FROM: Carolina Region/USAV

RE: 2008 USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Championships

The 2008 Junior Olympic Girls Volleyball Championships (JOV) will be at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, TX from June 26-July 5 (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 Age division).

The Carolina Region will hold its competition for our National Bids for the JOV at our National Bid tournaments on April 19, 2008. 12's teams interested in attending the JOV should contact the Region Office ASAP-as soon as we see the interest we'll decide which event/process to determine our bid if more than one team is interested. Only those teams submitting the National Entry Form and Entry Fee (and thus confirming they would accept the bid if they earn it) can compete for a National Bid at our National Bid tournaments. We hope this letter will answer some of your questions on the process.

BIDS: USA Volleyball will have a National and American Division in the CLUB Championships again this season in ages 13-18 (which is where Region bids are). The bids for OPEN division are earned at National Qualifiers. The Bids for the CLUB division (National & American) are earned in the Regions and Qualifiers. So, our bids are in the National and American divisions of the CLUB Championships. The following is a breakdown of how many bids we have in each age group:

• 13 Club - 18 Club: we have ONE bid available in the National Division AND ONE bid available in the American Division (TWO teams total from Carolina Region)
• 12's: we have ONE bid available in the National Division (1 team total from Carolina Region)

• To be eligible to compete for a National bid, teams must have played in a minumum of two sanctioned Carolina Region tournaments in their age group one of which must be a Regular season tournament (i.e. one-day event on the Carolina Region schedule). The other tournament may be one of the following: the pre-season Quest tournament, the 2008 Junior Hi Neighbor, or another one-day regular season tournament.
• The Tournament Entry Deadline for the National Bid tournament is March 29, 2008 ($120 and Tournament Entry Form due by this deadline to enter National Bid tournament).
• All National entry forms must go through the Regional Office for verification (we will forward to USAV by the National deadline). Please read through the Pre-Tournament Manual thoroughly for all National entry procedures. Teams going for the National Bid must submit the following to be received by the Region by Friday, April 11, 2008 (NO EXCEPTIONS!):
  1. Go to USAV website - http://www.usavolleyball.org/juniors/08_gjo.asp - and download a 2008 USA Junior Olympic Girl's Championship Pre-tournament Manual. Go to the Advanced Events Systems (formerly called TIVA) linked from the USAV Volleyball site to enter your team in the event and submit your roster (Region will verify all information submitted). Once you enter your coaches, chaperones, and roster online, follow instructions to print out entry form and mail to the Carolina Region with check (see #2). We will check over all the entries and send all entries by Federal Express to USAV by their National deadline. Entry Form & Results reporting Hints - all our teams' Team IDs are listed at our web site in the Points System (click age group and then Team Directory in menu to left. They are also listed in your tournament summaries - click details after your team name in the Standings).
  2. Send Entry check payable to "USA Volleyball" for $900 (if entering more than one team in your club, write a separate check for each team - they may not all earn bids). Include your team name and age division on the memo line. If your team does not earn a bid, the check will be destroyed by USA Volleyball.
  3. REMINDER - only submit an entry for the JOV if you WILL ACCEPT the bid if you earn one. Only teams that have followed the National entry process will be allowed to enter the National Bid tournament. Should a team/club not accept a bid that they earn at the National Bid tournament, the Region will place future sanctions on the club when entering future National events.
  4. All teams that earn bids will need registered chaperones on their roster at the Championships. REMINDER: this season all adults affiliated with Junior teams must clear a background screen which takes 5-7 days to process. So, teams WILL not be able to add chaperones on site!!! USAV recommends registering TWO chaperones with your team in case a last minute emergency prevents the original chaperone from attending. Register your chaperones as soon as you earn your bid! Your chaperone will need to download a chaperone responsibility form for signature (new this year, that form is turned in on site and not mailed to USAV beforehand). To register a Chaperone with the Region, direct them to our Online Registration Information page. This will need to be done shortly after you earn your bid so the background screen can be performed.
  5. New this season, ALL coaches on the roster must be IMPACT certified. They WILL NOT offer IMPACT clinics on site this year. If you have a coach that needs to be IMPACT certified, then see the USAV website for possible online courses or contact Chuck for Region options.

PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING BIDS:

Since the Bids for JOV will be determined at a stand-alone tournament this season, determining the bid winners will be much easier. The tournament champion will receive the Region's NATIONAL bid (CLUB division) in that age group. The tournament runner-up will receive the Region's AMERICAN bid (CLUB division) in that age group.

SUMMARY:

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 enter the tournament by March 29, 2008 and submit the above National entry required items to arrive by April 11, 2008. LATE ARRIVALS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE JUNIOR DIVISION (and usually only if we don't have any other entries in that division)! Please get them in by the deadline!

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 the JO Championships are now posted on the USA Volleyball web site. Teams may get a head start now filling out the paperwork and submitting their rosters online. April 11 is our REGIONAL DEADLINE! We will send ALL entries we receive to USA Volleyball by their deadline. Once we determine our bid winners, we will notify USAV of our bid winners. NOTE: Teams that do not earn a bid at our National Bid tournaments MAY still earn a re-allocated bid from USAV once all the Regions report their bid winners (some Regions don't use all their bids). So, if interested in a re-allocated bid, please check that on the entry forms and keep your fingers crossed! Re-allocated bids would come from USAV and not the Carolina Region.

All teams should note that the Region has NOT set aside any money to help pay for national entry fees, and all teams should plan on raising the full costs needed to participate in the Championships. Good luck with the rest of your season, and please email if you have any questions!

If your team wants to compete for a JOV Bid, submit tournament entry (by 3/29/08), and National Entry form and $900 Entry Fee by April 11, 2008 to:
Carolina Region/USAV, P.O. Box 1757, Clemmons, NC 27012-1757
US Postal Service (USPS) does deliver overnight to PO Box (waive signature). Other overnight deliveries (Fed Ex, UPS) to:
3770 Clemmons Road, Suite C, Clemmons, NC 27012 (waive signature) - Office is closed Saturdays so deliver to PO Box (USPS) on weekend deliveries.
Reminder - teams still need to enter the National Bid tournament ($120 and entry form) by March 29, 2008 also! You may confirm your tournament entries on our Points System, as always.