TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Welcome to the Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier and January Thaw. Mizuno, Molten, and Northern Lights Junior Volleyball are pleased to be hosting this event and we hope that you enjoy your participation or viewing.
Team Check in - NL Qualifier teams
All 18’s & 17’s teams in the Qualifier must be checked-in and have picked up their wristbands at the Convention Center on Thursday evening by 8:30 pm. Online check in is available, starting at 8:00 am Wednesday morning, however even if you check-in online you must still pick up your team’s wristbands by 8:30 pm on Thursday evening. There is NO check-in OR wristband pick up on Friday. See our Northern Lights Qualifier webpage for complete information on check in. There is also NO team check-in at the Nebraska Elite Facility.
Team Check in - January Thaw Teams
All 15’s & 16’s teams in the January Thaw must be checked-in and have picked up their wristbands at the Convention Center on Friday afternoon between 1:00 – 4:30 pm. Online check in is available, starting at 8:00 am Wednesday morning, however even if you check-in online you must still pick up your team’s wristbands by 4:00 pm on Friday afternoon. There is NO check-in OR wristband pick up after 4:00 pm Friday. See our January Thaw webpage for complete information on check in. (January Thaw teams may also check in and pick up their wristbands on Thursday if they are checking in teams in the Qualifier.) There is also NO team check-in at the Nebraska Elite Facility.
Tournament Schedule & Results
All schedules & Results will be posted on this website. http://results.tm2sign.com
General Tournament Format
The tournament is broken down into 3 parts for all divisions. Preliminary pool play, power pool play, and elimination playoffs.
All play will be match play best 2 out of 3 sets. Sets 1 & 2 will be played to 25 points with no cap. If required, the third set will be a 15 point set with no cap. The third set is only played if needed to decide the match. Teams will switch sides at 8 in the third set.
Matches may be accelerated no more than 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled starting time. The only match which may be accelerated any further than 15 minutes is the last match of a pool, and only if all playing and officiating teams agree.
For the purpose of determining forfeits, the scheduled time is the match time and any forfeit may only occur at the scheduled starting time or at the conclusion of the warm up time for that match, whichever is later. If a team is not able to field a legal team (including a coach) at the match time as defined in the previous sentence, then the 1st set will be forfeited. The second set will be forfeited 10 minutes later. If a team arrives after the first set is forfeited, they will not be given any warm up time and will immediately start the next set or a forfeit for that 2nd set will occur. If a circumstance occurs that is not covered in the above statements, a decision will be made by the Head Official and/or the Tournament Director and that decision will not be protestable by either team.
All teams are responsible for determining when they will play their next match. Read the schedules carefully.
Three Team Pools
If a pool during the event changes from the published 4 team pool, to a 3 team pool due to a team dropping out, this new 3 team pool will play matches which play 3 sets to 25 points. Standings in these new pools will be based on match wins. Even if you win the match in 2 sets, the third set is still played and it will be used in any set percentage calculations that may be needed for the tie breaking procedures.
Officiating Assignments
Teams are required to officiate as noted on the master schedule. During the pool play rounds the officiating teams are designated on the schedule. Teams must supply a down referee, lines people, and 2 scorers. It is required that a rostered coach be the 2nd referee in all matches requiring a non tournament supplied 2nd referee.
On Day 3 on most of the courts the losing team will stay and officiate the next match on their court. Those teams in the "3rd" round of pool play on Day 3 may also have officiating duties after their pool play completes. Check the schedule for verification of your ref assignments.
The definition of "next match" is the next match that requires an officiating team on that court. For example, a team which loses a match at 8:00 am will normally officiate the next match which is scheduled at 9:00 am, however if there is no scheduled match at 9:00 or the 9:00 match is forfeited by a team, the scheduled officiating team will ref the next match which occurs on that court.
In order to start the tournament on Day 3 half of the teams that play at 9:00 am will have to line, score, & ball shag at 8:00 am. This is shown on your team page and on the playoff brackets. On the playoff brackets the officiating teams are those teams which are labeled as “WT:”. Check the schedule carefully.
Missed Officiating Duties
A team’s failure to have a complete officiating crew, including a rostered coach for that team, available and on time, for a match officiating assignment could result in the team having to forfeit the first set of its next match. For every minute an officiating team is late to fulfill its assignment, one point will be awarded to that team’s next opponent for the first set of the next match – up to 25 points. No more than 25 points will be awarded to the team’s next opponent, even if the team designated to officiate misses the entire match. The clock begins to run at the completion of warm ups.
A team will forfeit its entire next match for failing, a second time, to have an officiating crew available, on time, for an officiating assignment.
This penalty does not apply to a team that misses a 3 way tiebreak because of leaving a site before the determination a tiebreak is necessary, unless the team misses an officiating assignment for the match following the tiebreak, or a team leaves after playing the first tiebreak set but before officiating the second tiebreak set. Losing the opportunity to advance by not being present for the tiebreak is considered the penalty for the team.
