2008 Volleyball Major Rules Changes

 

The following rules-change proposals have been approved by the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Rules Committee and the Playing Rules Oversight Panel. The rule and page references are from the 2007 Women’s Volleyball Rules Book. 

 

Major Rules Changes

Playing Area. (Rule 1.1, page 14)—All playable areas must be visible to team members and officials. Rationale: Playing areas that are non-symmetrical or non-rectangular can result in areas that are not visible to all match participants, giving a possible unfair advantage to one team. 

 

Non-Player Interference. (Rule 4.2.4, page 26)—In addition to the current language pertaining to media, spectators, or officials, interference by speed wipers or ball crew personnel will result in a replay.  Rationale: At times, speed wipers and the ball crew are in the playable area as they perform their tasks.  If their presence prevents a legitimate effort to make a play on the ball, the team should not be penalized.

 

Coach Position During Play. (Rule 5.2.4.1, page 28)—During play, coaches will be required to stay at least 1.75 meters from the court, and completely out of the substitution zone.  An imaginary line perpendicular to the outside edge of the extended attack line indicates this distance. Rationale: During play, coaches that are too near the court create a potential safety hazard and may interfere with the officials’ duties. The previous rule language stated that the coaches must be “near” their bench during play, which was ambiguous and not standardized. NOTE: When the ball is out of play, coaches may still approach the court to the sideline (outside the substitution zone) to instruct their players. 

 

Coach Position During Play (Rule 5.2.4.1, page 28)—Failure to comply with the correct coach position during play will result in a team delay.  Rationale: The sanction for this action was not designated clearly in the rule previously.  A team delay is less punitive than an individual sanction in most cases. 

 

Communication with Officials. (Rule 5.2.4.3, page 28)—The result of multiple coaches addressing the referees at one time will be an individual sanction.  At the referee’s discretion, the sanction may be given to the head coach (who is expected to be responsible for their staff behavior), or the second coach to approach (for failing to comply with the rule).  Rationale: The sanction for this action was not designated in the rule previously.  Depending on the situation presented, the head coach may be the appropriate team member to sanction, because s/he has fails to control other coaches after being requested to do so.  However, the referee may determine that it is more appropriate to sanction the second coach.

 

Terminology. (Rule 8.2, page 45 and throughout)—The term “game” will be changed to “set”.  Rationale: Volleyball throughout the world refers to “sets” rather than “games”.  Coaching instruction and referee training will be more consistent and compatible with this change.

 

Points Required to Win a Set. (Rule 8.2.1, page 45)—The number of points required to win sets one through four is now 25.  Rationale: There seems to be a reduction in the intensity of many contests in the middle of a set that is played to 30 points. The intention of this rule change is to increase fan and player focus and fan excitement.  Additionally, the Division I Championship committee recommended this change.  Note:  the number of points required to win the fifth set remains at fifteen.

 

Substitutions (Rule 11.2.2, page 57)—The maximum number of substitutions for each team is 12 per set.  Rationale: When sets were played to 30 points, a maximum of 15 substitutions allowed for a ration of two points to each substitution.  With the change to 25-point sets, a reduction to 12 substitutions per set approximately maintains that ratio.

 

Inadvertent Whistle or Horn (Rule 16.1.2, page 80)—Only inadvertent whistles or horns that affect play will result in a replay.  Rationale: There are situations where an inadvertent whistle or horn has no effect on the result of the play.  For example, if the ball is clearly traveling into a non-playable area but has not yet contacted an object, an inadvertent horn would not affect play and the rally should not be replayed.

 

Protest Facts to be Recorded (Rule 17.2.4.6, page 83)—When a protest is lodged, the coaches will now be required to sign the protest documentation rather than the captains.  Rationale:  Several years ago, the rules were modified to allow coaches as well as captains to lodge a protest.  In the collegiate environment, it is logical to ask the coach to be the team representative to authorize the protest documentation.  If the coach is unavailable, the captain may sign the documentation.

 

Significant Editorial Changes

Requests for Interruptions. (Rule 5.2.4.4, page 29)— A clarification will note that an improper request results when coach requests a substitution, timeout or line-up check from an area away from the substitution zone is an improper request (request denied).

 

Uniform Numbers-Trim (Rule 7.1.2.4, page 40) —If the shadow trim surrounding a number (rather than the number itself) is providing the necessary contrast to the jersey color, the trim must completely surround the number.  Uniforms must comply by the 2011 season.

 

Logos and Insignia (Rule 7.1.3.2, page 41)—The requirement for identical team uniforms extends to commemorative or any special patch, logo, or insignia worn by team members. 

