON-Platinum rented courts will be charged by MCSP for use of the court. If a player’s child is found running around the facility, that player will be required to come off the court to refrain their child. Play will not stop while the player is corralling their children and points may be taken from the game. The offender (including children) may end up being banned from attending our events. These premises are not monitored to ensure the security of personal property of participants or attendees at our events. You are responsible for the security of your own belongings. The event organizers nor facility shall have no liability for any theft or damages.

PLAYER/SPECTATOR CONDUCT

Our events are friendly, social, and competitive. Players & spectators are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. We will enforce consequences of player/spectator misconduct during our events. Please note it is not essential that injury results for these definitions to be satisfied. Platinum Sports will not tolerate any form of misconduct from players/spectators whether physical or non-physical. Expect that the majority of deliberate physical misconduct or assaults and many non-physical misconduct or assaults will result in police action and forfeit/possible ban at the discretion of league Directors/league overseers with no refund of monies.

Examples of non-physical misconduct or assault: *verbal abuse towards teammates, opponents, officials, spectators, Platinum Sports Directors, MCSP staff *discriminatory remarks *offensive gestures *threats whether verbal or physical *bullying or intimidating behavior *attempted assaults where contact is not made including spitting *brandishing weapons or objects which could be used to inflict harm *throwing a weapon or object and missing *stalking or other forms of harassment
Examples of physical misconduct or assault: *punching *kicking *head butting *striking with a weapon or object *throwing object or weapon where contact is made *spitting where a person or their clothing is struck *hair pulling *scratching
Possible consequences of misconduct or assault: - yellow card by ref (this is a warning to knock off the unruly behavior) - red card by ref (player or offensive person(s) are expelled from the game to not return for the remainder of the match. - ejected from the premises and banned from attending any Platinum Sports events.
Defiance and aggressive behavior after receipt of a yellow or red card or after being approached by a staff member about the infraction will result in a forfeit and possible ban for the remainder of the event/session depending on offense and at the discretion of directors.