Warm-Up Procedures
These procedures were established by the National Competition Committee for all Qualifiers.
There will be no shared hitting during warm-ups
For all matches of the pool the warm-up time will be 2-4-4. 2 minutes for shared ball handling, 4 minutes for the serving team to have the entire court-4 minutes for the receiving team to have the entire court.
Teams are not permitted to warm up with volleyballs in any non court areas.
Teams are not permitted to warm up with volleyballs on any non used courts.
Trainers
Trainers are on duty at all sites. They will tape players free of charge however you must supply the tape. (They have tape available for $2.00 per roll if needed.) Players are encouraged to talk with the trainers if they have a problem or question. All injuries should be reported to the trainer at your site.
Bid Acceptance Designation – NL Qualifier teams
When an 18’s/17’s NL Qualifier team checks-in they must designate if they are accepting or declining a bid to the USJNC’s should they finish in a Bid position. This designation is not changeable, it is a binding decision because it affects trickle down match requirements.
Rosters
The roster a team submits at check in is the official roster. Club Directors and Coaches are reminded to make sure all names and uniform numbers are correct before submitting the roster. A roster that is incorrectly submitted at check in may be changed prior to the start of a team’s first match at the Championship Desk with a cash payment of $25 per player/staff changed. A roster may not be changed once a team has started play (exception being the blood rule).
ALL Teams
Before leaving the site be sure you check carefully your position in the pool. Site Directors will not be held accountable for miscommunications or schedule interpretations. The official tournament posting on tm2sign.com is the only source that will be considered should a dispute arise.
Tournament Seeding
Teams, which supplied incomplete information, or no information, were seeded based on what info was available. In the event of a team dropping, a substitute team may take the dropped team's seed regardless of the substitute team's ranking.
Ethics & Eligibility Statement
This event is part of the USA Volleyball National Championships. Participants, individual or team may access normal "due process" channels should their eligibility to participate be in question. Procedures including appeal options are outlined in the Bylaws of USA Volleyball in Article XI. Bylaws can be found in the current issue of the USAV Official Guidebook. The Guidebook is available through Regional Commissioners or from the USA Volleyball National office, at the event Championship Desk and on the USAV website at http://www.usavolleyball.org.
Ethics, Eligibility, Arbitrators, Appeals, Age Falsification, & Frozen Rosters
This event will follow all of the procedures found in the USAV Girls Championship Manual for any questions concerning Eligibility. The manual may be found on USAV website at http://www.usavolleyball.org.
US Junior National Volleyball Championship Bid Allocations
The 2021 Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier 18’s & 17’s Division is allocated the following bids:
17 Open
3 bids for the USJNC 17 Open Division
17 USA
3 bids for the USJNC 17 USA Division
17 American
1 bid for the USJNC 17 American Division
18 Open
3 bids for the USJNC 18 Open Division
18 USA
3 bids for the USJNC 18 USA Division
18 American
1 bid for the USJNC 18 American Division
National Qualifier Bids – Open Bids
In the Open divisions of Qualifiers bids may “trickle down” to as low than eighth place or 50% of the field size, whichever is smaller. Additional matches may be required to determine bid winners. These additional matches may not be known until Day 3 midday. All teams in the Open Divisions are advised to check the Results website AFTER the conclusion of Day 3’s Gold 3rd round of pool play to determine if there are any additional matches scheduled due to “trickle down”.
National Qualifier Bids – USA Divisions
At a NQ, the USA division has up to three bids. A USA Division must have at least eight (8) teams to be able to award a bid in that respective tournament.
A team must accept or reject a USA bid at the time of check in. If rejected, the bid will trickle down to the next eligible, highest finishing team, provided that team finished no lower than eighth place or 50% of the field size, whichever is smaller.
Trickle down scenarios for a USA Bid:
· If a team that wins a USA bid earned an Open bid or accepted a USA bid from a previous NQ, or accepted a National bid from a Regional Bid Tournament, the current USA bid may trickle down to the next eligible, highest finishing team, provided that team finished no lower than eighth place or 50% of the field size, whichever is smaller. The trickle down process must be applied during competition.
National Qualifier Bids – American Divisions
At a NQ, the American division has one bid. An American Division must have at least eight (8) teams to be able to award a bid in that respective tournament.
A team must accept or reject an American bid at the time of check in. If rejected, the bid will trickle down to the next eligible, highest finishing team, provided that team finished no lower than 8th place in the tournament.
Trickle down scenarios for an American Bid:
· If a team that wins an American bid earned an Open bid or accepted a USA bid from a previous NQ, or accepted a National bid from a Regional Bid Tournament, the current American bid may trickle down to the next eligible, highest finishing team, provided that team finished no lower than 8th place. The trickle down process must be applied during competition.
· If a team that wins an American bid accepted an American bid from a previous NQ, the current American goes to the next eligible, highest finishing team, provided the next highest finishing team finished no lower than 8th place in the tournament. The trickle down process must be applied during competition.
