1. RULES AND REGULATIONS
1.1 These rules and regulations, approved by the Executive Committee of the Barbados Volleyball Association, shall be the rules and regulations that shall govern competitions played under the auspices of the Barbados Volleyball Association. In cases not covered, the North-Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (CON. NORCECA) and the Federation of Internationale De Volleyball (FIVB) regulations will prevail.
1.2 Rules of the Games
The approved Federation Internationale De Volleyball (FIVB) International Rules of the Game will be used.
2. ELIGIBILITY OF TEAMS
Only teams of affiliated members are eligible to participate in the competitions of the Barbados Volleyball Association.
3. ELIGIBILITY OF PLAYERS
3.1 Only bona fide members in good standing with the affiliated clubs, schools and organizations are eligible to participate in the competitions.
3.2 Players should be Barbadian Nationals. Non-nationals are eligible to play if they are:-
3.2.1 Students at a recognized Educational Institution in Barbados
3.2.2 Have bona fide employment in Barbados
3.2.3 Have been residing in Barbados for a period of ninety days immediately preceding playing in an official competition.
3.3 Players of Member Schools are eligible to play for clubs, provided that the Schools are not entered in the same competition as the Clubs. If there is a schools competition being run at the same time as a BVA competition, a school player must give priority to the school fixture if there is a clash of fixtures.
4. PLAYERS’ REGISTRATION
- 4.1 All players participating in the competitions must be officially registered at least seven days before being eligible to play.
4.2 A player is only allowed to register for one team competing in the competition.
4.3 A club team registering school players must indicate who the school players are and the school to which they belong.
4.4 Teams should indicate the nationality of players who are non-nationals.
4.5 Each player must pay a registration fee as is determined by the Barbados Volleyball Association before the official deadline date for player registration.
4.6 Players registered after the official deadline for registration must pay a late registration fee as determined by the BVA.
4.7 Once a player has been registered for a club and has played or his/her name appears on a score sheet of that club during any official match sanctioned by the BVA he/she cannot be transferred to another club during that “season” of competition.
4.8 No club or team may register a player for competition without the permission of that player.
4.9 A maximum of two registered women players are allowed to play at any one time in men’s competition. - 4.10 Clubs, Teams or Schools must indicate on their team registration form any player(s) who participated in international engagements for the BVA’s Senior National Team.
5. CLUBS REGISTERING MORE THAN ONE CLUB IN COMPETITIONS
- 5.1 A player playing in a higher division of competition cannot play in any of the lower divisions.
5.2 A player registered to play in a lower division of competition is eligible to play in (2) matches of a higher division.
5.3 Should a player participate in more than (2) matches in a higher division, that player will be automatically transferred to that higher division of competition.
5.4 Players who participated in international engagements for the BVA’s Senior National Teams (in the last two years prior to the present BVA’s competition) must play in the senior division for which their club is registered.
5.5 Should a school, club or team contravene section 5 of these rules, that school, club or team shall forfeit the match or matches in question, on discovery of the incident. The result shall be 3-0 or 2-0 in favour of the school, club or team against which the contravention(s) occurred. The BVA may apply other disciplinary action if deemed fit.
6. PLAYING OF GAMES
6.1 Teams must play the games according to the fixtures prepared by the League and Grounds Committee.
6.2 There shall be no postponement of games, unless such postponement is sanctioned by the League and Grounds Committee or the Executive Committee of the BVA.
6.3 There shall be no cancellation of games except sanctioned by the Executive Committee of the BVA.
6.4 A club/team failing to honour its fixtures is liable to be fined, suspended or expelled from the competition.
7. OFFICIAL BALL
Only balls approved by the FIVB, previously examined by the BVA and suited to local conditions will be used.
8. COMPETITION SYSTEM
The Round Robin system will be used in league matches. Two (2) rounds will be played.
