PentaSport Volleyball League – Rules and Regulations

Updated December 6th, 2023

•• Rules For PentaSport Volleyball League (Co-ed 6’s): To be eligible for playoffs, participants must play in at least 1 regular season games for their team. Team captains and their teams are expected to referee their own games accordingly and responsibly. Unlike PentaSport Multi-sport, there are no League Reps. If issues arise, team captains are expected to resolve it swiftly and fairly.••

A. LEAGUE FEES

Each team will pay a fee determined by the PentaSport Volleyball League — containing 8 weeks of regular season play and 2 weeks of playoffs.
Teams must pay a deposit of $100 upon acceptance to the league, done so via e-transfer. Registration deadlines will be announced accordingly, depending on each season. All deposits are non-refundable.

B. TEAM ELIGIBILITY

Each team must be affiliated with a Christian church within Metro Vancouver.
Each team must provide a team name — may not exceed 25 characters, including spaces — and are also encouraged but not required to provide a team logo. Team names and connotations associated with the name must adhere to PentaSport values. All names and logos are subject to approval by the League Committee. Teams must finalize their names two weeks before the start of the season. No changes will be granted thereafter, until the season is concluded.
Each team must have a Team Captain and one Assistant Captain to serve as the point of contact between the League and the team. All captains and assistant captains must fall under the “Church-based Player” category below. Captains are responsible for ensuring that their team meets the League’s Code of Conduct.
The Team Captain must have previously played in PentaSport.
For the pilot season, each church may only field a maximum of (1) team per church.
Intermediate (BB) skill level average for each team is required to facilitate friendly competition. Intermediate (BB) players understand positioning and volleyball rules. They can consistently bump, set, and spike enabling the team to hit 3 hits in succession. However, they are not consistently running set plays (i.e., quicks, shoots, etc.).

C. TEAM ELIGIBILITY AND ROSTERS

1. Team captains are responsible for ensuring that all participants for their team are eligible to participate. Referencing “Player Eligibility” in Section 5 of https://pentasport.ca/rulesandregulations/, each team must have a minimum of (8) members and a maximum of (10) comprised of:

- - ‘Church-based’ Player: A player who consistently attends the team’s stated church and campus — meaning, the player must attend at least 3 services per month at the stated church that is offered on Sunday morning, or an equivalent service on a different day/time. This excludes other ministries that a church may offer such as fellowships, small groups, Alpha, etc.
    Min: 6
    Max: 8
- - ‘Other Church’ Player: A player who consistently attends a church other than the team’s stated church. This means that the player must attend at least 3 services per month at a church other than the team’s stated church. Players may be allowed to join any team under this category, even if the player’s own church already has a team in the league. A team is only permitted to have one ‘Other Church’ Player if there is only one ‘Invited’ Player. If the team has two ‘Invited’ Players, they will not be able to roster any ‘Other Church’ Players.
    Min: 0
    Max: 1 (if there is 1 or less invited player)
- - ‘Invited’ Player: A player who does not attend, or attends less than 3 services per month at the team’s stated church or any other Christian church.
    Min: 1
    Max: 2
Each player is restricted to only one team for the entire season. Players cannot move between teams.
Eligibility and Player Category rules are strictly enforced and are only confirmed by each player themselves. Captains are responsible for confirming with players their player category to ensure their team roster complies with League Regulations.
Each team will require the church pastor to sign off on the validity of the roster, prior to the start of the season.
Eligibility rules are strictly enforced and will require the team and the church pastor to sign off on the validity of the roster.
The minimum age to join the league is 16 years old. All minors between the age of 16 to 18 must also hand in a completed waiver form with parent / guardian’s signature.
Only players listed on the official roster as submitted by the team and approved by the PentaSport Committee, may participate in league games.
All players must be listed and approved on the official roster list.
Waiver: All players, as submitted on the official roster by their team’s captain, must sign a league waiver prior to the team’s first game of the season. Any team with outstanding waivers from a player will forfeit their game(s) until the entire roster has completed the waiver.
Identification: Players may be asked to show their photo ID at each game. This is to ensure safety and fair play, when deemed appropriate. If photo ID is not presented or it does not match the names on the team roster, the player cannot participate. If the game has already started, the team that fails to provide photo ID accordingly will have to forfeit the game.
Roster changes: Teams are required to recruit all players prior to the start of the season, with complete rosters submitted before the deadline as announced by the League Committee. Changes to the roster after the deadline must be approved by the League Committee and are only granted in extraordinary cases.
Roster Deadline: The Roster Deadline is announced at the start of registration and teams are required to recruit all players prior to the start of the season. Changes to the roster following the deadline are prohibited to promote fairness
Illegal Roster: Any team found violating the League’s regulation on player category eligibility or roster structure will be disqualified from playoffs.
If a team is found repeatedly or intentionally violating the League’s restrictions on player category, the League may impose further disciplinary actions up to and including suspension of the team’s participation in the Season.
All players must be listed and approved on the official roster list. Roster players must each play a minimum of one regular season game to be eligible to participate in the playoffs. If a player not on the official roster list participates in a game, the team will forfeit the game. No substitutions or “ringers” are allowed.