 

Media Timeouts (Rule 11.1.3.1, page 56)—Media timeouts may be allowed at the host institution’s discretion for broadcast matches with paid advertising (e.g. television, radio, or Internet audio or visual).

 

Second Referee Duties (Rule 18.3.11.4, page 91)—The second referee’s duties will now indicate the responsibility to work with the scorekeeper to ensure the legality of libero replacements.

 

 

Ball Handling Directive

 

Based on extensive discussion at the 2008 annual meeting, the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Rules Committee has developed a new directive regarding ball handling judgment, primarily on second team contacts. This is not a rule change, but a new approach to ball handling judgments that is intended to increase intensity and focus for the players and coaches, and improve fan understanding and involvement.  

 

Current Culture of Women’s Collegiate Volleyball

• Recent rule changes emphasize continuation of play and fewer stoppages (for example, rules for the libero, rally score, and net fault continuation)

• Collegiate women players demonstrate more athleticism than ever before, and that athleticism should be highlighted.

• Players have better skills due to increased quantity of play through the year, training started at an early age, and better coaching.

• There is a demand for consistency in ball handling judgment by all match participants.

• Volleyball is enjoying an increased fan base & significant growth.

 

The committee recognized that ball handling judgment was, at times, inconsistent both within a match and from contest to contest.  Not only were those inconsistencies frustrating for players and coaches, whistles for subtle infractions discernable only by the referees are confusing to fans.  With increased television exposure, it is important to attempt to develop ball handling guidelines that are understandable by typical sports fans, not just the volleyball community.  The basic tenet is that the excitement of the sport of volleyball can be increased with fewer whistles for minor ball handling infractions and increased leniency on particularly athletic plays that may not result in a perfectly executed set by traditional standards, but provides a continuation of play with no disadvantage to the opponent.  

 

Directives

The points below have been emphasized in ball handling judgment discussions for several years, and are still vitally important when considering faults:

• Referees should only call faults that are actually seen.

• Only the contact point should be considered in judging legality.

• Outside influences such as player technique, spin, crowd reaction, or coaches’ expectations should not be regarded.

The following points are new emphases by the rules committee, and should decrease the number of whistles that stop play:

• Only the most obvious violations should be called. 

• Referees should be less severe when judging an athletic play by a player in less than ideal position.  In other words, be lenient when a player makes their best effort that results in unorthodox technique.  However, don’t confuse clumsiness or lack of skill with athleticism.  A player who has the opportunity to set the ball from good position will be expected to execute without a double contact.  

• Referees should avoid being overly mechanical or technical in their judgments, and work within the current culture of the sport and the spirit of the competition.

 

 

Principles

There are two basic tenets associated with this directive that the committee feels will improve the overall image of our game by the public without damaging the integrity of the sport:

• Less severe ball handling judgment will result in more consistency within a match and from event to event. 

• Coaches will continue to teach good technique and play the best players, because the best result is derived from well-executed skills. 

 

 

Other Points of Emphasis

 

Fan Behavior

Referee training will include a review of the fan behavior and crowd control rules (Rule 18.2.5), and referees will be reminded to establish a cooperative relationship with event management in that effort.  Inappropriate behaviors as discussed by the rules committee will be reviewed during referee training to prevent both over-sensitivity and laxness.  Crowd control is primarily an event management responsibility.  Referees will report inappropriate fan behavior to event management with the expectation that the problem will be resolved, and only become more involved if event management does not respond appropriately.   

 

Substitutes in Warm-up Area

The rules regarding the legal location of substitutes are clear.  Substitutes in the warm-up area must be at least 2 meters from the extended sideline, which reduces the chances of them interfering with play, or with the opponent’s or referees’ view of the actual players on the court (including the server).  Referees will be instructed to identify a visible mark that can be used to provide the imaginary limit to the warm-up area in the pre-game period, and communicate that to the teams.  Continued failure to comply will result in team delay sanctions.

 

Pursuit Under the Net

In women’s collegiate play, it is not legal to take a path under the net or net cable when pursuing a ball to the opponent’s free zone.  However, a fault is not committed unless the ball is contacted.  Team representatives will be reminded of this rule in the pre-match meeting. 

 

Facilities and Event Management

The Event Management section of the rule book has been clarified to define the best possible practices regarding facility setup and playable area. 

 

Publication Schedule

 

The NCAA has recently made a change to provide for a two-year rules cycle for all NCAA sports.  Rule changes will only be enacted and rule books published every other year.  For volleyball, the rules committee will request an implementation date of 2010 for the first two-year rule book, primarily based on the cycle of rule changes implemented by the Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB).  A new FIVB rule book will be published in 2009, based on rule changes that are considered following the 2008 Olympic Games. 

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