8.1 To establish the ranking after the Round Robin, the following criteria shall be applied:
a. Total number of victories (matches won, matches lost):
8.1.1 The following points system will be used for matches of two (2) best of three (3) sets:-
- Match won (2, 0) 3 points
- Match won (2, 1) 2 points
- Match lost (1, 2) 1 point
- Match lost (0, 2) 0 points
- Default (2, 0) 0 points
8.1.2 The following points system will be used for matches of three (3) best of five (5) sets:-
- Match won (3, 0) 5 points
- Match won (3, 1) 4 points
- Match won (3, 2) 3 points
- Match lost (2, 3) 2 point
- Match lost (1, 3) 1 point
- Match lost (0, 3) 0 points
- Default (3, 0) 0 points
8.2 If teams are still tied after examining the number of victories and points gained, the results in order to break the tie in the following order:
8.2.1 Point Quotient : In case of equality in the number of points gained by two or several teams they will be classified in descending order by the quotient resulting in the division of all points scored by the total of points lost.
8.2.2 Set Quotient : If the tie continues as per the point’s quotient the teams will be classified in descending order by the quotient resulting from the division of all sets won by the number of sets lost.
8.2.3 If the tie continues as per set quotient between teams, the priority will be given to the team which won the last match between them.
8.2.4 When the tie is between three or more teams a new classification of these teams will be made taking into consideration only the matches in which they oppose each other.
8.3 Notwithstanding articles 8.1 and 8.2 of these Rules and Regulations, the Barbados Volleyball Association reserves the right to organize any tournament using any recognized competition system best suited to the prevailing conditions.
9. PROMOTION OF TEAMS
The promotion of any team (s) from a lower to a higher division of competition will be at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
9.1 Promotion will be based on the standard of volleyball exhibited by the team (s).
9.2 The team’s final points standing and placing, on completion of that team’s division of the league competition will be considered.
10. DEMOTION/RELEGATION OF TEAMSPROMOTION OF TEAMS
The demotion of any team (s) from a higher to a lower division of competition will be at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
10.1 Demotion will be based on the standard of volleyball exhibited by the team (s).
10.2 The team’s final points standing and placing, on completion of that team’s division of the league competition will be considered.
11. COMPETITION JURY
11.1 The jury shall be the supreme authority of all domestic competitions played under the auspices of the Association. The Jury’s decisions are final and irrevocable. It will be constituted as follows:-
11.1.1 The President of the Barbados Volleyball Association or his / her nominee who must be an officer of the Executive Council. The President or his / her nominee shall be the chairperson of the Jury.
11.1.2 The Chairperson of the League and Grounds Committee, or his / her nominee who must be a member of the League and Grounds Committee.
11.1.3 The chairperson of the Officials Committee or his / her nominee who must be a member of the officials Committee.
11.1.4 The Secretary / Assistant Secretary may alternate duties with this Committee and shall record all submissions and decisions reached at meetings of the Jury.
11.2 Rights and Duties of the Jury
11.2.1 Render a final decision on all queries brought to its attention relative to the Rules and Regulations governing competitions played under the auspices of the Association and the International Rules of the Game.
11.2.2 It shall have the power to investigate all matters related to the conduct of all game officials and its investigations will be based on the following criteria:-
11.2.2.1 Lack of objectivity and poor judgment
11.2.2.2 Obvious and repeated misjudgments in the application or interpretation of the Rules of the Game and the Refereeing Code of Ethics.
11.2.2.3 Poor physical conditions.
11.2.2.4 General rules on social and ethical behaviour.
11.3 Obligations of the Members of the Jury
The Chairperson of the Jury and or any member of the jury shall exclude themselves from all deliberations if they are involved directly or indirectly in the matter to be investigated.
12. PROTEST
12.1 A protest relating to any incident which has occurred during competitions organized by Association, shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary within 48 hours of the incident under protest (Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays excluded). It must be accompanied by a fee of $ 10.00 which is refunded if the protest is upheld.
12.1.1 Any protest as categorized above shall be investigated by the Competition Jury. All recommendations shall be submitted to the Committees concerned.
12.2 Protests Unrelated To Competition Matches : Protests not related to competition will be examined by the Executive Committee and shall conform with all stipulations as outlined in article 12.1.
12.3 Procedure For Reporting Matters Under Protest
12.3.1 Having complied with articles 12.1 and 12.1.1 of this document and the Rules of the Game, the person preparing the protest must only correspond with the Secretary of the Association. No correspondence must be sent to the mass media or any other third party.
