Club Directors and Coaches:
As in all the tournaments that we host, there will be no coaches’ meeting at Icebreaker.
This packet contains all the information that would have been disseminated in such a
meeting, so we ask that you review it closely. That said, we do require that coaches
check in with us at the tournament desk to pick up their rosters.
The a.m. wave begins at 8:00 a.m. (with doors to the venues opening at 7:00), and p.m.
waves commence at 3:00 p.m. (except for the U12’s, which will commence at 2:00
p.m.). Schedules were posted on AES on Tuesday, 1/31, but it is possible that
something will change between the time that you read this and tournament time, so
double-check once more later in the week and before you go to bed on Friday to
ensure that nothing has changed. We will also update AES with real-time results
throughout the weekend so that grandma and grandpa can follow their favorite team’s
progress from afar.
A NOTE ABOUT WAVES, POOLS AND INITIAL PAIRINGS:
Seeding is still a crap-shoot this early in the season. We have done the best job we
know how to seed teams fairly based on results to date. We tweaked the resultant
pairings to ensure that teams from the same club are in separate pools to the extent
possible, and also to minimize the instances in which teams from the sister clubs (e.g.
A5/GA5; Tsunami South/Tsunami DeKalb) are pooled together.
So whether your team is listed first, second, third or fourth in a pool, we hope you will
recognize that our goal is simply to provide all attendees with good competition against
a wide variety of teams in this early-season tournament. Computer rankings will take
over soon enough.
Format for Icebreaker’s Divisions
Locations:
Suwanee Sports Academy (“SSA”)
Southern Volleyball Center (“SVC”)
Jackson County High School (“JCHS”)
Dacula High School
Shiloh High School
Peachtree City Volleyball Center (“PCVC”)
Courts 1 - 7
Courts 3 & 5
Courts 1 – 4
Courts 1 – 3
Courts 1 -- 3
Courts 2 & 4
18 Power – SSA –A.M. wave – Courts 5 – 7
The 18 Power division will have twelve teams. They will be organized into three pools of
four teams each on day one. The top two finishers in each pool will advance to the Gold
Bracket, while third and fourth-place finishers will play in the Silver Bracket. First-round
losers in bracket play will play a consolation match.
18 Club – SSA – A.M. wave – courts 1 -- 4
The 18 Club division will have fifteen teams. They will be organized into three pools of
four teams and one pool of three teams on day one. Those members of the three-team
pool will play three-set matches to 25 points irrespective of the results of the first two
sets. The top two teams in each division will advance to the Championship Bracket,
while the bottom seven teams will play in the Silver Bracket. First-round losers in
bracket play will play a consolation match.
17 Power – SSA – P.M. wave – courts 4 & 5
The 17 Power division will have seven teams. They will be organized into one pool of
four teams and one pool of three teams, with members of the three-team pool playing
three sets to 25 points irrespective of the results of the first two sets. The results will be
used to seed the Championship Bracket, to which all teams advance. First-round losers
in bracket play will play a consolation match.
17 Club – SSA – P.M. wave – courts 6 & 7
The 17 Club division will have eight teams. They will be organized into two pools of four
teams each on day one. The results of pool play will be used for the purpose of seeding
the Championship Bracket, to which all teams advance. First-round losers in bracket
play will play a consolation match.
16 Power – SVC – A.M. & P.M. waves – courts 3 & 5
The 16 Power division will have 16 teams. They will be organized into four pools of four
teams The top two finishers in each pool will advance to the Championship Bracket on
day two, while 3rd and 4th place finishers will play in the silver bracket. First-round losers
in both brackets will play a consolation match.
16 Club – JCHS – A.M. wave – courts 1 – 4
The 16 Club division will have 13 teams. They will be organized on day one into one pool
of four teams and three pools of three teams. Teams winning their three-team pools will
play one another in another three-team pool for seeding purposes, while teams
finishing 2nd or 3rd in their pools will play cross-over matches to determine who
advances to the Championship Bracket. First-round losers in both brackets will play a
consolation match.
15 Power – Dacula H.S. – A.M. wave – courts 1 - 3
The 15 Power division will have twelve teams. They will be organized into three pools of
four teams each. The top two finishers in each pool will advance to the Gold Bracket,
while third and fourth-place finishers will play in the Silver Bracket. First-round losers in
bracket play will play a consolation match.
15 Club – SSA – P.M. wave – courts 1 - 3
The 15 Club division will have twelve teams. They will be organized into three pools of
four teams each on day one. The top two finishers in each pool will advance to the Gold
Bracket, while third and fourth-place finishers will play in the Silver Bracket. First-round
losers in bracket play will play a consolation match.
.
14 Power/13 Power – Dacula – P.M. Wave – courts 1 - 3
The 14 Power division will have three teams and 13 Power will have five. They will be
combined in pool play to compete in two, four-team pools. On Sunday 14P and 13P will
compete in separate brackets and a Champion will be crowned in each division. Firstround losers in bracket play will play a consolation match.
