These ground rules have been updated to comply with 2001-2002 USAV Rules.
Please be aware that this is a "living" document, and as such is subject to changes and updates. It will continually be under review and evaluation by the LVL Head Referee. Any feedback or comments or suggestions regarding the LVL Ground Rules should be sent to the LVL officers at lvl-officers@newts.org
A team rotation must include a minimum of two men and two women. Teams that otherwise have a legal team will be allowed to play, even if this limit is violated. Before the start of play, a gender point differential will be calculated. If a team is short a particular gender, their opponent will be awarded a gender point per missing player up to two points. When both teams have received an equal amount of gender points, no penalty points are awarded. If there is a one (1) point differential, then the team with the greater amount of gender points is granted three (3) penalty points to start the game. If there is a two (2) point diffential, then the team with the greater amount of gender points is granted eight (8) penalty points to start the game.
A team may not waive the violation points. Late arrivals will not alter the awarding of points at the start of the game. If an injured player leaving the game creates a violation, no points or additional points will be awarded.
Players being subbed for either via standard substitution or libero substitution (including the libero player themselves) shall count as a half a player for gender calculation. If a team has "half a player", it will be rounded down to the nearest integer.
It is the first referee's responsibility to ensure that the points are scored in the official score. The points must be awarded before end of game is signaled by the first referee. Either captain may ask to have gender points awarded before or during the game. Players arriving late will not change points awarded. The team receiving gender points may only receive the amount due to them at the start of the game.
Players that arrive after the games have started can enter the game at the next rotation of their team. They must enter in the service position. The captain can delay their entry to place them in a desired position (in the rotation).
Late players do not change any penalty points accrued due to insufficient co-ed make up.
The service area on the side of the courts next to the outside wall (parking lot side) is extended to the black line nearest the wall. It is a fault for the server to touch or cross this line until after the service.
Head Referee's Note: USAV recommends (not requires) a clearance of 6'6" around indoor courts. This definition of playing area does not quite provide 6'6" around the courts, but it does provide as much space as our gym permits. It also makes for a cleaner interpretation of some rules.
Head Referee's Note: This definition implies a certain amount of overlap in team areas between Courts 1 and 2.
Head Referee's Note: A served ball must be clean, it cannot contact any object regardless of height or location! After the ball has been served cleanly, the following rules apply.
A ball hitting any object outside the Playing Area is dead. The call is either:
Head Referee's Note: When the ball is deemed "out" because it hit an object, the proper hand signal is to point at the object with an open hand, and then signal out (raise the forearms in a vertical position hands open, palms facing upward).
A ball hitting any object (ceiling, girders, or the wood beam between the courts) over 15' above the current team's area, and not fully crossing the plane of the net, remains in play (no call needed). Any other ball hitting an object over 15' above the playing area is dead (either "out" or "touch").
A ball hitting any object extending below 15' over the playing area becomes dead. If, in the 1st referee's opinion, some logical play on the ball might have occurred had the ball not hit the object, a replay is awarded. If, in the 1st referee's opinion, no other logical play would have followed had the ball not contacted the object, no replay is directed and a point is awarded as appropriate.
Head Referee's Note: "Some logical play" could be from either team (not just the team that last hit the ball).
The following objects, and therefore their vertical supports up to the height of the girders (!), are under 15'. {Replay if a logical play may have occurred, point awarded otherwise.}
The ceiling, its associated girders, and the wood beam between the courts are all above 15' and are considered to be above the playing area.
Players are allowed to go up to and reach over the neighboring court to play a ball. Players MAY NOT in any way contact the neighboring court's sideline or any portion of the other court, before, during, or after playing the ball. It is the Line Judge's responsibility to watch for this and signal the 1st Referee immediately upon any violation.
Head Referee's Note: Any player that repeatedly crosses into the neighboring court during the course of a game shall be considered to be committing a minor unsporting offense, and shall be subject to sanction (starting with a verbal warning) by the 1st referee.
Any player that crosses into the neighboring court in a blatant manner shall be considered to be committing a serious offense and shall be immediately sanctioned with a yellow card by the 1st referee. If the same individual does this a second time, the 1st referee shall immediately expel the player from the game (red card).
Our gym does not allow for proper clearance around the courts. The intent of this rule is to maximize the players ability to play the ball, while minimizing the danger to other players in the gym.
Absolutely no balls are allowed out of the ball bags until the entire net set up process (including sweeping the floor!) has been completed and the captain of the team responsible for net set up gives the official "OK". This goes for balls that people bring into the gym as well.
Furthermore, persons who violate this policy are subject to sanctions by the captain of the team responsible for net set up. Sanctions will be applied to that person's first game of the night.
In particular, anyone who starts using a ball before the official "OK" has been given will be given a verbal warning, if after being asked to put the ball away, that person does not, they will receive a yellow card. If they are asked a second time, they will receive a red card (expulsion from their first game). If it goes beyond this, that person is disqualified for the night and must leave the school. NOTE that if more than one person is using the ball (e.g. two or more people passing it back and forth) the sanctions shall be applied to all people involved.
If any of these sanctions are needed, the captain of the team responsible for net set up, will inform the appropriate 1st referee, so that these sanctions may be applied at the start of the offending player(s) first game of the night.