Sitting Volleyball Rules

 

Participants should participate with the understanding that injuries do occur & realize that taking part in the Intramural Program is completely voluntary. Therefore, Northern Michigan University is not responsible for injuries happening during play.

PARTICIPANTS SHOULD HAVE ADEQUATE HEALTH & ACCIDENT INSURANCE TO COVER ANY INJURY WHICH MAY OCCUR.

 

I.D.’S

Students must purchase a student recreation pass to be eligible to participate.  You must show the Intramural staff your I.D. in order to participate.  Faculty/Staff and Community Recreation members must purchase a recreation membership in order to participate in Intramural Sports.  Community members must be 16 years of age. Students who are found to be participating without a current rec pass will be automatically charged the semester rate of $70.00 to their student account.

 

MANAGER’S MEETING

The Intramural Manager’s Meeting will be done on-line.  An e-mail, which is in place of the manager’s meeting, will be sent to the manager the morning following the deadline.  It will be the manager’s responsibility to read the email and relay the information to the remainder of the team.

 

SCHEDULES

Your team schedule will be sent to the team manager the Friday after the deadline date.  Play could begin as early as the following Monday.  It is the responsibility of each of the team managers to check their e-mail on a regular basis for team schedules and updates.  The Intramural Office will not call team managers to notify them of their team’s first game.  It is the responsibility of the team manager to inform their team of the game dates and times. 

 

FORFEITS

Teams are expected to begin play on time.  A team has 10 minutes to arrive after the clock begins.  If the team is more than 10 minutes late, a forfeit will be declared, and a $25.00 fee will be charged to the team manager’s student account.  Teams who forfeit during the course of the regular season may not be eligible for tournament play.  Teams who forfeit twice will be dropped from further competition and charged a total of $50.00.  You may call the Intramural Office at 227-1692 at least 48 hours prior to your game time in order to avoid the late fee.  Make sure to leave your team name, game time, and league.

 

PROTESTS

• All protests must be filed by the team manager at the time the question occurs.
• Protests concerning rule interpretations will be settled at the game site by the officials, or the sport supervisor.
• If a team manager believes the decisions rendered to be in error, he/she must notify the officials and supervisors that the contest will continue under protest.
• A written protest and a $5.00 protest fee must be submitted to the Intramural Sports Coordinator by noon the following day.  The fee will be returned if the protest is upheld.
• A matter involving the official’s judgment is not subject to protest.
• A protest concerning a player’s eligibility can be made before, during, or after a contest.
  1. If an eligibility question is before or during a contest, the player and team captain will be notified and given the choice of whether or not the player will play.
  2. If the player chooses to play and is found ineligible, the contest will be forfeited and that player suspended from further participation for that sport’s season.
  3. If the player leaves the contest and is found to be ineligible, the contest may be subject to review by the Intramural Sports Coordinator.
  4. A protest regarding the eligibility of players must be made before either team plays its next scheduled game.
  5. Eligibility questions after a contest will be investigated by the Intramural Sports Program.  Participants found ineligible will be penalized accordingly.

 

ELIGIBILITY

Varsity athletes may participate in those Intramural sports which are not sports that they represent at NMU.  However, no more than one-half the number of players allowed on the court or field at one time shall be varsity athletes.  For sitting volleyball, four (4) players participate at one time, so only two (2) varsity athletes may be on the court at any one time from each team.  Varsity athletes are eligible to play, provided they are not:  a varsity volleyball player, a current red-shirt, a practice player, a varsity volleyball letter winner who has not sat out for one calendar year.

 No more than 2 members of a club team may participate in the corresponding intramural sport. A sport club member is defined as one who has practiced or played for the respective sport club during the current academic year and is officially registered with that club.

EQUIPMENT

The referee shall inspect and approve all equipment.  He/she shall not permit any player to wear equipment which in his/her judgment is dangerous to other players.  Elbow, hand, finger, wrist, or arm guard, cast, or brace made of any hard substance even though covered with soft padding shall always be declared illegal.  Wearing jewelry of any type is also illegal.  Shoes must be worn by all players.  A multi-purpose shoe is recommended.  No cleated shoes allowed.  Basketball and tennis shoes are permitted.  No street or black soled shoes are allowed.  The ball shall be provided by the Intramural Department.  The game ball will not be used for pre-game warm-ups. Each team manager will be held responsible for any of the above equipment damaged or not returned.

The following shall be considered examples of illegal equipment, and cannot be worn:

1. Hats
2. Jewelry – e.g., rings, watches, necklaces, earrings, etc.
3. Face or spectacle guards, helmets or hard material
4. Knee, head, thigh, or hip pads containing sole leather
5. Cast of any type
6. Players shall not have any foreign objects in their mouths

These rules will not be waived!  If a player is wearing any illegal equipment, he/she will be unable to participate until this equipment is removed.

