Local Rules

LOCAL RULES FOR THE BNL VOLLEYBALL LEAGUES

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The Open Volleyball Leagues at BNL will play according to the 2011-2013 USA Volleyball Rules with the following exceptions. The Mixed Leagues will play according to the modified rules for Mixed Six Play with the following exceptions. The USA Volleyball official rules can be found at http://www.volleyballreftraining.com/rules_interpretations_indoor.php.

CHAPTER ONE – FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

  • RULE 1 – PLAYING AREA – Article 4 – ZONES AND AREAS OF THE PLAYING COURT – Paragraph 2 – Service Zone.
    The service zone is not clearly delineated. It extends the full width of the court (9 m) and all available space behind the end line. It is the responsibility of the first referee to warn the server if the referee feels that the server is out of the service zone.

CHAPTER TWO – PARTICIPANTS

  • RULE 4 – TEAMS – Article 3 – EQUIPMENT.
    Teams are exempt from wearing numbered, matching uniforms.
  • RULE 5 – TEAM LEADERS – Article 1 – CAPTAIN – Paragraph 2.
    The designated team captain, regardless of whether he/she is on the playing floor, is the only player who may address the first referee and shall be the spokesperson of the team.

CHAPTER THREE – PLAYING FORMAT

  • RULE 6 – TO SCORE A POINT, TO WIN A SET AND THE MATCH – Article 3 – TO WIN THE MATCH.
    Open A regular season matches will consist of four (4) 25 point games and one (1) 15 point game, rally scoring. Open B regular season matches will consist of three (3) 25 point games, rally scoring. Mixed League II will consist of three (3) 25 point games, rally scoring. Mixed League III will consist of three (3) 25 point games, rally scoring.
  • RULE 7 – STRUCTURE OF PLAY – Article 1 – THE TOSS.
    During the regular season there is no coin toss at the beginning of the match. The choice of playing area and serve will be specified on the league playing schedule.
  • RULE 7 – STRUCTURE OF PLAY – Article 2 – WARM-UP SESSION.
    Each team will be allowed a minimum of five (5) minutes for warm-up before the start of a match.
  • RULE 7 – STRUCTURE OF PLAY – Article 3 – TEAM STARTING LINE-UP.
    The minimum number of players in Mixed League II and Mixed League III is four (4). The minimum number of players in Open A is two (2). The minimum number of players in Open B is three (3). In Mixed League II and Mixed League III at least two (2) of the players must be women and no more than three (3) players may be men. There is no maximum number of women which may be on the court at one time, except that the total number of players may not exceed six (6).In all leagues, teams with only 5 players are still restricted by the three (3) meter line when making a back row attack. In the case of 5 players, the “front” and “back” positions are the same, except that there is no middle back position. Players must start in their positions at the time of the serve.Teams with only 4 players have three players in the “front” and one player in the “back”. The player in the “back” is the person who is serving (or would have served) in that rotation. In all leagues EXCEPT Open A, a team playing with four people is restricted by the three (3) meter line when making a back row attack. (There is no three (3) meter line restriction for teams with three players or fewer.) Also, in all leagues EXCEPT Open A, a team playing with four people must start in their positions at the time of the serve. In Open A, a team with four or fewer people must maintain service order, but players other than the server may start in any position. In Open B, a team with three people must maintain service order, but players other than the server may start in any position.If the minimum number of players are not present after waiting five (5) minutes from the specified starting time of the match, the first game will be forfeited. After ten (10) minutes, the second game will be forfeited, and after fifteen (15) minutes, all games will be forfeited.A team has the option of rotating or substituting players into a game, but may not do both in the same game. A team which is rotating players into a game may substitute for a player in the event of injury to that player. The substitute must enter the game in the position in the lineup originally occupied by the injured player.A player who arrives after the start of a game may not enter into the lineup for that game unless there are less than six (6) players on the court. A player who enters the lineup during the game must enter in the back line. In the Mixed Leagues, when there are less than six (6) players on the court the player may enter the game when a position in the back line opens for a player of his or her gender.A player who has not participated in the greater of half of the matches while on the roster and eligible to play or a quarter of all the matches scheduled for that team during the whole season is ineligible to participate in the play-offs. Exceptions to this rule may be granted by the Executive Committee only in the case of a team fielding less than six (6) players for a play-off match or in the case of illness, injury, BNL travel or BNL work schedule.If a new player is added to a team roster on the day of a match, the roster change must be made by 1600 hours (4 pm) in order for that player to be eligible to play that day. In addition, a roster cannot change after 1600 hours (4 pm).During the season, a team may add only one person from another team’s roster. After the other captain has been notified, that player is a permanent member of the second team and can no longer play with the original team.No team will be allowed to add new players to its roster after the midpoint of the regular season. Exceptions will be made for new employees, teams which consistently field less than six (6) players, and other extenuating circumstances, subject to approval by the Executive Board.The maximum number of teams in any league will be nine (9). Preference will be given to teams that played the previous year and to those whose roster is most competitive with the remainder of the league, as judged by the Executive Committee.If a team knows that it will forfeit a match they are requested to verbally inform (do not leave messages on answering machines) the league President or Secretary and the opposing team captain by 1600 hours (4 pm) on the day of the game. When forfeiting, failure to notify the appropriate personnel for three (3) matches during the season will result in the team being expelled from the league. The playing schedule may then be revised to account for the missing team.A player may not be listed on the score sheet until they have arrived at the court dressed and ready to play.