D. EQUIPMENT

PentaSport will provide a game ball, the gymnasium, nets. Teams may choose to use their own game ball if agreed upon by both teams.
Players must wear proper gym attire. Playing shirtless, or wearing hoodies/jackets and jeans are not permitted. Players without proper footwear or any footwear at all are not permitted to play (i.e. barefoot, sandals, slippers, flip flops, marking shoes, dress shoes, and boots).
Players may not use clothing or accessories to provide unfair advantage, or unfairly inhibit or assist the movement of the ball.
Each team will take turns in being responsible for net setup.
During games, players are not permitted to wear jewelry that dangles, is loose, or could slide off. This includes rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other accessories that may cause/contribute to injury to others, or may damage property like others’ clothing or equipment. Players are to secure by taping down any permanent jewelry (that which cannot be taken off). Non-shattering eyeglasses are encouraged. Players are required to exercise common sense and are responsible for abiding by these rules. PentaSport is not in any way responsible for any lost, stolen, broken, or damaged jewelry.

E. SPORTSMANSHIP AND DISCIPLINE

PentaSport expects all players to be respectful and show sportsmanship to other league participants, representatives, and committee. The league reserves the right to refuse participation.
PentaSport expects all players to be respectful of venues, equipment, venue coordinators, janitorial staff, and individuals who are using the venues before, during, and after the league’s scheduled games. Food and drinks (except water) are prohibited from being consumed inside the venues — as per contractual agreement with the venues. Violation of this rule impacts PentaSport’s future abilities to rent locations, hence why a “no food or drinks” rule will be heavily enforced.
Pre- and Post- Game: To build relationships through sport and to foster unity, as per PentaSport’s Mission and Vision, teams will gather together prior to the game for a moment of prayer, announcements, and opportunity for questions, as led by the team representatives assigned by each team. This will be followed by a chance for both/all competing teams to introduce themselves and shake hands. After the game, players are also encouraged to shake hands / fist bump with the opposing team.
PentaSport is a non-contact recreational league. Any type of play or altercation that is deemed dangerous or unsafe are highly discouraged, and will be subject to verbal warning and, if continued, potential expulsion from the game and/or league. Disciplinary action will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the League Committee.
Any physical or aggressive altercations, behaviour, or serious breaches of spirit and sportsmanship will be automatically met with disciplinary actions, which could result in warnings, suspensions, or expulsion, as determined by the League Committee. Players are not allowed to promote or engage in physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, coercion, disorderly or lewd conduct, and/or other conduct, which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any league participant.
PentaSport has a zero tolerance policy towards consuming alcohol, illicit drugs, or abuse of controlled substances during games. They are prohibited in all venues. If a player is visibly affected by the aforementioned substance(s) during game play, as identified by another player, or committee member, then the offender will be ejected from the game immediately and will be subjected to further disciplinary action.
PentaSport reserves the right to approve or deny a team’s final roster submissions, and may ask captains to adjust accordingly. Roster rules are intentionally regulated to provide a fair and foundational structure that help advance the vision and mission of the league, especially in regards to building community within the church. This means that PentaSport takes roster rules very seriously. Please seek clarification from the League Committee first, if there is any confusion. Any attempts to knowingly circumvent the roster rules or provide false information may lead to disciplinary action, including expulsion from the league, by the League Committee or Board of Directors.