14 Club – JCHS – P.M. Wave – Courts 1 - 4
The 14 Club division will have 16 teams. They will be organized on day one into four
pools of four teams each. The top two finishers in each pool will advance to the
Championship Bracket on day two, while 3rd and 4th place finishers will play in the silver
bracket. First-round losers in both brackets will play a consolation match.
13 Club – Shiloh – P.M. Wave – Courts 1 - 3
The 13 Club division will have ten teams. They will be organized into one pool of four
teams and two pools of three teams each. Members of the three-team pools will play
cross-over matches. The results of pool play will be used to seed the Championship
Division, to which all teams advance. First-round losers in bracket play will play a
consolation match.
12 Club/Power – PCVC – A.M. and P.M. Waves – courts 2 & 4
There are four teams entered in the 12 Power division, and nine in 12 Club. They will be
pooled together for Day 1, organized into one pool of four teams and three pools of
three, with members of the three-team pools playing a cross-over match upon the
conclusion of pool play. Day one results will be used to seed the day two brackets,
where the combined divisions will be broken apart. All teams will advance to their
respective Championship Bracket. First-round losers in bracket play will play a
consolation match.
Please note the atypical start times for the U12 divisions. Saturday’s p.m. wave is
scheduled to start at 2 p.m. rather than 3, and the start time for Sunday’s competition is
9 a.m. rather than the more typical 8:00. We made these adjustments in recognition of
the distance many families have to drive to PCVC, coupled with the age (and typical bedtime) of the participants in this division.
11 Club – Shiloh – A.M. Wave – Courts 1 – 3
The 11 Club division will have nine teams. They will be organized into three pools of
three teams each. They will be re-pooled after the first round, where first-place
finishers will be pooled together, 2nd-place finishers pooled together and so forth. The
results of pool play will be used to seed the Championship Division, to which all teams
advance. First-round losers in bracket play will play a consolation match.
MATCH FORMAT
Matches will be the standard best two out of three sets, the first two sets being played
to 25 points; a tiebreaker, if required, will be played to 15. All sets must be won by two
points with no limitation. In a few instances teams in three-team pools will play three
sets to 25 irrespective of the results of the first two sets. Accordingly, it is imperative
that we move quickly from match to match if we are to remain on schedule. Referees
have been instructed to start the 10-minute warm-up clock immediately upon
completion of the previous match, so please have your teams ready to go.
It is our goal for each team competing at Icebreaker to play in a minimum of five
matches. Accordingly, first-round losers in bracket play can expect to play a consolation
match on Sunday unless otherwise noted.
TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURES
Are more fully described in the SRVA handbook, an excerpt of which is included below.
Tie-breaking matches will be played only to the extent that the results affect
advancement to gold bracket play. A one-game match to 25 will be played if a
tiebreaking match is necessary to differentiate advancement to gold vs. silver brackets
in either of those age brackets. Note: if a team involved in a tie-breaking match has left
the building, they will automatically forfeit the tie-breaker.
Following is the SRVA tie-breaking protocol:
Teams qualifying for the playoffs but tied for position only shall not compete in
a playoff set to determine position. Rather, each team’s position shall be
determined by the priority system described below. However, no teams shall
be eliminated from the playoffs based solely upon points or a point system,
except for the gold/silver format tournaments. If there are more teams tied
for the playoffs than there are positions, the tied teams will compete in a
minimum number of playoff sets so that no team will be eliminated from the
playoff based on points.
A. Any one-set playoff necessary to determine which team will make the
playoffs will be conducted in accordance with the current year USAV
Rulebook. If no specific instructions are included in the rulebook, then a oneset playoff will be to 25 points, switch sides at 13, win by 2 with no cap.
B. If two (2) or more teams are tied for the same number of playoff positions,
each team’s position shall be determined by the following methods (this
same method will be used when re-seeding is required for four team pools).
When using these methods to determine position of teams the following
order will be followed without repetition.
1. If two teams are tied for two spots, the higher seed is determined by the
results of the match between the two teams, first on won-lost records,
then by point percentage.
2. If three or more teams are involved or if two teams are still tied after
number 1 above, superior team(s) is determined by best record using
total sets played, then a comparison of the total point percentage for all
of round-robin pool sets played will be used.
3. If still tied, a coin toss will determine playoff positions.
C. If two or more teams are tied for one playoff position, the minimum number
of 25 point rally-point sets will be played:
1. Two teams tied for one position: one 25 point rally-point set.
2. Three teams tied for one position: Superior team determined by best
record using total sets played, then by total point percentage using total
sets played will receive a BYE and plays the winner of a 25 point rallypoint set between the two remaining teams.
3. Four teams tied for one position: Seeding of teams determined by best
record using total sets played, then by total point percentage using total
sets played. Team 1 plays Team 4 in one 25 point rally-point set; Team 2
plays Team 3 in one 25 point rally-point set and winners play one 25
point rally-point set to determine the team in the playoff.
D. If three teams are tied for two positions: Team with best record using total
sets played, and if still tied, then by best total point percentage using total
sets played is given the first position and the two remaining teams play one
25 point rally-point set to determine the second position.
E. If four teams are tied for two positions: Ranking of teams is determined by
the criteria in VII.B.2 and 3. The highest ranked team is given the first
position and the remaining teams play 25 point rally-point sets to determine
the second position. Team 3 plays Team 4 and Team 2 plays the winner for
second position, using single 25 point rally-point sets.