ACTIVITY AREA

Vandament Arena – PEIF

PLAYERS AND SUBSTITUTES

Four (4) players shall make up a full team, one of whom is the captain.  A game may start or finish with a minimum of three (3) players on the court.

The captain is the representative of his/her team and is the only one who may address an official on matters of interpretations or to obtain essential information, if it is done in a courteous manner.  All other players, coaches, etc. should ask their captains to discuss controversial decisions made by the referee.

 Only two (2) club players and no more than half the total number of players combined varsity athletes and club players are allowed on court at one time.

LENGTH OF GAME

All games will be played to 15 points, provided there is a 2 point advantage.  If the match goes to a 3^rd game the game will be rally scoring, played to 15 points with a 2 point advantage.  A match is won when a team wins 2 out of 3 games.  Each team is allowed one (1) 30-second time-out per game.

THE GAME & SUBSTITUTIONS

Rock, Paper, Scissors shall be conducted prior to the start of the game.  The winner of the toss gets their choice of the service or playing area.  The team not serving first shall start serving the second game.  If the match goes to three games, another game of Rock, Paper, Scissors will be conducted to determine which team will serve game three.  Teams shall change playing areas at the end of each game of the same match.

The position of each player is determined and controlled by the position of their bottoms.  This means that the hand(s) and/or leg(s) may lie in the attack or free zone outside the court.
“Bottom” is defined as the upper part of the body, from shoulder to one’s buttocks.

Substitutions shall take place only when the ball is dead.  No change shall be made in the position of other players during a substitution.

PLAYING THE BALL

1. The ball must be hit clearly.  When in the opinion of the official, the ball comes to rest on any part of a player’s body; he/she shall have committed an error.
2. A player CANNOT block or spike a serve.
3. A player cannot play the ball more than once, unless the first contact is a block.
4. A ball may be recovered from the net provided the player avoids contact with the net. 
5. A served ball is dead if it touches the floor of the serving area, or if it touches a teammate of the server. Let serves are playable.
6. A player shall not contact any part of the net while the ball is in play.
7. Touching the opponent’s court beyond the centerline with a hand is permitted, if some part of the penetrating hand remains either in contact with or directly above the centerline.
8. To contact the opponent’s court with any other part of the body is forbidden.
9. The player may penetrate into the opponent’s space under the net, provided there is no interference with the opponent.
10. When blocking, you cannot reach over the net.  The player’s hands and arms must be straight up over his/her head.  No more than 2 players may block the ball.
11. A team shall not set or play the ball more than three times.  The ball must clear the net on the third set.
12. The ball can be hit with any part of the body above the waist.
13. A ball on the vertical plane above the net is open to both sides.
14. If the ball contacts the ceiling while going over the net, it is a point or side-out.
15. If the ball contacts the ceiling on the first or second contact, and it is not going over the net, it is playable.
16. If the ball is hit into an adjacent court, it is a point or a side-out.
17. When serving the ball, you only get one miss toss per rotation.  The ball must drop to the ground if you are declaring a miss toss.

SCORING

All regular season matches will conclude when a team has won two out of three games or is ahead after the 45 minute time limit.

During tournament play, all matches will be played out.  There will be no time limit on games or matches during tournaments. 

OUT OF BOUNDS

If the ball touches the net outside the markers on either side of the net, it is out of bounds.

ERRORS

The following are errors when the ball is in play and a player:

1. Reaches over the net and blocks a set.
2. Reaches under the net and interferes with an opponent or the ball.
3. Touches the net, cable, or supports.
4. Plays out of position at the time the ball is being served.
5. Touching the service line while serving the ball.

The following are errors when any player, substitute, manager, or coach:

1. Fail to report a substitute to the official.
2. Enters the court while the ball is in play.
3. Delays the game.
4. Requests a time-out in excess of the allocated one per team per game.
5. Curses at officials, supervisors, or opposing players.

UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated.  The following behaviors will result in a point, a side-out, and the possibility of a game suspension:

1. Cursing at the officials, supervisors, or opposing players.
2. Insulting the officials, supervisors, or opposing players.
3. Participation in a fight is an automatic ejection.

ALCOHOL/TOBACCO  POLICY

ABSOLUTELY NO DRINKING is allowed before playing in Intramural Sports Activities!  If an official, for any reason, suspects that a player has been drinking prior to playing, that player will not be allowed to participate in the game.  If anyone is found using tobacco products or drinking he/she will be asked to leave the building and will be indefinitely suspended pending a meeting with the Intramural Sports Coordinator.