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The general rules listed below are designed to fit the Jacksonville Scene Format.

OVERVIEW

Each team consists of no more than 4 players on the court at one time.

Teams will have an allotted amount of time of one hour to play 1 match, (3 games). Rally scoring (every point counts, not just points from your serve) will be enforced, games are played to 21, teams must win by 2, or the first team to 26. (There is no designated "warm-up" time)

New Rule: Players will be allowed to set the serve. Serves may touch the net.

New Rule: Teams will forfeit 1 game for every 10 minutes past the designated start time that they do not have the legal amount of players. If no one is present from a team by 15 minutes after the designated start time the entire match will be forfeited and the team that is present will receive all three wins of the match.

BEGINNING OF THE GAME

· the beginning of the game will start with the Jacksonville Scene staff using an "odd/even", or coin flip. The winning team will then have one of two options, choose to serve first or choose which side they prefer to play on, (not both). Each match will consist of three games. Each game will count in the overall standings for regular season standings. All games are played to 21, win by 2 or first to 26. One time-out per game is allowed.

TEAM SIZE

· each team consists of 4 players on the court at one time, (no more than 2 men). If a team has either 3 or 2 players with a minimum of 1 woman it will be considered a legal game. However, the opposing team will have the option to utilize the ghost rule. Teams may have as many players on their roster as they want. There is no maximum limit on the amount of females on the court at one time. All rosters must be finalized by the second week of the regular season. Players added after the second week that are not on the team roster or waiver will not be eligible for playoffs.

FORFEITS

· New Rule: Teams will forfeit 1 game for every 10 minutes past the designated start time that they do not have the legal amount of players. If no players are present from a team by 15 minutes after the designated start time the entire match will be forfeited and the team that is present will receive all three wins of the match. Shorthanded teams may play a legal game with a minimum of 2 players, (at least two females are needed). Teams fielding less than 2 players or without any women will receive a forfeit. Teams may pick up players during the regular season in order to field a full team. Substitutes will not be allowed during playoffs.

GAME TIMES

· Teams will receive a schedule that will list when their team will play each week. Teams will be given an allotted amount of time to play 1 match, (3 games). There is no designated "warm-up" time. "Warm-up" time is to be included in the allotted amount of time that teams will have for their match. Teams will decide if they wish to "warm-up" or not. The longer teams take/choose to "warm-up" the less time they may have to complete their match. Teams may have to "speed score" or "rally score" depending on how far along they are in the match and/or how much time is left in their designated match time. Teams will have 10 minutes to field a team before they receive their first forfeit.

RULES

· New Rule: Players will be allowed to set the serve. The serve may touch the net.

· Ghost Rule -If a team has 3 players, for example, they must forfeit their serve after every 3rd rotation. This will allow the team with a full squad to receive back-to-back serves. If a player(s) arrives after the start of a game they will be allowed to enter immediately. (To avoid confusion we ask that all games utilizing the ghost rule be cleared with staff member on site.) All the above options must be addressed before the start of the match, otherwise the game will stand as started.

· A legal serve in Jacksonville Scene play is one that does not make contact with the net whatsoever. A serve that makes contact with the net will be considered a side out.

· The server may not step on or over the end line until the ball has been contacted. The width of the service area is from sideline to sideline. The depth of the service area is infinite.

· There are no male/female hitting rules. There can be no more than 3 males on the court at any time.

A defensive block does not count as one of the allowable contacts.

A player may reach over the net to block a ball if:

a.- Any portion of the ball breaks the plane of the net.

b.- After the offense has come in contact with the ball on the third attempt.

· The serve may not be blocked or spiked.

· Players can return the serve by:

a. Bump pass

b. Clasping their hands together

c. A closed fist

d. A set

· No part of the body may touch the net at anytime unless a ball or person driven into the net causes the contact. Player contact with the net in a manner not directly relating to or affecting the course of play is not a violation. Contact with hair or part of the uniform will not be considered a fault.

· Contact of the ball when spiking is legal only if a portion of the ball is in contact with the plane of the net or on the spiker's side of the net. Spikers may follow through over the net after legal contact.

· The ball must be cleanly hit when spiking with an open hand. Guiding or carrying is illegal.

· *A carry is any use of an open hand(s) while making contact with the ball that is not in a firm manner.

· Out of bounds is the area outside the designated court line, (some facilities may also have "antennas" attached to the net, at these facilities the "antennas" will be considered out of bounds as well). The line is in bounds.

· A player may touch but not completely cross over the center line with his/her foot.

· The ball can contact any number of body parts down to, and including the foot.

· USA VOLLEYBALL rules apply unless stated otherwise.

LEAGUE POLICIES

GAMES:

Matches will be played within the allotted time, (warm up time included). All games are played to 21, win by 2 or first to 26.

One time-out per game is allowed. Rally/speed scoring (every point counts) will be enforced for the entire game. In Playoffs games will be played as the best 2 out of 3 to 21, win by 2 or first to 26. Rally/speed scoring will still be enforced if necessary.

REFS:

ALL GAMES WILL BE SELF-REFFED. There will be no obligation on the part of any participants or the on site staff to referee the games, however, the on site staff will be made available to help interpret rules or if there are any discrepancies between the two teams that need to be addressed. Captains are responsible for recording the results of their game. Clipboards will be provided on each court to record the scores. Our staff will provide constant reminders with regards to this process.

FORFEITS:

If your team forfeits a match during the season, the following rules apply:

First Offense: Loss of three games and warning issued.

Second Offense: Loss of three games and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs.

Third Offense: Removal from the league.

If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to call our office so as to help us schedule your opponent a game however this does not mean that your team will not receive the loss as a forfeit.