A. If five teams are tied for two positions: Ranking of teams is determined by
the criteria in VII.B.2 and 3. The highest ranked team is given the first
position and the remaining teams play 25 point rally-point sets to determine
the second position. Team 2 plays Team 5 and Team 3 plays Team 4, using
single 25 point rally-point sets. The winners of these playoff matches play
each other for the second playoff position.
TEAM REFEREE OBLIGATIONS
Referee schedules are included in the pool assignments. Except for a few instances,
teams losing in bracket play on Sunday will ref the next match on that court. Several
teams will be required to ref the 8:00 A.M. Sunday match before they play, so again,
please check the website as well as the pools and brackets to see if your team is
affected. Teams with 8 a.m. ref assignments must be in place on the court no later than
7:45.
Coaches, please remind your players that MP3 players and Cell Phones are not to be
used while working the score table and that snacks and drink bottles should not be on
the table. For courts without an electronic scoreboard, scorekeepers should lift the
score board and show the score frequently, minimally at serve changes and time outs.
REAL-TIME, ON-LINE UPDATES:
We’re going paperless again this year. Results will be continuously posted in real time
on advancedeventsystems.com. We will have i-pads and/or LED screens available at all
locations for those needing to check schedule obligations, results, ref assignments, etc.
Lastly, participants may wish to spare themselves the walk to the central desk at this
and every AES-scheduled tournament thereafter by downloading the AES app. Simply
go to the app store, search for aes xpress, and follow the prompts.
PARKING is free at all venues:
SSA: Earlybirds will be able to park in the lot adjoining the courts, but others will
have to drop off their kids and coolers at the entrance and find other parking
opportunities nearby. There exists a well-marked overflow lot right off McGinnis
Ferry Road which is fine. The parking lot across the street from SSA that serves
the adjacent church is ok on Saturday but NOT ok on Sunday and you will be
towed if you park there. Parking is not allowed on McGinnis Ferry Road either.
It is permissible to park on Burnett Road, the non-curbed road that serves SSA,
provided that the wheels of your vehicle are not touching the paved surface, but
are all the way on the shoulder. Again, cars that intrude upon Burnett Road will
be towed. Do not park in the parking lots of adjacent businesses. It is an
aggravation to them and they will likely tow you if they are working on the
weekend. We will post “no parking” signs to alert you to problem areas, but
sometimes those signs walk off, so we’re emphasizing it in this email. Beyond
the above, there are side roads off Burnett that are fine. Just bring your walking
shoes!
SVC: There should be sufficient parking on site to accommodate tournament
demand. If the front parking lot is full, pull around to the back of the building—
the loading dock side—and enter through SVC’s glass entrance doors. If on-site
parking fills up, the Alpharetta Public Works lot to the North of the building
across Hembree Rd. is available, as is the Endochoice lot immediately to our
south. Please do NOT park in the AT&T lot across the street. A sketch indicating
the relative locations of these lots is included on the tournament website.
JCHS, Dacula and Shiloh: Parking is obvious and virtually unlimited.
PCVC: Parking in the lot serving the building is limited, but it is permissible to
park on the public streets near and around the building. Please do not park in
the lots of neighboring businesses.
FOOD TABLES
Are allowed at all venues except for SSA. You’ll need to bring your own tables to JCHS;
otherwise we will furnish them for you. Space is limited, though, and we ask that you
limit your use to one table (or half-table in the case of SVC) per team.
GATE
$5 per adult per day. Children under 10 are free.
FOLDING CHAIRS
Are prohibited at SSA as they damage the floor over time. You may bring them to SVC,
PCVC and JCHS if you desire. However, there is abundant bleacher space and sufficient
chairs to facilitate spectators on every court.
TRAINERS
A certified trainer will be at both SSA and SVC for the duration of the tournament.
Please bring your own tape if you want them to wrap your ankles.
TEAM REFEREE OBLIGATIONS
Referee schedules are included in the pool assignments posted on the website. During
bracket play and after pool play, losing teams will ref the next match on that court.
Several teams will be required to ref the 8:00 A.M. Sunday match before they play, so
again, please check the website as well as the pools and brackets that will be posted at
the tournament. Teams with 8 a.m. ref assignments must be in place on the court no
later than 7:45.
Coaches, please remind your players that MP3 players and Cell Phones are not to be
used while working the score table and that snacks and drink bottles should not be on
the table. They should lift the score board and show the score frequently, minimally at
serve changes and time outs.
Please feel free to call or email either of the undersigned with questions.
Emergency/last-minute contacts and phone numbers are included below. We look
forward to seeing everyone on February 4.
Kurt Matthews Michael Fletcher Michelle Prater Ron Fowler
Court Mgr., SVC Trnmt Dir., SSA Ct. Mgr., PCVC Ct. Mgr., JCHS
404-895-1155
404-936-6723
770-883-7807 229-400-5452
Jake Godwin
Ct Mgr., Shiloh
256-614-9819
Tracey Brown
Ct. Mgr., Dacula
404-234-1810