Winter Sand Series
Tournament
Rules & Details
Grand Canyon University | 3300 W Camelback Rd. | Phoenix, AZ | 85017
For more information, contact Amanda Omar, 888-205-4787 or email
[email protected]
The AZ AAU Winter Sand Series is a reasonably priced doubles tournament for
high school volleyball players familiar with the standard beach tournament
format and its rules. We employ experienced staff to ensure these tourneys are
well organized and we provide great prizes for the first and second place winners.
This tournament is for players of all skill levels who are serious about
volleyball. Players must know the standard beach volleyball rules and it's best if
they've previously played in competitive events.
Age Divisions: 14U | 16U | 18U
Our age divisions follow the AAU classifications listed below. Please note athletes
may always play up a division.
12U: 12 & Under - Born on or after Sept 1, 2001
14U: 14 & Under - Born on or after Sept 1, 1999
16U: 16 & Under - Born on or after Sept. 1, 1997
18U: 18 & Under - Born on or after Sept. 1, 1995*
(*18U exceptions explained at www.aauvolleyball.org)
Qualifications: Beach 2’s
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Players must be AAU members, just $14.
They must know the standard beach volleyball rules.
They must supply their own volleyballs.
They must obtain a parent or guardian's approval - that's accomplished by
having that person sign our waiver/entry ticket.
(If you registered with AAU with your indoor team then you do not need to
register again. The membership is good for all sports for the entire year).
Team Fee: $50
Registration:
Registration is available online at www.azaauvolleyball.org. There are only 12
entry spots available per age division and it is 1st come, 1st served, till filled.
When you register you must register for both you and your teammate. You are
allowed to change partners after registration. However, you must notify the
tournament desk of your new partner at registration.
Registration is open now and will remain open until all the divisions are full.
Walk-ins are welcome the day of event if spots are still available.
Tournament Check-in:
Registration for 18U begins at 7:00 am. Registration for 16U begins at 10:00 am
and registration for 14U begins at 2:00pm. Please check in at least one hour
before your schedule start time for any last minute scheduling or court changes.
It is your responsibility to check in and report to your court on time.
Tournament Duration:
The tournament starts at 8am. Registration opens at 7:00 am- and will remain
open until all teams have checked in. The starting wave times per age division are
listed below. We will do our best to stay as close to schedule as possible.
However, there are no guarantees.
18U’s schedule 8:00am- 2:00pm
16U’s schedule 11:00am- 6:00pm
14U’s schedule 3:00pm- 9:00pm
The top two teams from each pool will
advance to the playoffs and then play a
single elimination bracket.
Format:
The format is 3, four team pools per
division. Each match is 1 game to 25 by
rally score (27 point cap). The top 2 teams
from each pool advance to a singleelimination playoff round. This format
may be modified based on the final number of participating teams.
Teams will be seeded by the order they check-in for the tournament.
The BEACH BALL Rules of Play
The Arizona-Area Standard
(Changes to the USAV rules are based on our belief they enhance play. We constantly
evaluate our rules. Feel free to make suggestions.)
Officiating:
Teams will self-officiate their games. Players are on the honor system. That
means players call their own faults, not the opposing team.
What happens if a team fails to call an egregious fault? In this situation, the
opposing team may courteously ask, “Any fault?” Further, the unbiased team
keeping score will have the right to demand a replay, but could never call a fault.
If bias among the score-keeping team is alleged, the tourney director will have
the right to replace the team keeping score.
Special Safety Rules:
1. In order to avoid injury, players may never touch the net when the ball is in
play (except hair - not head).
2. In order to avoid injury, players may not enter another court, if occupied, to
chase down a ball that's in play.
3. In order to avoid injury, when a ball enters the court and poses a safety threat
(good faith belief), any participant in the match (players and scorekeepers) can
(and should) call "ball on," thus ending the rally. The result is a replay.
Specific Rules of Play:
As noted, USAV Beach Rules of Play govern, with the following changes,
clarifications and modifications:
1. The winner of a game of chance chooses side or serve.
2. Switch sides at each 7 point interval.
3. Teams get two 60-second timeouts per game.
4. A block counts as a hit.
5. Open hand dinks/tips are faults. Fists, knuckles and rolls are legal.
6. Players get one toss per serve.
Key Rules Highlighted:
1. The Successive Contact Rule: On the team’s first contact, it’s legal for the ball to
strike two or more parts of a defender's body during a single action to play the
ball as long as it’s a ricochet/bump (fingers/open hand action is not involved.)
USAV R.13.4.3b
2. The Sand Dig. A hard driven ball (defined in our tourney as any hit using the
spiking motion, whether the ball is hit hard or soft) may be momentarily held
and/or doubled with finger action. USAV R.13.4.2a
The BEACH BALL Hand Set Rules:
1. We encourage hand sets. Our guidelines; sets must be made from in front of
the player's head and above the chin.
