Welcome back everyone!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, are feeling refreshed and are ready to play some volleyball!

A few things to mention to start off the second half of the season.

School Closures / Poor Weather Conditions:

1. In the event the school is officially closed for any reason then a cancellation message will be posted on our website no later than 4pm on that evening of league play.

2. When poor weather conditions do not result in the school being officially closed but the GOV executive deems conditions to be unreasonable to travel in then a cancellation message will be posted on our website no later than 4pm on that evening of league play.

3. For Wednesday night - When poor weather conditions do not result in the school being officially closed but the executive deems it to be reasonably safe for travel then a message will be posted on our website no later than 4pm announcing an evening of pickup play.  Regular league play will resume the following Wednesday.

Now that winter is here be sure to remove your outdoor footwear at the door and don't walk across the gym floor. It doesn't matter whether you are a player or a spectator – this rule applies to everyone (so be sure to tell your entourage).

Code of Conduct: It doesn't really matter who you are, where you played, or how long you've played in this sport. You need to keep your cool on the court. Most of you are good at this. You can play on the edge, and that's fine, but once you cross the line it becomes no fun for everyone. Other leagues use the ol' yellow card/red card system but we never have and don't want to. We've been able to keep that balance between competition and respect. Please, let's keep it that way.

• Play the game for the game's sake

• Be generous when you win.

• Be gracious when you lose.

• Be fair always, no matter what the cost.

• Adhere to the rules of the game.

• Work for the good of your team.

• Accept the decisions of the officials with grace.

• Believe in the honesty of your opponents.

• Honestly and wholeheartedly applaud the efforts of your teammates and opponents.

Rules regarding spares or subs: A replacement person (let's call that person “Spare”) can be an actual spare (not a regular player) or can be a member of another team that has extra players. However, once a game is started on the night in question Spare cannot go back to his/her old team or switch to another team.

This applies over both time tiers. That means Spare cannot play for teams at both the early time and the late time (since that would be 2 teams). We don't want to be policing who is a “spare”, a “casual team member” or an actual full member and feel that this is a general rule that covers all the bases. It also levels out the playing field a bit for teams that consistently have their teams out in full.

Time caps: There have been some minor issues with maintaining the schedule (but so far it has gone really well and I commend everyone on helping with this!). With that in mind I would like to introduce the idea of Soft Caps and Hard Caps. A Soft Time Cap occurs to finish off a game when there is another match to follow. A Hard Time Cap is at the end of the night (and in our case occurs at 21:55).

When a ‘Soft Time Cap’ is reached, 5 points will be added to the score of the currently leading team (with a final cap of 7 points). The game is played to that mark and ends with the first team to reach that point, winning by two or until the final cap is reached. This rule will not be used to extend a game past the standard 25 point win. Nor does it allow for the game to go past the 27 point cap. And please remember that you, as the ref, are responsible for watching the (left) clock and calling the time caps.

Examples:

·The Soft Time Cap is reached with the score 11-8. The game is then played to 16 points (win by 2), with a cap at 18 points.

·The Soft Time Cap is reached with the score 18-17. The game is then played to 23 points (win by 2), with a cap at 25 points.

·The Soft Time Cap is reached with the score 21-16. The game is played as usual to 25 points (win by 2), with a cap at 27 points.

When a ‘Hard Time Cap’ is reached, play continues to the end of the point in play. The team in the lead at the end of that point is declared the winner. Should the teams be tied at the end of that point, one more point is played to determine the winner. Please don't give the ref a hard time if s/he has to call the Hard Cap. We have to be out of the gym on time – sorry. Note: the official should announce the possibility of a hard cap at least 5 minutes before the hard cap time.

Referees:  There a number of players in the league this year (new and not so new) that are stepping up to the role of referee for the first time. We will continue to coach players to become comfortable with being a ref, but it takes time. Please be patient and remember our Code of Conduct policy.

On that note we are very close to putting together a reffing clinic. It will likely take place on a Saturday or Sunday but we'll confirm the date. We've also attached the GOV Referee Presentation PDF file here and ask that you all take a look at it and familiarize yourself. It is by no means complete but should give you a good overview.

Sorry for the long-winded letter. As always, if you have any concerns or questions please feel free to talk to Guy (Mondays) or Dan or Mitch (Wednesdays). Welcome back and let's have a fun second half!