RULES FOR PRIORITY OF BID USE
Some teams participate in more than one qualifying process in a season, either through their region, by attending NQs, by applying for an At-Large bid, or by some combination of these processes. If the team earns more than one bid, the following rules apply as to which bid the team must use, and what happens to the other bid(s).
Generally, the priority of bid use is as follows:
1. Open
2. National
3. USA
4. American
When an Open bid is the second bid a team earns, from either a NQ or the At-Large Process:
· If a team previously accepted a USA bid, the team must use the Open Bid. The USA bid will remain in the region of the team that originally accepted the USA bid. If the region refuses to allocate this USA bid, it reverts back to the NQ and follows the trickle down process.
· If a team previously accepted a National or American bid, the team must use the Open Bid. If the American bid was obtained through a NQ, the bid becomes a Reallocation bid. If the bid was from a region, it remains in that region’s bid allotment.
When a National Club bid is the second bid a team earns and accepts:
· If a team previously accepted a USA Club bid, the team must use the National Bid. The USA bid will remain in the region of the team that originally accepted the USA bid. If the region refuses to allocate this USA bid, it reverts back to the NQ and follows the trickle down process.
· If a team previously accepted an American Club bid, the team must use the National Bid. If the American bid was obtained through a NQ, the bid becomes a Reallocation bid. If the bid was from a region, it remains in that region’s bid allotment.
When a USA Club bid is the second bid a team earns:
· If a team previously accepted a National bid from a region, the team must keep the National Bid. The USA bid will trickle-down to the next eligible team.
· If a Team accepts a reallocated USA Bid through a Region Bid process and then earns a USA Bid at a NQ, the NQ USA Bid will supersede the Region reallocated USA Bid. The vacated USA Bid will revert to the Region of origin for reallocation. If the Region is unable to allocate this USA Bid, it reverts to the At-Large Bid process.
· If a team previously accepted an American bid from either an NQ or a region, the team must use the USA bid. The American bid will remain in the region of the team that originally accepted the American bid.
When an American Bid is the second Bid a Team earns and accepts:
· If a Team earns and accepts an American Bid through a Region Bid Process and then earns an American Bid at a NQ, the NQ American Bid will supersede the Region American Bid and the Region American Bid will return to the Region it was originally awarded from for reallocation.
· If a Team that wins an American Bid and accepted an American Bid from a previous NQ, the current American Bid goes to the next eligible, highest finishing Team, provided the next highest finishing Team finished no lower than eighth place in the Tournament. The trickle-down process must be applied at the conclusion of the division’s competition.
Qualifier bids earned in the American Division always supersede American Regional Bids and must be accepted.
Penalties for Not Using Bids
A team that does not use a GJNC Open bid which it has earned, or a GJNC National, USA or American bid which it has earned and accepted, will be subject to the penalties defined in the USAV Girls Championship Manual. The manual may be found on USAV website at http://www.usavolleyball.org.
Declining a bid in the USA, National or American Divisions earned at the Northern Lights Qualifier
A team may elect to decline a USJNC Bid in the USA, National or American Divisions of a Qualifier at the time of team check-in. There is no penalty for declining a bid in the USA, National or American Divisions. A team that elects to decline a bid must do so at team check in. A team which accepts a bid at team check-in, in the National or American Division and then leaves and later declines that bid will be subject to the sanctions defined in the Championship Manual.
Declining a bid in an Open Division that is earned at the Northern Lights Qualifier
Open Division teams do not have the option to decline a bid. If an Open Division team finishes in a bid position (normal or trickle down) they must accept the bid or be subject to the sanctions defined in the Championship Manual.
Team Forfeitures
If a team forfeits a match, the forfeit will be considered intentional, unless the team shows good cause for the forfeit. A team that intentionally forfeits a match will be excluded from further participation in that Qualifier. This Qualifier will report all forfeits to the JOVC Competition Committee and the USAV Events Department.
If a team intentionally forfeits a match in the Gold Level during the third round of pool play in an Open division or during the playoff bracket matches in a Club division, the team’s sanction will be the same as the sanction for rejecting a bid: that team, it’s coaches, it’s club director and all it’s club’s teams will be suspended from participating in all national qualifying events for the following season. The Qualifier Ethics and Eligibility Committee will determine if good cause exists.
Protest Procedure
If a protest needs to be filed it is to be done at the time of the incident, no later. The first referee is obligated to acknowledge and record all protests. Only the floor captain may file a protest. (The exception to this is with the 14 & under, 13 & under, and 12 & under age divisions, where the rostered team coach may act instead of the floor captain.) The protest must be written on the score sheet by the official scorekeeper or the first official, and must be signed by the person presenting the protest as well as the first official. All protests will be ruled upon prior to the next service. Judgment calls may not be protested. Protests will be considered only for situations outlined in the United States Volleyball Official Rules booklet. The protest committee will handle all protests.
Thanks
Thank you for attending the Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier and the January Thaw. We wish you the best of luck in the tournament.