The Carolina Region Board of Directors has issued the following guidelines to address some of the issues about Club tryouts and the signing of players with the goal of creating a fairer and more athlete-friendly process for the beginning of the Junior volleyball season.

Tryouts:
There will be TWO announced tryout periods that clubs are encouraged to adopt. (1) The first tryout period will begin on Saturday October 24, 2009 for the following age groups: 15’s, 14’s, 13’s, and 12’s. (2) Tryouts for the 16’s, 17’s, and 18’s age groups should be held beginning Sunday, November 8, 2009 (after the North Carolina State Championships for public High Schools on November 7, 2009). The Carolina Region/USAV will not publish any tryouts for girls’ teams on its website that occur before these dates for the respective age groups. Some middle and private school seasons can last longer than the High School season so the Region recommends club directors check with Middle and/or private school coaches in their area to determine optimum tryout dates for their various age groups.

Signing Date:
Players have the right to attend more than one club's tryouts. The Carolina Region recommends that clubs adopt a signing date of NINE DAYS after an age group’s Tryout Period begins (Nov 2 for the 14’s, 13’s, and 12’s age groups; November 16 for the 15’s, 16’s 17’s, and 18’s age groups). Clubs should commit to hold an offer open to a player to join a particular team in the club or the club in general until the respective age group signing date. If the player commits by the signing date, clubs may be considered to have violated the RVA/USAV Code of Conduct if the offer is not honored by the club. Players may voluntarily commit to a club at anytime following the club’s tryouts, but should not be pressured to do so. For tryouts just before or after the signing date, clubs should give a minimum wait period of seven days before requiring a player to commit to their club. The Carolina Region encourages all clubs to use the Letter of Commitment when accepting players into their clubs. This form should not be sent to the Carolina Region, but kept on file with the club should an issue arise about a player’s commitment to a club.

The Carolina Region/USAV encourages all clubs to adopt these tryout guidelines as policy within their club for the benefit of all junior players in our Region. The Junior Division welcomes all comments from the junior community on this and other issues concerning the division. Please direct all communication through the Region Office (office@carolinaregionvb.org) and we will address it at future Junior Advisory Board meetings.