POLICY

Team

Last updated: August 19, 2021

Team Determination

The Board, by annual decision, shall determine the number, gender and age categories of the teams that it will field.  The determination of the number, gender and category of teams shall take into account:

• The quality of coaching staff
• The availability of quality coaching staff
• The number and quality of players in the tryout process
• The projected competitiveness of a team
• The developmental needs of the club
• The availability of practice facilities
• Club budget
• A recommendation by the Club Head Coach
• Any municipal, provincial, federal or public health directive regarding grouping sizes allowed to congregate together given any health or safety threat that may be occurring at the time.

Team Selection

Unless there is a municipal, provincial, federal or public health directive to the contrary that may change the OFVC normal practice, OFVC teams shall typically consist of 10 to 12 players.  

The OFVC shall conduct an open tryout process for each age category and gender, recognizing that there may be more interest than available positions.

A non-refundable tryout fee shall apply.  This will cover the cost of a tryout t-shirt, gym time and coach/assessor personnel for a minimum of one tryout session.  Additional tryout sessions may be held in order to finalize the team roster.

To encourage players' faith in the objectivity of evaluators, and to discourage their intimidation by others, all players will be required to wear the supplied tryout t-shirts.

Players who are unable to attend the first scheduled tryout, and who, by club approval, are to be assessed later at the additional tryout sessions must pay the tryout fee.

Team coaches are empowered by the Board to make team selection decisions.  Final rosters must be submitted to the Club Head Coach for final approval.  Their assessments may be supported by input from additional assessors as necessary.  Tryout sessions will consist of a combination of specific drills, activities, fitness assessment and/or game-like situations designed to allow players to demonstrate their skills, physical conditioning and personal attributes.

Coaches and the Club Head Coach can take into consideration a player’s previous history with the OFVC, commitment and progress towards improvement, and commitment level in general.

Coaches may decide to offer “practice player” status to some players.  A practice player will participate in team practices and may play in exhibition matches but is not eligible to play in OVA tournaments.  A practice player may be upgraded to full status at the discretion of the coach.

Players chosen for competitive teams who are related to that team’s coach or assistant(s) will be assessed by the Club Head Coach to ensure fairness in the process.

Teams whose complement is less than twelve players at the end of the planned tryouts may continue to recruit players up to a full complement until the deadline for adding players established by the OVA (typically January 31st).  For a team at full complement (12), written approval must be received from the Club Head Coach to add players after the tryout period.

Players injured at time of tryouts

A player who is injured at the time of tryouts and who wishes to be considered for a team must register for tryouts and email the club to notify them of the injury.  If possible, he or she should attend the first tryout session and be prepared to provide specific information about his or her injury and his or her anticipated return to playing strength.  A doctor’s evaluation may be requested to support the information.  The coach may make a selection decision based on prior knowledge of the player’s abilities.  The player must register with the club and pay his or her fees in full.  The player may be expected to attend practice while injured in order to facilitate integration into the team.

Practice and Competition

Practice

Unless there is a municipal, provincial, federal or public health directive to the contrary that may change the OFVC normal practice, the number of weekly practices to be held for each age group will be established on an annual basis by the Board based on the recommendation of the Club Head Coach.

Players are expected to attend all practices.  If a player is unable to attend a practice for exceptional circumstances, the player must advise the coach or team manager (depending on team preference) in advance via telephone or email.  An injured player who intends to return to the team should attend all practices unless otherwise directed by his or her coach.  In order to prevent the spread of illness through a team, players who are ill should not attend practice.  At the discretion of the coach, sanctions may be applied for repeated missed practices.

Players playing on school teams

Players wishing to try out for their school teams must notify the school coach of their commitment to the club. It is highly recommended that they share their club practice and tournament schedule with the high school coach prior to their being selected to the team.  Players should also share their school practice and tournament schedules with their Fusion coaches.  

For any conflict between school and Fusion tournament/match dates, club tournaments shall take precedence, without exception.  School tournaments/matches may take precedence over Fusion practices as long as the coach (or team manager) is notified in advance.

Competition

The Club Membership Fee policy sets out the number of tournaments and the fees for those tournaments that are included in club fees.  Any tournament fees in excess of those covered by club fees are to be included in team fees and the club is to be reimbursed for any excess registration fees that it pays directly.  Unused tournament fees included in club fees are not refundable to teams.

Teams must plan to participate in a minimum of two OVA tournaments in their age division (the number required to participate in Provincial Championships).  Participation in tournaments outside of the OVA system or at a higher age division within is at the discretion of the coach.  All teams should plan to participate in Provincial and National Championships with the exception of the 13U Girls for whom there are no National Championships.  However, given the cost and distance for the National Championships, teams are encouraged to look at alternative options and decide as a team what is feasible on a year-by-year basis.

Playing Time

The OFVC is a competitive club.  While coaches are encouraged to develop all players, they are also attempting to balance the objective of achieving competitive success.  Consequently, it is unlikely that players will all receive equal playing time.  The following general principles shall apply for all teams:

1. Playing time is at the coach’s discretion.
2. The coach shall make every attempt to provide playing time for all team members as game and tournament conditions permit and in keeping with the club’s competitive philosophy and team goals.
3. Coaches may choose to use certain players in key games or situations to give the team its best chance to win, particularly at Provincial and National Championships. While rare, given injuries and the necessity for resting players,  this could result in some players receiving little or no playing time in those sets and/or matches.
4. All players will receive some playing time in exhibition matches.