CHAPTER FOUR – PLAYING ACTIONS

  • RULE 8 – STATES OF PLAY – Article 4 – BALL “OUT”.
    A ball that hits the ceiling is playable, provided it does not break the plane of the net. A ball which breaks the plane of the net and hits or has hit the ceiling is dead.A ball that hits a moving fan is out of play and will be replayed.A ball that hits a curtain is dead.A ball that hits the I-beam above the curtain in the middle of the gym (between the courts) is dead. A ball that hits any other ceiling beam is playable.A ball that hits a backboard, net or rim at the sides of the gym is dead, except in Open League and Mixed League I a ball that hits one of the baskets and their supports on the north wall will result in a replay if the referee determines that the ball was playable. A ball that hits the backboard, net or rim above the playing area is in play, unless the referees determine that it has broken the plane of the net.A ball that hits a wall is dead.A ball that hits the ledge on the wall above the curtain of the rear (west) court is dead.A ball that hits a ventilationduct is playable subject to the first referee’s discretion. If the ball had a trajectory that would have rendered it unplayable if not for the ventilation duct, the referee may call the ball dead.A ball that rests or is wedged in an obstruction that is in play will be replayed provided no other local rule is violated.In the absence of antennas, it is the responsibility of the referees to decide if the ball is inside the vertical extension of the imaginary antenna when crossing the net.
  • RULE 9 – PLAYING THE BALL – Article 2 – CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HIT.
    The ball may touch any part of the body, except in Mixed League III, where the ball may not touch the extremities below the knee.
  • RULE 11 – PLAYER AT THE NET – Article 3 – CONTACT WITH THE NET – Paragraph 1.
    A player may not touch the net at any time during play. Incidental contact of a player’s hair with the net is not considered a fault.
  • RULE 12 – SERVICE – Article 1 – FIRST SERVICE IN A SET – Paragraph 1.
    Service for the first serve in the first game of a regular season match will be indicated on the schedule.
  • RULE 12 – SERVICE – Article 4 – EXECUTION OF THE SERVICE.
    The server may move freely within the service zone. At the moment of the service hit or takeoff for a jump service, the server must start with one foot completely in the service zone but the other foot (and only that foot) may touch the court (end line included). The player may not be touching the playing surface outside the court and the service zone. After the service, the player may step or land with both feet out-side the zone.The ball must be tossed in a manner such that the separation between the tossing hand and the ball is clear to the referee.Men playing in Mixed League II and III are not allowed to serve overhand.
  • RULE 13 – CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ATTACK HIT – Article 1 – ATTACK HIT.
    “Hard spiking” is not allowed in Mixed League III. The determination of what constitutes a “hard spike” will be left to the judgement of the first referee.

CHAPTER 8 – REFEREES

  • RULE 23 – FIRST REFEREE.
    If the Executive Committee has not assigned a referee for a scheduled match, the team that is scheduled to provide the second referee must also provide the first referee. Failure to provide a first referee will result in the subtraction of 3 games from the win column and the addition of 3 games to the loss column in the standings. The first referee will preferably be a member of the league for which he/she is refereeing, who is familiar with both the USAV and BNL Local Rules. The first referee may allow the second referee to assist in making calls which are normally made by the first referee. If this is going to be done the first referee should inform the team captains prior to the start of the match.
  • RULE 24 – SECOND REFEREE.
    Each team must provide a second referee, as indicated on the schedule, who is familiar with both the USAV and BNL Local Rules. Failure to provide a second referee will result in a loss of time-outs in the next week for which a match is scheduled. In Mixed League III the n-th failure to provide a second referee will result in the subtraction of n-1 games from the win column and the addition of n-1 games to the loss column in the standings in addition to the loss of time-outs.

MISCELLANEOUS

A team must pay its league fee by noon of the opening day of the regular season. Failure to comply will result in forfeiture of each match until the fee is paid.

A team may postpone a regular season match only when Laboratory business prevents it from fielding a team with the minimum number of players stated in Rule 7, Article 3. Other cases involving extenuating circumstances will be considered by the Executive Committee.

A team may postpone a play-off match when Laboratory business prevents two or more of its players from participating.

The team captain must be a BNL employee or guest who works on-site.

The Executive Committee has the obligation to confer with a player regarding his/her physical well-being if they consider him/her unfit to participate or feel that his/her condition may impede both his/her play or that of others.

In the event of byes or doubleheaders, the midpoint of the regular season will be indicated on the schedule.

In the event that two teams have the same record at the end of the regular season, the following scheme will be used to seed those teams for the play-offs:

  1. Record in head-to-head competition.
  2. Record against teams finishing ahead of them in the standings.
  3. Points scored by the two teams when playing each other.
  4. Total points scored.
  5. Flip of a coin.