• Scheduling: Depending on the format of the league, teams may play either in a 60-minute or an 80-minute time block each week. Early and late start times will be rotated amongst the pools as the season progresses.
• Format: Each match will consist of a best-of-3 format, with the first two sets played until one team reaches 21 points (hard cap at 23 points, and the third set (if necessary) to 15 points (hard cap at 17 points).  Note that if time expires, the 3rd set will only count if the team winning at that point has at least 5 points in the 3rd set (except in playoffs).
• Reseeding: Teams may be reseeded as a result of competitive balance requirements throughout the season as warranted at Urban Rec’s sole discretion.

Gameplay

1. To be eligible to play in the league all players must have signed an online waiver. Players that do not sign an online waiver are not allowed to play. Team captains that do not fill out the online team roster will have their team removed from the schedule until they do so and all players have signed the waiver.

2. The on-site staff may do a random ID check for players from any team.  If a team is found to be using an ineligible player (i.e. someone who has not indicated that they have read the online waiver), then that player’s team will forfeit the game if it has already begun.  If the game has not begun, then the game will not be a forfeit- that player is simply not permitted to participate until they have indicated they have read the online waiver.

3. Teams may avoid forfeiting/defaulting in regular season games by utilizing players from other teams that play in the league without penalty.  However, in the playoffs, this can only be done to avoid being subject to the default policy- the game will be considered a forfeit loss (but not a default) if a team utilizes players not on their roster to field a lineup.

4. Teams will only call fouls committed by their own players.  Players will not call the fouls against their opponents. If a player neglects to call their own fouls, their team captain will be responsible for calling these fouls on their player’s behalf.
    
5. If there is a dispute on a call, re-serve the play. Contact the on-site staff for clarification of rules after the match is completed.
    
6. All players will conduct themselves in a polite and sportsmanlike manner. Individuals who do not abide by these criteria will be removed from the league.
    
7. All balls must be hit cleanly. No scooping or carrying the ball. Only off of a driven ball may a ball may be double hit (i.e. off arm and head in one continuous motion).
    
8. Contact with the net in any way (except for hair) constitutes loss of point. A player that goes under the net but does not contact the net or interfere with the play is okay.
    
9. No player may reach over the net, touch the net, or step completely over the centre line within the court. A player’s foot may land on the other side of the net (as long as it is not completely over the centre line), however, it is the responsibility of the attacking team to not make contact with an opposing team player. If this occurs, it would be a foul, and the opposing team would receive the point. If a defending team player crosses over the centre line (and is not completely over the line) and lands an attacking player’s foot, this would be a reserve of the point.
    
10. A served ball may not be blocked or attacked directly back over the net.
     
11. A served ball may be volleyed to a teammate (bump, set or otherwise), but may not be set directly over the net when receiving the serve.
     
12. If a player blocks a driven ball and the ball comes onto their own team’s side, the block does not count as a hit towards the three-hit limit (i.e. the team may still have 3 additional hits after the block).
     
13. The ball can hit any part of the body.
     
14. If a back-row player is in front of the attack line and plays the ball over the net, they must contact the ball below the height of the net.
     
15. A complete starting lineup consists of 6 players including a minimum of 2 women and 1 man. If a team has less than 6 players, the following rules apply:
    • If a team has less than 4 players it defaults the match.
    • If a team has 4 or 5 players but does NOT have at least 1 woman and 1 man, it is a default.
    • If a team has 4 or 5 players including only 1 woman and at least 1 man, the team is eligible to play but a point penalty applies:  4 points in each of the first two games of the match and 3 points in the third game of the match.
    • If a team has 4 or 5 players including at least 2 women and 1 man, there is no point penalty
       
16. If a team has less than 6 players, there is no “ghost” rule.  Serve rotation proceeds to the next available player.
     
17. Players must rotate positions as well as serve with each side-out. If teams have more than 6 players, then the substitution should be made after a player serves, and the new player should move into the position to the left of the server when entering the game. All players must serve before they are subbed out. Liberos are NOT permitted in our leagues (all players must play each position as part of their rotation).
     
18. Regular play will consist of 2 matches per week. Best 2 of 3 (21/21/15) Games are all rally point, win by 2 points, cap at 23 (Cap at 17 in the 3rd match.  Matches will be over when a team wins 2 games or time expires.  Approximately 35 minutes is allocated for each match, but may be reduced at the on-site staff’s discretion in order for the next pool to start on time or for participants to vacate the gym on time at the end of the night.
     
19. If time expires while teams are playing the 3rd set (the tiebreaker), at least one of the teams must have reached 5 points for the 3rd game to count.  Otherwise the match will be reported as a 1-game-apiece draw. Combined points will not be used during the regular season matches to determine a winner.
     
20. Playoffs will occur over the final two weeks of the season.  The format for the playoffs will be as follows:
    • each match will be a best-of-3 (21/21/15).  The first 2 games will be to 21 points capped at 23, and the 3rd game will be to 15 points capped at 17. If time expires during the 3rd game, whichever team is winning at that point will win the match (no 5-point minimum required)
    • if time expires during the 2nd game, then total points scored in the 2 games to that point will determine the winner of the match.

Playoffs- to be eligible for playoffs, participants must be added to the roster and should play in at least 2 weeks of regular season games for their team. No ringers allowed!

Standings/Re-seeding

1. Both teams are responsible for recording the results of their matches (sets won/lost and fun points) on the league schedule that is present on-site (or telling the on-site staff so that they can record them on-site).

2. Tiebreaker - If two or more teams are tied in the standings at season’s end, the tiebreaker will be as follows:

   • 1st tiebreaker – higher in-division wins
   • 2nd tiebreaker – higher UR fun point average
   • 3rd tiebreaker – head to head winner
   • 4th tiebreaker – coin flip
      
3. Urban Rec reserves the right to move teams up or down in timeslots depending on the team’s level of play.  For this reason, teams must be available to play in all of the time slots used throughout the season.
    
4. Have FUN! If there are any problems or suggestions about the league please free to contact us.  Please enjoy yourselves!

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Note that the above details are generic Indoor Volleyball rules. The rules for each specific league may differ.