F. GENERAL

Teams are advised to be at the courts 10 minutes before the round.
Teams are comprised of 6 players on the court, with a minimum of 2 players of each gender on the floor at all times. At minimum, a team must field at least 4 players (and field two ghost players). If only 1 player of either gender is present, the team must play with one less player and follow the ghost rule detailed below; if there are no players of either gender, the team will automatically forfeit the game.
Teams must act as if there were 6 players at all times. If a team cannot field 6 rostered players, the positions for the missing players shall be filled by “ghost”. Teams may have up to 2 ghost players. The ghost(s) must be assigned a position at the start of the game. Once a rostered player arrives, they may sub in for the ghost before the next serve.
When a ghost arrives at service, the team with the serving ghost will receive a side-out, and the other team will receive 1 point along with the next serve. If the ghost is in the front row, the team must play with a maximum of two front-row players.
Games will be played in a best 2 of 3 set format (21/21/15). Games are all rally point, win by 2 points (cap at 23/23/17). Matches will be over when a team wins 2 games or time expires.
If time expires while teams are playing the 3rd set (the tiebreaker), at least one of the teams must have reached 5 points for the 3rd game to count. If the time expires before each team reaches 5 points during the tiebreaker game, both teams would report a draw.
Each week, teams are scheduled to play for 90 minutes. Each team will play 2 other opponents allocating 45 minutes for each round of games. Time is to be kept by each team.
Team captains and players are required to self-officiate and call their own fouls.
Net height is set to junior boy’s height (second indent on VCS red poles).

G. GAME PLAY

Team captains will rock-paper-scissors or spin for serve prior to the game and for the 3rd set – with the winner choosing whether to begin with the serve of the ball or which side of the court to play on. The other team will select from the remaining option.
Between sets, teams will alternate for first serve and side of the court.
Players must rotate positions as well as serve with each side-out. This includes rotating after the first serve.
Substitutions can only be made in the back middle position following each rotation. Teams are only allowed to substitute one player at a time, with the exception of an injury.
All balls must be hit cleanly — this means players may not scoop, hold, or carry the ball.
If a player blocks an attacking ball and the ball comes onto their own team’s side, the block does not count as a hit towards the three-hit limit. Blocks on an attacking ball may be a double hit, only for the player who makes the initial block.
A ball that lands on or touches the indicated sidelines of the court will be considered in play. A ball that lands outside the lines or into another court, or contacts any object not in the field of play (such as wall, ceiling, spectator, etc.), is considered out.
The ball can hit any part of the body.
When the ball crosses over the net, it must be between the sidelines and/or not touch the volleyball antennas. Otherwise, it will be considered out of play.

H. RULES / INFRACTIONS

Players cannot touch the net with any part of the body while the ball is in play. If the ball is driven into the net with such force that it causes the net to contact an opposing player, no infraction will be called, and the ball will remain in play
If a back-row player is in front of the attack line and plays the ball over the net, they must contact the ball below the height of the net.
A served ball may not be blocked or attacked directly back over the net.
Male players may not block a female player on an attacking hit, unless agreed upon by the Captains prior to the start of the match. This includes an attempted block — or as an act of intimidation — which is defined as a player jumping with one or both hands extended beyond the top of the volleyball net.
Players may not interfere with the other team or hinder play on the other side of the court, such as making contact under the net. For the safety of everyone, players are not allowed to have their full foot on the other side of the net. Any form of contact made under the net on the other side of the court results in an infraction and an automatic point for the opposing team.
When serving a ball, a player may not touch the lines or inside the court before making the last contact with the ball. When serving a ball, a player may not touch the lines or inside the court before making the last contact with the ball. However, leeway for one step into the court is provided for gyms where space between the wall and serving line is limited.