HOA VOLLEYBALL - 2008 POWERLEAGUE
Rules, Format, and Policies
The HOA Power League has been developed to provide a challenging means of encouraging in-
region competition among elite teams that would ordinarily not see one another on the court very
often, if at all. Top-level teams by necessity must seek out the best competitive opportunities, in
order to develop and maintain maximum levels of performance. This quite often, necessitates
travel to outlying regions where many high quality events have been developed. This can be
costly as well as time-consuming and though we are not going to eliminate or discourage travel
needs, the Power League will provide much of the same competitive opportunities for many of the
teams in the HOA region without the need for such time-consuming travel. Noteworthy to those
aspiring to compete in the coming seasons’ Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships (JOVC’s),
Power League top finishers in each age division will be offered the region’s bid to the National
Club Division. If the HOA region receives a fourth bid in an age division, this bid will be awarded
through the Powerleague.
The Power League will be made available to all Gold-level girls teams in the 13 thru 18 and under
divisions. There will be a maximum of 11 teams competing in each division, selected through a
one-day qualifying tournament. There is a limit of 20 to play in the qualifier.
The general play format for the Power League will involve three play dates, one for the qualifying
tournament (QT) and two actual league play dates. The Qualifying Tournament will be an all day
event. Subsequent Power League rounds will also involve two full days of competition. Each Power
League will consist of single round robin competition.
Again this year, HOA will run a series of Gold level tournaments on the same dates as the Power
league’s. Spots will be held open for teams that do not qualify for the Power league’s (up to 3 days
after the qualifier). We hope, that way, to make it easier for teams to find tournaments on those
playing dates if they do not qualify.
Seeding Procedure
The Qualifying Tournament will be seeded based on last season's results/rankings, where
possible. Keep in mind that for an 18 & under team registering for the Power League Qualifier
Tournament, the HOA seeding committee will look at the ‘same’ team’s prior season or 17& Under
results/rankings. It is up to the coach/club director to provide all pertinent information for use in
seeding the qualifier tournament!
The top eleven finishers in each age division of the qualifying tournament will be those invited to
participate in the actual Power League. The order of finish in the QT will determine where each
team is seeded in the power league.
Playing Formats
The qualifying tournament will be standard pool play followed by single-elimination bracket play,
designed to narrow down the field to 11 teams.
In the Power League: each team will play 5 matches on each playing date, with the exception of
the 11th seeded team (6 & 4 matches). All matches will be best two out of three sets. All sets,
except the third, will be to 25 points. The third, if needed, will be to 15 points.
Officiating
One certified adult referee will be provided for all matches. When teams are not playing, they may
be assigned to help referee matches.
Winners
The winner of the Power League will be the team that wins the most matches. In case of a two-way
tie, the result of the match between the tied teams will be used to determine the winner.
The winner of each age division of the Power League will be offered a National Club Division bid to
the Girls Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships (JOVC’s).
A team which has been formally offered a bid for JOVC’s must either accept or decline such offer
on or before 12:00 Noon of the first Monday following the conclusion of the last round of the
Power League. Notice to accept or decline must be made in writing, signed by the subject team’s
coach or club director, and delivered to the HOA office by the above-prescribed deadline. If such
notice is not received in the prescribed form and by the above-referenced deadline, the bid will be
offered to the next finisher. If such occurs, the next finisher will have 24 hours to either decline or
accept the bid.
A team that accepts a JOVC bid thru the Power League is required to prepare and submit all
appropriate forms and fees that may be required by the JOVC registration process. It is highly
recommended that each team make itself aware in a timely manner, of all requirements. Any team
allowing a bid to ‘drop’ and be lost for use by an HOA team, will be subject to sanctions, including
but not limited to, being denied entry into the following season’s HOA Power League and/or the
HOA Regional Championships. It is imperative that a team that has accepted a bid for JOVC’s,
notifies the HOA office immediately if unable to attend. This increases the likelihood that another
HOA team can attend.
Important Note!!…. A large number of HOA teams attend National Qualifiers. It is possible that
a Power League bid winner could qualify at such an event. In such a case the JOVC bid previously
won in the Power League by that team will ‘trickle’ down to the next unqualified (for JOVC’s)
finisher. Bids will, under no circumstances, be offered to a team finishing less than 4th Place in the
Power League. In the event that a Power League JOVC bid is not accepted by any of the top-four
teams in an age division, the bid will be re-allocated to the appropriate age division of the HOA
Regional Championships. HOA Region encourages the top four finishers in all Power League
divisions to notify the Region Office of their interest in attending the JOVC’s. This will expedite the
bid process if an opening should occur.
In the event that HOA does not receive two ‘automatic’ bids for JOVC’s, the Power League winners
will receive priority for the first re-allocated bid received by HOA. Any additional re-allocated bids
will be awarded via the HOA Regional Championships.
Ties
The tie-breaking procedure for the Qualifying Tournament shall be the official USAV “Method
One”, as found in the 2007-2008 “Official USA Volleyball Domestic Competition Regulations”.
Tie breaking for 2008 for the actual Power League: When after the completion of the 2 Power
League rounds teams are tied in match record:
2 way tie: Head to head match result will determine tie-break (no play-off set)
3 or 4 way tie affecting top 4 ranking: First look at head to head match result. If still tied, then 2 or
3 play off sets will be necessary. These tie breakers will be played at the end of the second
playing date. Teams that are not available for these matches will be considered forfeits.
Procedure for tie-breaking matches
* 3-Way tie: The 3 tied teams will be seeded for the tie-breaking matches by head to head set
differential (sets won minus sets lost) and if still tied by head to head point differential (points won
minus points). The first tie breaking set will be played between the two teams with the lowest seed,
officiated by the team with the highest seed. The winner of this match will be playing against the
highest seed, officiated by the losing team of the first tie-breaking match. All tie-breaking matches
will be one set to 15 points.
* 4-Way tie: The 4 tied teams will be seeded for the tie-breaking matches by head to head set
differential (sets won minus sets lost) and if still tied by head to head point differential (points won
minus points). The first tie breaking set will be played between the number 1 and the number 4
seed, officiated by the team with the 3rd seed. Then the 2nd and 3rd seed will play each other,
officiated by the loser of the 1 versus 4 match. The two winners will play each other after that,
officiated by the loser of the 2 versus 3 match. All tie-breaking matches will be one set to 15
points. If there are enough officials and courts available, the first two sets can be played
simultaneously.
No tie-breaking matches will be played for tie's that do not affect the top 4 in the final Power
League standing. National Bids will not trickle down lower than to fourth place teams.
Rosters
The Powerleague is one event, played over 2 playing dates. Teams will sign off their roster before
play starts on the first playing date. No player can be added to the roster after that moment. No
player can play on either playing date who is not on that original roster (no player can be added
for the 2nd playing date if they are not on the roster). Players can be added to the roster after the
powerleague qualifier.
Extraneous
If a team misses a round or day of play, that team will be listed as losing all sets and matches in
the Powerleague (both playing dates). Wins will be recorded to the appropriate teams’ records
Under extenuating circumstances, the HOA Regional Commissioner or designated agent (ie…Site
Director) may modify set or match formats. However, every reasonable effort will be made to follow
the event’s intended play format.