FROM: Carolina Region/USAV

RE: 2002 Junior Olympic Championships

The 2002 Junior Olympic Championships will be in Sandy, Utah (outside Salt Lake City) from June 26-July 7 (different age groups and divisions will begin and end play at different times during this period. Check USA Volleyball's web site for specific dates for your division). The Carolina Region will hold its competition for our National Bids (one in each age group in the CLUB DIVISION) in conjunction with the 2002 Regional Championships on April 20, 2002. Only those teams submitting the Entry Form and Entry Fee (and thus confirming they would accept the bid if they earn it) can compete for a National Bid (but all teams that have met the eligibility requirements for the Regional Championships can still play in the Regional Championships without competing for a Bid if they wish). We hope this letter will answer some of your questions on the process.

The Following must be met in order to compete for the National Bid:

• Open teams must have played in THREE Carolina Region tournaments to be eligible to enter the Regional Championships (Jr Hi Neighbor and ONE National Qualifier can count as tournaments this season). The Tournament Entry Deadline for the Regional Championships is March 30, 2002 ($100 and Tournament Entry Form due by this deadline to enter Regionals).
• Teams also going for the National Bid must submit the following to be received by the Region by April 12 (NO EXCEPTIONS!):
  • (1) fill out enclosed 2002 Junior Olympic Girls Volleyball Entry Form completely and mail to the Carolina Region (USAV asks you mail a copy to them also, but the original and entry fee check goes to the Region Office). We will send all the forms in together to USA Volleyball by the April 24 National deadline after we verify the information on the forms. Entry Form Hint - all our Open teams' Team IDs are listed at our web site (linked from Juniors Section). They are also on your Trn entry forms.
  • (2) Send Entry check payable to "USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships" for $900 (if entering more than one team in your club, write a separate check for each team). Include your team name and division on the memo line.
  • (3) This season, USAV has developed another National Event for teams that did not earn their Region's bid to the Junior Olympics. This is the Junior Olympic Girls Invitational and will be held in Louisville, KY June 27-30, 2002. So, in order to be considered for our bid to the Invitational, teams must mark off the "JO Invitational" box on the Entry Form. The entry fee for the Invitational is $800 so $100 will be refunded to the team that earns our bid to that tournament. PLEASE NOTE: The Winner of our National Bid competition will win our BID to the JO Championships in Sandy, Utah. They MUST ACCEPT that bid and attend those Championships. The runner-up (or next highest finisher that indicated would go to Invitational will earn the bid to the JO Invitational in Louisville, KY. They MUST ACCEPT that bid and attend the Invitational. Again, the winners of the bids do not get to choose which tournament to attend. So, only return an entry form and entry check if you will accept the bid to the JO Championships in Sandy, UT should you earn it (Do not assume that there is no way you will win the bid and submit it anyway. You may be the only one that submits the check and thus the bid is yours before the tournament begins.) And, only check the JO Invitational box if you will attend that Tournament if you do not earn the bid to the JO Championships. Reminder, you cannot choose to only enter the JO Invitational tournament - you must be competing for the JO Championships bid to be eligible for the Invitational. By sending in the Entry Forms and Check, you are committing your team to accepting the bid(s) you are competing for. You must accept the bid should you earn it, so please do submit an entry if you have not discussed all the implications of your commitment. Teams that withdraw from the Championships will lose their entry fee and the Region may lose our bid and not be able to replace you. Should a team/club withdraw after committing to attend, the Region may place future sanctions on the club when entering future National events.
  • (4) All teams that earn the bids will need to submit their player, coach, and chaperone information to USAV. They prefer all submission to be done through their on-line system. If you will enter your information online, then the deadline to do so is April 24. If you will not use their on-line system, there is a $50 charge. You will need to send a check for $50 to USAV and they will mail you the paper forms. Once completed, you will mail the form to the Region Office for verification and we must submit by April 24. Download the pre-tournament manual for additional information on submitting your roster (see below). All teams at National events must have a registered Chaperone on the team. Your chaperone will need to download and fill out a form and mail it to USAV by May 22. To register a Chaperone with the Region, have them fill out a 2002 Carolina Region membership form and send to the Region Office with $35.

Please discuss this opportunity with your teams and parents NOW. If you would like to compete for our bid to the Junior Olympic Championships, please submit the above required items to arrive by April 12. LATE ARRIVALS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE JUNIOR DIVISION! Please get them in by the deadline!

On April 20, teams need to be ready to playoff for the National Bid if we need to. We will run the Regional Championships as a regular tournament with pool play and playoffs. The Highest finisher that has submitted an Entry for JO championships will earn our BID (next highest finisher that checked the JO Invitational box will earn that bid). If both teams in the Finals have submitted entries for the JO Championships and checked the box for JO Invitational, then no further playoff will be needed. However, if not all teams have submitted entries or checked off the JO Invitational box, then other playoffs may be needed (these would be separate from the Regional Championship determination). Teams competing for a National Bid should stick around until it is determined that they are no longer in the running for a Bid. Consult the Tournament Director before you leave the site on April 20!

For additional information on the Junior Olympic Championships, go to USA Volleyball's web site - www.usavolleyball.org and go to the "JUNIORS" section. The Pre-Tournament Entry Books for both the JO Championships and JO Invitational (coming soon) is now posted to the USA Volleyball web site. Teams may get a head start now filling out the paperwork and submitting their rosters online. April 24 is the deadline to submit rosters online. We will submit the Entry Forms and $900 entry fees for all our teams by the April 24 deadline (and we will notify them of our bid winners after the April 20 Tournament). Those teams will then need to complete their entry following the guidelines in the Entry Booklet at USA Volleyball's web site. NOTE: Our Bids are in the CLUB Division (for JO's OPEN refers to bids earned at National Qualifiers).

Teams should note that the Region has not set aside any money to help pay for the team's entry fee, and all teams should plan on raising the full costs needed to participate in the Championships or Junior Invitational. Good luck with the rest of your season, and please call if you have any questions!

If your team wants to compete for a National Bid, submit Entry Form and $900 Entry Fee by April 12 to:
Carolina Region/USAV, P.O. Box 1757, Clemmons, NC 27012
US Postal Service does deliver overnight to PO Box (waive signature). Other overnight deliveries to:
3770 Clemmons Road, Suite C, Clemmons, NC 27012 (waive signature)
Reminder - teams still need to enter the Regional Championships ($100 and entry form) by March 30, 2002!