As of 2012: For 13U and 14U, boys and girls, the “Fair Play” rule is being applied to OVA tournament matches.  15U boys and girls will apply “Fair Play“ rules to pool play matches only (including Day 1 and 2 of Ontario Championships).  16U Girls will apply “Fair Play” rules for pool play matches only in the Trillium Division at regular season events (does NOT include Ontario Championships). The rule states that any player not starting the first set of a match must start in the second set.  If the match requires a third set, any players may be started.

Playing up/down

Players are expected to play within their age category.  Players wishing to play in a higher category must identify themselves at tryouts.  Decisions will be made by the Club Head Coach on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration whether the club is fielding a team at their age category, whether the player is assessed as one of the ‘best’ players at his or her position on the higher age category team, and the recommendations of the coaches of the two affected teams after initial assessment.  A player may only continue tryouts at the higher age category once permission has been given.

A player born before a particular date, can play at a lower age group level.  Discussions and determination by the coach of a player’s eligibility for this placement on a team must be approved by the Club Registrar in conjunction with the Ontario Volleyball Association.

Call-Ups

Players may, from time to time, be asked to play up to complement the tournament roster of a higher age category team or a second team in their age category.  This call-up must be approved, prior to a coach approaching the player, by the Club Head Coach and is subject to OVA regulations.

Team Travel

Unless there is a municipal, provincial, federal or public health directive to the contrary that may change the OFVC normal practice, teams may make travel arrangements to events via air, charter bus, rental vehicle, train or private vehicle.

Driving to Out-of-Town Events in a Private Vehicle

It is the Club’s expectation that all players will arrange their own personal transportation to and from practices.  Note that all players must be picked up in a timely manner at the end of practices – Coaches will not transport players home (unless they are the player’s parent).

When a team travels to competition, it is the Club’s expectation that team members will arrange their own personal transportation.  Unless there is a municipal, provincial, federal or public health directive to the contrary that may change the OFVC normal practice, shared transportation/carpooling is encouraged, but it is understood that players and their families make these arrangements privately.  Parents who drive their own personal vehicles while transporting players acknowledge that any accidents or losses will be covered by their personal automobile insurance policy.  Where vehicles are rented by a team for transportation purposes and driven by parent volunteers, any accidents or losses will be covered by their personal automobile insurance policy in the event that it provides such coverage or by insurance procured at the place and time of rental.

An individual driving OFVC players or coaches to an out-of-town event must:

1. Possess a valid driver’s license;
2. Agree to comply at all times with laws and regulations concerning driving including laws pertaining to the use of seatbelts, cellular phones and other handheld devices, and speed limits.
3. Drive safely and at reasonable speeds; any traffic infractions remain the sole responsibility of the driver; and
4. Strictly adhere to driving sober laws and all other laws under the Highway Traffic Acts.

For the health and comfort of all passengers, no individual shall be permitted to smoke in a vehicle carrying OFVC players or coaches while in transit.

Players may not drive themselves to a tournament if the tournament is further than 1 hour from Ottawa.  Every effort should be made to ensure that coaches do not drive to out-of-town tournaments.  Coaches should not be transporting players unless the player is a member of their own family.

Poor driving conditions may arise from time to time while travelling to out-of-town tournaments.  See our OFVC inclement weather/poor driving conditions policy.  Drivers are asked to be in contact with the team manager regarding any question as to whether an event may be cancelled or regarding a decision to drive or not.  When returning home from a tournament, drivers should plan to complete the trip before 1:00 am.  If they expect the trip to take much longer or if driving conditions are unsafe, they should plan to spend the night at a hotel.

Accommodation

Unless there is a municipal, provincial, federal or public health directive to the contrary that may change the OFVC normal practice, while travelling to out-of-town tournaments, players and coaches may be accommodated at hotels and/or with billets.

Note:  All determinations of sharing rooms/accommodations and placements will take into consideration policies of the OVA, Volleyball Canada and Canadian Ethics in Sport where there are concerns by parents/guardians, players, coaches or others needing accommodations for OFVC out-of-town tournaments.

Hotel accommodation:

Coaches sharing a room must have their own individual beds.

Unless there is a municipal, provincial, federal or public health directive to the contrary that may change the OFVC normal practice, starting with the 15U age group, players are expected to room together, separately from parent chaperones.  The following shall apply:

1. Players are expected to share rooms, up to two players per double bed;
2. Only players of the same gender may room together;
3. A parent must be in a proximate room and accept chaperone responsibility.

For the younger age groups, players may share with parents.  The following shall apply:

1. A parent/guardian may only share with players who are not related if they are of the same gender, and the parent of the player involved has explicitly provided prior consent.
2. If not enough parents are travelling with the team to make this possible, players should room together with a parent chaperone in close proximity.

Billeting:  Unless there is a municipal, provincial, federal or public health directive to the contrary that may change the OFVC normal practice, teams are encouraged to seek suitable billeting arrangements as a means of reducing travel costs.  The following shall apply:

1. Only players of the same gender may be billeted together;
2. An OFVC parent chaperone must stay with the billet;
3. The team should plan for breakfast on their own – hosts should not be expected to provide meals for players.

The OFVC strongly recommends that a positive relationship and image be maintained with billets.  Arrangement should be made to present the host with an appropriate item of recognition/appreciation, the cost of which should be covered by the team budget (e.g. gift certificate to restaurant, OFVC photo or other branded item (FusionGear)).  

Refer to the Team Travel Guidelines for further information on team travel.

Use of Cell Phones – Practice and Tournament

While the club recognizes the usefulness of cell phones as a means of communication, especially between parent and athlete, their use during practice and tournaments can be a distraction to the athlete and his or her team.  

Cell phones must be stored in a backpack/duffel during practice and should be silenced so as to not interrupt practice.

During tournaments, cell phones shall be left in the vehicle that an athlete is travelling in or given to a parent chaperone for safekeeping until all play is completed for the day.