12.3.2 All Clubs and Schools are directly responsible for the author of such a protest report. Any breach which occurs (see article 12.3.1.) will be sufficient grounds to discipline the club / school responsible for the author’s actions.
12.3.3 Notwithstanding articles 12.1 and 12.1.1 the chairman of the competition jury may intervene and convene a meeting immediately at the venue where the incident has occurred, he may receive the protest verbally and render a final decision on the incident.
14. PLAYERS UNIFORM
The playing uniform shall consist of a jersey, shorts and light pliable shoes (rubber or leather soles without heels).
14.1 Players jerseys must be marked with NUMBERS (1- 25) not less than 10cm (4″) in height on the chest and not less than 15cm (6″) in height on the back. Numbers shall be located on the jersey in such a position that they are clearly visible. Numbers shall be in a colour clearly contrasting to that of the jersey.
14.2 Any Club or School who registers more than twenty-five players and require to exceed the number 25 on a player’s jersey must in writing, request permission from the Barbados Volleyball Association.
14.3 ALL team members must appear on the court dressed in clean presentable uniforms of the same colour, style and trim.
15. CONDITION OF GROUNDS
15.1. All grounds must meet the playing standards as determined by the League and Grounds Committee.
15.1.1 The First Referee is the sole authority in determining the suitability of the grounds before the start of an official match.
15.1.2 If the ground is not in proper playing condition before the start of an official fixture the Referee shall not commence the game but shall submit a report to the Secretary of the Barbados Volleyball Association. The Secretary shall provide a copy of the report to the League and Grounds Committee.
15.1.3 The home team shall be responsible for having all of the equipment set up and the court ready for play.
16. SPECTATOR CONTROL
16.1 Home teams are responsible for the behaviour of their supporters.
16.2 Spectators must remain at least NINE (9) FEET outside the court area.
16.3 The Referee shall stop the game if the above conditions are not observed.
17. SCHEDULED MATCH TIMES
17.1 Officials must start the games at the scheduled time.
17.2 The official shall give incomplete team(s) a fifteen (15) minute grace period. This period shall commence at the time when the first whistle for service would have been blown.
17.3 If at the end of the fifteen minutes grace period, the team (s) is / are still incomplete, then the first referee must blow off the game and award the game to the team that is complete 2-0 or 3-0 in sets or no points if both teams were incomplete.
18. INDEBTEDNESS TO THE BARBADOS VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION
18.1 Any player, team or club owing a debt to the Barbados Volleyball Association regardless of how that debt was incurred shall pay that debt or make special arrangements to settle by a stipulated time period.
18.2 If after the stipulated time period has passed and the debt is still unsettled, that player, team or club shall be suspended from the Barbados Volleyball Association’s competitions until such time as the debt has been settled.
18.3 The Barbados Volleyball Association reserves the right to commence legal proceedings against any debtor to recover all monies owed and the cost of legal proceedings.
19. USE OF PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES
19.1 The Barbados Volleyball Association reserves the right to ask any registered player of the Association to voluntarily participate in a medical examination for the purpose of determining whether that individual is using ban substances as outlined in the Olympic Charter.
19.2 The Barbados Volleyball Association also reserves the right to debar any player, not cooperating in the drug test programme, from its competitions.
20. VIOLATION OF RULES
20.1 Any player, team or club violating the rules of the Barbados Volleyball Association shall be subject to disciplinary action.
21. MATTERS NOT PROVIDED FOR
21.1 The Executive Committee shall be the sole adjudicator on any matters not provided for.
21.2 Notwithstanding article 21.1 as regards specific rules or regulations not expressly foreseen in the present regulations, reference is to be made to The Constitution of the Barbados Volleyball Association and the Rules and Regulations of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).
22. CODE OF DISCIPLINE
The Barbados Volleyball Association Sports Sanctions and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Code of Discipline shall be considered to be part of these rules and regulations and they shall apply where appropriate.
23. AMENDMENTS
These Rules and Regulations may be amended as the Executive Committee of the Barbados Volleyball Association deem fit.