2. To avoid disputes, players on defense may not set the serve.
3. If setting the ball over the net, the player must set the ball in the direction
s/he's facing, or directly behind, w/shoulders square to the body (perpendicular
to the line of one's shoulders) and w/out twisting the body. USAV R.17.2.5.
4. Players may set a free ball (an off-speed attack hit), but it must be clean. USAV
R.13.4.2 - 3
5. An inadvertent set, a hand set to your partner that drifts over the net, is a fault.
The BEACH BALL "No Hands" Rule:
Either team may impose the "No Hands" Rule whereby hand sets in that game for
both teams are banned. That means all hand sets are faults. This rule my be
implemented at any time during the game. Sand digs are still allowed.
Spectator Code of Conduct:
Parents, coaches & spectators may cheer, but not interfere. Coaching may take
place during timeouts and between games. Derogatory comments directed
towards anyone are of course banned. Violations can result in a lose of points or
even the match. Sometimes the line between cheering and coaching become
blurred. Here are some guidelines to help distinguish between the two.
Cheering: Positive, abstract comments to motivate the players:
“Stay focused.”
“Flush away that mistake.”
“Be aggressive.”
Coaching: Specific instructions:
“Guard the line.”
“Put up a block.”
PLAYOFFS
Teams Emerging from Pool Play
4 Team Pools: The top 2 teams advance to the Playoff Round and play a singleelimination bracket. All Championship Matches will be 2 games to 21 (23 point
cap), with third game to 15 (no cap) if necessary.
Tiebreakers
Our objective is for the strongest teams to advance out of pool play. We recognize
there are various ways to measure this "strength." We're publishing our system
so that everyone is aware of the rules that we employ. Please note, we do not play
tiebreaker games.
1st, we look to head-to-head competition among the tied teams. The team with
the best record advances.
2nd, if tied, we look to the point differential among the tied teams; the team(s)
with the highest average point differential advances.
3rd, if still tied, we look to the point differential of the tied teams against all the
teams in the pool; again, the team(s) with the highest average point differential
advances.
4th, if still tied, we flip a coin.
Average Point Differential Defined
The point differential (PD) is the point spread in the game. For example: If Team
A beats Team B by a score of 25 - 17, Team A's PD for that game is plus 8. If Team
A loses to Team C 23 - 25, the PD is minus 2. The average point differential for
Team A based on these two games is 3, which is determined by taking the total
point differential, 6 (+8 & -2), and dividing it by the number of games, 2.
Seeding for the Playoff Round
Our objective is for the strongest teams to have the easiest route to the finals. But
we do have a bias against seeding teams from the same pool into the same
bracket for the 1st round of the playoffs.
If we have 2, 4 or 8 pools, we'll seed as follows:
*2 Pools: 1st Ct A v. 2nd Ct B; 1st Ct B v. 2nd Ct A.
*4 Pools: 1st Ct A v. 2nd Ct D; 1st Ct B v. 2nd Ct C; 1st Ct C v. 2nd Ct B; 1st Ct D
v. 2nd Ct A. (Ct A is the lowest numbered court/division, B is the 2nd lowest, C
the 3rd lowest & D is the highest.
*8 Pools: It's the same formula as w/4 pools, but w/H as the highest letter.
If we have 3, 5, 6 or 7 pools, in the first round, a few 1st place teams will receive
byes. We rank teams from top to bottom by first looking at the number of losses,
wins don't matter (ex: an undefeated team will be ranked higher than a team w/1
loss, regardless of whether the team played in a 4 or 5 team pool). In breaking
ties, the team w/the best average point differential will be ranked higher. The 1st
round will still be 1st v. 2nd, if possible, with a bias against teams from the same
pool initially playing against each other.
Team Prizes
For all Divisions, we'll be offering small prizes to the top 2 winning teams.
Rules
We follow standard USA Outdoor Beach Volleyball Rules. For a copy of these
rules, go to www.aaubeach.org.
Refunds
Tourney fees are non-refundable. However,
if we have a rainout or encounter a
significant rain delay*, teams will receive a
full or partial* credit for a future
tourney. The credit will be good for 5 years.
If the weather is iffy the morning of the
tourney, we'll send team captains an email alert. Before coming to the beach, be
sure to check your email for our weather updates to see if the tourney is delayed
or canceled. We'll also post delays and cancellation notices on the
aaauvolleyball.com website.
*If players have to endure a storm that creates a long delay, we give partial
credits, depending on the duration of the storm. Players will receive a 20% credit
for each hour, starting once it's apparent the skies won't quickly clear up.
For more information, please contact Amanda Omar, Tournament Director at
888-205-4787, or check www.azaauvolleyball.org.