Volleyball League Rules

1. The Concordia Intramural Volleyball League (CIVL) is open to students, staff, faculty, alumni and the public.
2. The spirit of the league is to provide its participants with a positive recreational experience incorporating a high spirit of sportsmanship, fair play, and mutual respect between players. There are no referees; therefore, each team and individual player must honor the rules. Teams are expected to call their own violations. If a disagreement occurs, the point will be replayed.
3. The league is co-ed. All gender identities are welcome.
4. All players must be fully REGISTERED to participate in the league. Once the team captain has registered the team into the league, individual team members must complete their registration before the registration deadline. Team captains agree to have their names and email addresses shared with other team captains for ease of communication.
5. All team members are required to wear similar jerseys. Jerseys are the responsibility of the team, and not the Department of Recreation and Athletics.
6. When a team is aware in advance that they will default/forfeit a game, the captain must inform, in writing, the League Coordinator (camprec@concordia.ca) as well as the captain of the opposing team, with as much notice as possible. Teams that forfeit will lose that game 3-0.
7. Captains/team members are not permitted to write into the League Coordinator with complaints until 24+ hours following the game in question. This will be referred to as the ‘cooling off period’.
8. The Department of Recreation and Athletics reserves the right to request that a team change their team’s name if it is deemed inappropriate.

1. To ensure equal opportunity, teams are NOT allowed to register for more than one league or skill division. However, individual players may participate in both leagues provided that the team they are a part of are of appropriate level to the league they are signed up for. Once the team captain has registered the team into the league, each team member will need to register individually before the noted registration deadline using the link provided to the team captain.
2. Full refunds are granted within seven days of registration and payment. Exception: Captains will not be refunded their registration fee if a team withdraws from a sport league, whether from voluntary withdrawal or through administrative decision(s) involving suspension or expulsion.
3. A team member from each match must report the results of each game to the organizer at the end of each match.
4. Matches will consist of a running time of approximately 35 minutes. Teams will play two sets in that time, to 21 points for the sake of time constraints. Winners must lead by two and a cap will be set at 25 points. If teams do not reach the score of 21 during the second set, whoever is in the lead at the time when the whistle is blown will be declared the winner. If there is a tie when the whistle is blown, the next point will decide the winner.
5. Teams must be prepared to play at their allotted match time. If a team is missing players, they will begin the match with whomever they have. If they cannot field at least four players they forfeit the set. If both teams are unable to field a minimum of four players, the game will be considered a loss for both. Games will not extend outside the allotted time, unless authorized. Teams missing players will not be forced to play with a ghost player unless it is a playoff match.
6. Teams must have a minimum of six registered players.Teams may bring substitute players whenever one of their starters is missing. Teams can take substitutes from either outside the league, from another team in another section, or from a team in their own section if a team has extra players (if from the same section, both teams must agree on substitutes).
7. Quick timeouts may be called, if necessary, but it is generally better to avoid pausing the games due to time.
8. Due to the Loyola gym ceiling being a bit lower than most, if the first contact of the ball hits the ceiling it will be considered still in play, if it stays on the side of the team that contacted it. Second and third contacts cannot touch the ceiling and will be considered ‘out’. Walls and obstacles such as the basketball nets are always considered ‘out’.
9. To avoid injuries, players may not cross the centerline to any degree. Whether after a spike, block, dive, or simply running for the ball, crossing the centerline is not permitted and will result in loss of the point.
10. For everyone’s safety, if a ball from another court enters play, players on either team that notice must alert all players in the game by calling “ball” and play must stop. The point will then be reserved.
11. If a team sends the ball into another court, it is considered out and they are expected to stop play and signal to the teams in that court of the ball’s presence. This is to avoid people diving and charging into players on other courts.
12. Male-identifying players (MIP) are not allowed to block female-identifying players (FIP). However, it should be noted that if the ball does not touch the blocker, it is not considered a block. MIP are allowed to soft block FIP without jumping (put their arms up and remain stationary), but it will count as one of their three touches. If an MIP does jump and make contact with an attack made by a FIP, they forfeit the point.**
13. A ball is considered out if it hits the antenna or if it lands outside the boundary line without making any contact with the line. If there is an unresolvable disagreement whether a ball was in or out, the point will be reserved.
14. Due to limited serve space in the gym, crossing the service line with one foot is permitted. If both feet cross, it is considered a line violation.
15. The Advanced League will have a try-out for all players who have registered as individual players. If a player who is not well suited for the advanced league, the League has the right to refund this individual and cancel their participation. This is not to be competitive but more so to create the appropriate atmosphere for all registered teams and players. The individual draft team will be reduced to the six most qualified players once the tryout is complete.
16. In the Advanced League, every two weeks the best performing team in league B will be promoted to league A, and the worst performing team in league A will be relegated to league B. This is done to keep the leagues competitive and fair in skill level and to encourage teams to show up with their intended lineups. Division changes in the intermediate league will be made when the organizer deems them necessary.
17. Teams must field a minimum of two FIP and two MIP (this minimum is reduced to one for teams in the intermediate league). If they are unable to do so, they must play with fewer players. For example: a team in Advanced that only has one FIP may only field five players and may only occupy the sixth spot with another FIP. The same applies regarding MIPs. If the opposing team prefers, they may agree to a compromise of a six-point deficit to allow the team to field six players despite not adhering to the rule. **

** In traditional volleyball rules, ‘women’s volleyball’ nets are lower than ‘men’s volleyball’ nets, and rules differ slightly. The league is aiming to keep these standards of play that players are likely to be accustomed to, while also being as inclusive as possible to all interested players.

1. Playoffs will take place in the final two weeks of each League’s scheduled calendar.
2. All teams will qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams from each division will be seeded into the semifinals, while the remaining four teams will play in the quarterfinals. The third-place team will select their quarterfinal opponent among fifth and sixth. The first place team will select their semifinals opponent among the winners of the quarterfinals.
3. Matches will be Best of Three, to 25 points, with the deciding game to 15 points.
4. With fairness in mind, teams may not field substitutes of a higher level than the player they are replacing. If a player has subbed for a team four or more times, they will be considered a part of that team’s standard roster. The League organizer must approve substitutes that do not meet these criteria. Players in League A may not play in the League B playoffs (even if they meet the above criteria).
5. The two teams in League A and League B that qualify for the finals will be invited back for the final week to play a best of five match against each other. The League organizer will referee the finals.
6. Anyone may come to watch the finals, however only the finalist teams will be allowed to play. ** The League reviews all incidents taking place before, during, or following a match and supplemental actions may be assessed following the conclusion of the review.

PLEASE NOTE: Any harassment of a league official whether it is of a physical or verbal nature (threat), will be subject to the following conditions:

1. As a minimum, a one-year suspension from the date of the infraction for all Campus Recreation activities, with no refunds issued.
2. The suspended player must then re-apply for re-instatement (in writing) to the Manager, Campus Recreation after the termination of the suspension.

Note: Any player who refuses to produce an I.D. card when requested by League officials will automatically be released from the league, with no refunds issued.