New Rule: During the regular season teams will forfeit 1 game for every 10 minutes past the designated start time that they do not have the legal amount of players. If no one is present from a team by 15 minutes after the designated start time the entire match will be forfeited and the team that is present will receive all three wins of the match. Shorthanded teams may play a legal game with a minimum of 2 players, (at least one female is needed). Teams fielding less than 2 players or without any women will receive a forfeit. Teams may pick up players during the regular season in order to field a full team. During playoffs teams will receive one forfeit every 10 minutes that they are unable to field a "legal" team. After they forfeit their second game the winning team will advance to the next round of playoffs. Substitutes will not be allowed during playoffs.

STANDINGS:

The updated standings will be posted weekly starting after the third week of play. The standings will display each teams rank within its skill level. Rank is based on winning percentage.

PLAYOFFS:

Playoffs will begin immediately following the end of the regular season and will typically last between 2 and 3 weeks. After teams have been seeded according to their records all captains will receive an email or call with the 1 st week of playoff game times roughly 3 days before their league. Teams will not receive a call for any other weeks of playoffs! It is ALL TEAMS responsibility to check the playoff brackets at the league to find out what time they will be playing the following week if they win. In playoffs it is not uncommon, (and in some cases will be necessary), for teams to have more than one match in a given night. No substitutes will be allowed during playoffs. All players must have signed the waiver by the second week of the season in order to be eligible for playoffs. All eligible teams will make the playoffs. Playoff eligible teams will be determined on a league-by-league basis. Teams that have violated the forfeit policy during the course of regular season will not be eligible for playoffs. In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Check with JS league coordinator to see if this applies to your league. Playoffs are single elimination and games are a best 2 out of 3 with a cap at 26. During playoffs teams will receive one forfeit every 10 minutes that they are unable to field a "legal" team. After they forfeit their second game the winning team will advance to the next round of playoffs. Substitutes will not be allowed during playoffs. Rally/speed scoring will still be enforced the entire game.

Seeding: Teams are seeded according to winning percentage and strength of schedule .

Teams may be dropped from their regular season level based on the above criteria. Teams may be moved to a higher division during the playoffs only if the JS full time staff grants permission. Skill levels may be divided into separate divisions based upon size of level. Teams may play more than one game per day/night, and/or play games on days/nights other than your regularly scheduled league day/night if necessary. JS reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than teams regularly scheduled league night. Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility of players must be addressed before the start of the game. Any team that would like to challenge the eligibility of an opposing player must do so before the start of the game. No protests will be considered valid after a game has started.

WAIVERS:

In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before participating. Players must sign the waiver in order to be eligible for playoffs.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

Players who have been placed on the roster and signed the waiver are eligible for playoffs. A formal protest may be filed before a game if an opposing player's eligibility is in question. The player in question will be required to provide his/her player information (name, address, phone #, signature) in writing to a Jacksonville Scene staff member prior to the start of the game. This qualifies as an official protest. Any protest made during a game or after a game will NOT be considered a formal protest. The game will then be played in its entirety as scheduled. Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy by the following business day - decisions will not be made on site. If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the forfeiture of the game in question. Games subsequent to the protested game may be rescheduled. The above procedure will also apply for any other "logged" protests. All rulings by JS staff are considered final.

SPORTSMANSHIP:

The idea of Jacksonville Scene is to have fun. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league. Abuse of staff will not be tolerated. JS reserves the right to remove a player from a game or a league if they are considered to be bringing down the quality of the league. JS will not tolerate fighting! Fighting will be an automatic ejection from any game and in most cases ejection from the league for the remainder of the season.

STAFF: To coordinate and run the league, our refs and/or staff will be available at all times to help the league run as smoothly as possible. If you have questions regarding schedules, policies, rule interpretations, directions to the bar, etc. please ask.

LEAGUE CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:

Leagues may be cancelled due to existing weather conditions, dangerous or unplayable field conditions, facility constraints, etc. JS staff makes every effort to play all scheduled games, thus we will not cancel games until absolutely necessary. Therefore, if you are calling concerning a decision on a cancellation, remember we will not have an answer until close to the start of the league.

If the league is cancelled, JS staff will change the voicemail immediately. JS will then call all of the captains to let them know. It is then the captain's responsibility to inform all teammates of the cancellation. If a league is cancelled on site, JS staff will attempt to contact those teams still scheduled to play the remainder of the league day/night. Depending on the time of cancellation, some teams will have to be notified on site. If we do cancel, follow next week's schedule (ex. If April 13 is cancelled teams should follow the April 20 schedule for their next game). The games that are cancelled will be made up towards the end of the season if time allows. In extreme circumstances, JS reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund. JS also reserves the right to schedule games on days other than your regularly scheduled league day/night if necessary.

PRIZES/ T-SHIRTS:

Each team will receive one shirt for every player that is signed on the waiver with a maximum of 15 shirts per team. Waivers will be considered finalized by the second week of the league and used for distribution of T-shirts. The shirts will be handed out at the sponsor bar during the season. Please look for the announcement at the league designating for which nights the shirts will be available for pick up. Those teams unable to pick up their T-shirts at the sponsor bar must call the office to make arrangements to pick them up at the office. Unfortunately, T-shirts cannot be brought out to the leagues. JS cannot guarantee the availability of T-shirts if your team does not pick them up on the designated night.

The top teams in each division will receive a prize of great emotional, spiritual, and most importantly, social value.

These policies are designed to make the league run as smoothly and safely as possible, and provide continuity for its participants. Each player in the league is responsible for this information: please advise your team of these rules and thanks for playing.