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BY-LAWS

1. Match Details

​1.1 - Prior to the match, the team captain will list the first names of their teams players on the scoresheet (for finals qualification) and pay the match fee of $78. The match will not start until this fee has been paid. 

At the end of the match, the team captain must sign the scoresheet to acknowledge the result of the match.

1.2 - Teams will have 5 minutes to warm up on court before their match starts. 

1.3 - At the end of the warm up, a coin toss will take place by the referee between the team captains. The captain winning the coin toss will choose between serving / receiving or court ends.

​1.4 - Regular season matches are 60 minutes in length. The scoreboard on the wall will show the time remaining in the match. Finals matches have no time limit.

1.5 - Matches will end at the completion of the final rally. If the siren sounds during a rally, teams will continue to play until the point is won.

1.6 - Each team is allowed two x 30 second time outs per set and no time-outs are allowed in the last five minutes of a match. Referees will allow extra injury time outs if needed.

1.7 - The interval between sets is one minute for regular season matches, and two minutes for finals matches. In the last 5 minutes of a regular season match there shall be no interval between sets. Teams will immediately change ends and continue to play.

1.8 - The server must hit the ball within 8 seconds from when the referee signals or whistles for the service.

1.9 - No warm up is allowed when a match is in progress. This is for safety - if a ball rolls onto a court during a match, this can cause serious injury to a player if they land on the ball during a spike or block.

​2. Scoring

2.1 - All matches are best of 5 sets (or first to 3 sets). If 5 sets are not completed, then the team that wins the most sets wins the match. The match is a draw when teams have won equal sets.

2.2 - To win a set, teams must score 25+ points with a 2 point advantage (sets 1 to 4). Or have scored 15+ points with a 2 point advantage when the siren sounds to end the match and the final rally is completed.

2.3 - The 5th set is played to 15+ points with a 2 point advantage.

​2.4 - Points from sets not completed are included in each teams match results and ladder calculations.

2.5 - Teams are awarded the following match points: 

​Win = 3 Points

Draw = 2 Points

Loss = 1 Point

Forfeit = -3 Points

2.6 - Positions of teams on the ladder will be determined first by average match points, then by sets percentage, then by points percentage.

2.7 - If a match is stopped for whatever reason and cannot be completed, a minimum of 2 full sets are required to have been played for a result to be declared. (25+ points with a 2 point advantage)

3. Teams

3.1 - A team bond fee of $78 is to be paid at the start of the season or when joining the competition. This fee is returned at the end of the season (or rolled over into the next season) if the team completes all regular season matches and finals (if qualified), and does not forfeit a match.

​3.2 - New teams will be allowed to enter the competition at any time during the season but must play a minimum of 10 regular season matches or 50% of regular season matches (whichever is greater) to qualify for finals.  

​3.3 - Teams must have a minimum of 4 players on court before a match can start.

​3.4 - If a team does not have enough players to start their match at the scheduled start time, they may use other players (not registered with their team) to fill in to avoid a forfeit. A maximum of 2 fill in players are allowed from a higher division.

​3.5 - All divisions are open – any mixture of gender is allowed. We encourage mixed teams – most of our teams are currently mixed.

3.6 - Teams may enter two divisions in the same season, however the same 6+ registered players cannot play for both teams. A minimum of 2 different players must be used between teams.

3.7 – Teams may change their team name during the season – just contact us!

3.8 - Requests for possible changes to game times or Byes must be sent from the team captain in writing by either email or text message.

4. Forfeits

​4.1 - A team that does not appear on court with at least four players at the scheduled start time will forfeit the first set after 5 minutes.

4.2 - If the team is not ready to play 15 minutes after the start time, the second set will also be forfeited.

4.3 - If the team is still not ready to play 30 minutes after the start time, the match is forfeited and the team will be penalised with -3 match points and the match result will be 0 - 3 sets and 0 - 75 game points.

The opposition team will receive 3 match points.

The forfeiting team will lose their bond fee, and before their next match will have to pay a 2nd bond fee or match fee if no bond has been paid.

​4.4 - If a team needs to forfeit a match and less than 48 hours’ notice is given, the forfeiting team will be penalised with -3 match points and the match result will be 0 - 3 sets and 0 - 75 game points. 

The opposition team will receive 3 match points.

The forfeiting team will lose their bond fee, and before their next match will have to pay a 2nd bond fee or match fee if no bond has been paid.

4.5 - If a team needs to forfeit a match or request a Bye and gives a minimum of 48 hours’ notice, then this match could be re-scheduled to play at a later date / or cancelled with no penalty or points awarded to either team / or another team in the same division could take its place and play two games.

5. Finals

5.1 - Week 1: Semi Finals - 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd from the end of season ladder positions in each division will play off.

5.2 - Week 2: Grand Finals - winners from the Semi Finals will play off.

5.3 - Game times for finals will be released after final ladder positions are calculated the end of the season.

5.4 - All finals matches are best of 5 sets and have no time limit.

5.5 - If a final reaches the 5th set, teams will change ends once a team has scored 8 points. The 5th set is played to 15+ points with a 2 point advantage.

​5.6 - Team members must have played a minimum of 1/3 of their team’s regular season matches to qualify for finals. 

​5.7 - By-Law 5.6 will not apply for team members returning from long term injury.

5.8 - If a team cannot compete in the finals, the next highest team on the ladder will enter the finals to make a top 4. They will be ranked 1st to 4th based on their highest to lowest ladder positions. Example: If team 1 cannot play, teams 2 to 5 will compete ranked as teams 1 to 4.

6. General

6.1 - Substitutions – Teams may use the following substitution rules:

6.1.1 - Rotate Substitution Rule - Players simply rotate on/off through positions 1 and/or 4 (serving position or front left position)

6.1.2 - Twelve Substitution Rule - Any player except the libero can sub in for any other player in the match, but once they have subbed in or out, they can only sub again for the same player for the rest of the set. A maximum of 12 substitutions are allowed per set. The exception to this rule is for the libero substitution. Liberos can only sub in for back-row players, cannot serve, spike the ball over the net or rotate into the front-line positions. There must be at least one point played between a libero substituting off for a player and going back on the court for another player. A libero substitution doesn’t count as a team substitution.

6.2 - Players must accept the referee’s decision with sportsmanlike conduct. Clarification of a decision may be requested only through the team captain.

6.3 - Please be nice to the referees! This is their place of employment and they must be able to do their job without players disputing him / her. If a referee cannot make a decision such as; they could not see where the ball landed; then the point will be replayed.

6.4 - Players must wear shoes on court, bare feet are not allowed.

6.5 - Please keep the courts clean by putting empty drink bottles, rubbish, tape etc. in the bins in the foyer.

6.6 - We will occasionally take photos or a short video for our social pages and website. If you do not want your team to be recorded please let us know.

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