Implementation Plan Moving the 18-&-Under Girls Junior National Championships to late April/early May Updated October 6, 2015 Over the past 3 to 5 years, we ve seen a steady change in the composition of the Girls 18-&-Under Divisions at the Girls Junior National Championships (GJNC). The change has been causing fluctuating rosters, late drops of teams, Regions unable to fill allocated bids and significant changes to team rosters to ensure that the team can follow through on its commitment to participate in the Championships. The reasons for this are many with the most significant being: The majority of the 18s division are current seniors who have been playing club volleyball for many years. They are no longer interested in giving up a large chunk of their last summer before heading off to college. Athletes who will be playing college volleyball the following fall, have been asked to report to their respective school for summer schools, camps and other programs to prepare them for the upcoming freshman season. Athletes who will not be playing college volleyball need to get a job to earn money for college or take the next step in life. Each year, USAV and its Regions are seeing an increase in the number of 18s teams that are ending their seasons in April or May. They are playing in divisions of National Qualifiers that allow for a team to decline bids as they know they will be ending their season prior to the GJNCs. To try and solve this problem, the USAV National Office, USAV Regions (RVAs) and clubs must all share in adjusting their Standard Operating Procedures to allow these athletes, many of which have participated in the GJNC for many years, the opportunity to play in the Championships without overextending their length of commitment. USAV plans to offer a stand-alone GJNC for this age group beginning in 2016. Like any change, there will be challenges. Some of these include: Conflicting dates with school activities What to do with younger athletes playing on 18s teams Clubs having to change their schedule and business model The need to create a new qualification process The following plan strives to accommodate the needs and desires of most teams, athletes, and families with the least amount of disruption to current club practices.
OVERVIEW Beginning in 2016, the Open, National, and USA Divisions of the GJNC will be held April 29, 30 and May 1 (Spring GJNC). In 2016, the Spring GJNCs will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The American Divisions will remain with the customary GJNC in the summer (Summer GJNC). Added to the 18s Championship event in the spring will be a Patriot Division (non-qualifying). Added to the Summer GJNC will be the Continental Division. The field sizes for each division of the 18s divisions will be as follows: Open 36 teams all from National Qualifiers National 48 teams all from Regions USA - 48 teams all from National Qualifiers American 64 teams all from a combination of Regions and National Qualifiers Continental 12 teams who have competed in the Open Division (8 from the United States and 4 International) Patriot 24-48 all via open entry process. If space will allow, more teams may be accepted in this division. QUALIFICATION In keeping with the current practice of completing the qualification process for the GJNC 6 weeks prior to the Championships, but yet still allow for an ample window of opportunity for teams to participate in more than one Qualifier, the window for running National Qualifiers for 18 Open and 18 USA divisions (18NQs) in 2016 will be January 16-18 (Martin Luther King Weekend) through the weekend of March 18-21. Sixteen 18NQs have been identified to serve as the qualification events for 2016. Some of these are existing National Qualifiers for all divisions. Among the criteria for this selection included geography, calendar position and support of the Host Region. Similarly, the RVAs will award bids to the National Division. Regions must submit their National bids to USAV no later than March 21 st by 5pm MT. Just as there is no change to the plan for the American Division, the qualification process and calendar also remain unchanged. The process for identifying the participating teams in the Continental Division will be explained later in this document. As with the Patriot Divisions in other age groups played at the Summer GJNCs, there will be no qualification process for the 18 Patriot Division played at the Spring GJNC. Teams will be accepted based on date of entry and fulfillment of registration procedures.
The 18NQ Schedule for 2016 is as follows ( Supers in BOLD): 2016 Dates Qualifier Location Open Bids USA Bids January 16-18 Girls Winter Volleyball Championship Chicago, IL 2 3 January 16-18 KC MLK 18s National Qualifier Kansas City, MO 2 3 January 16-18 Lil Big South Atlanta, GA 1 2 January 29-31 Northern Lights 18s Qualifier Minneapolis, MN 2 3 January 29-31 Ohio Valley Columbus, OH 1 3 February 12-14 Big D Qualifier Dallas, TX 2 3 February 13-15 Florida National 18Q Ft. Lauderdale, FL 2 3 February 19-21 Beast of the Southeast Atlanta, GA 2 3 February 26-28 Boston VB Festival Boston, MA 1 2 February 27-29 Crossroads 18s Super Qualifier Denver, CO 4 4 March 4-6 Golden State Qualifier San Mateo, CA 2 3 March 11-13 Southern California 18s Super Qualifier Anaheim, CA 4 4 March 18-20 Pacific Northwest Qualifier Spokane, WA 2 3 March 18-20 Mideast 18s Super Qualifier Indianapolis, IN 4 4 March 18-20 Lone Star 18s Super Qualifier Houston, TX 4 4 March 19-21 Northeast Qualifier Philadelphia, PA 2 3 *Divisions must meet the required number of teams to give out the specified numbers of bids. OPEN BIDS - Within the 16 18NQs, 4 have been identified as Super Qualifiers (Supers) for the Open Division. Supers were identified based on their Placement in the Qualification window, as well as their proximity to the historically strongest geographic areas in girls volleyball in the US. The number of bids ultimately assigned based on the field size entered in that event. Bids not awarded through an 18NQ will be awarded through an at-large process as is currently followed. At-large bids will only be awarded, should the field size be under 36 teams. NATIONAL BIDS All National bids will continue to be allocated to the RVAs for awarding based on registration numbers from the previous year.
USA BIDS The field size for the 18 USA Division at the Spring GJNC will increase from 24 to 48 teams. The 48 USA bids will be awarded at the NQs. The competition format for awarding USA bids will remain as is currently practiced. The number of bids available for awarding by an 18NQ will be based on geographic location and number of teams enrolled in the 18 USA Division in that 18NQ. Bids not awarded through an 18NQ will be awarded through an at-large or reallocation process. Atlarge or reallocation bids will only be awarded, should the field size be under 48 teams. AMERICAN BIDS As previously noted, there will be no change to the 18 American Division in this plan, qualification procedures also remain the same. CONTINENTAL DIVISION This division will be comprised of 12 teams. Eight from the United States and 4 international teams. This will be a 4-day tournament at the Summer GJNCs. The 8 U.S. teams will be identified as follows: 1 Championship winning team from the Spring GJNC 18 Open Division 4 Championship winning teams from the Supers 18 Open Divisions 3 at large teams at the conclusion of the 18s qualification process selected from teams that had participated in 18s National Qualifiers. Matches in this division will be 3-out-of-5 sets. Teams will begin in 2 pools of 6 teams, including 2 international teams in each pool. A team winning a Super may choose to accept either the bid to the Open Division at the Spring GJNCs or the Continental Division at the Summer GJNCS or BOTH. Different from what is currently in place, it will be allowable for a team to turn down an 18 Open Bid at a 18NQ without penalty. ALLOWANCES Given the nuances of the event itself and the teams participating, the following rule adjustments or allowances will be made for these Championships: While players will still be unable to play in two different qualification divisions within the 18s age group (Example: a player can t play in the 18 Open and then play in the 18 American in the summer), a player may play in a qualification division in one event and a non-qualification event in the other (Example: a player could play 18 Patriot in the spring and 18 American in the summer). Players may play in different qualification divisions for the same club, but not in the same age group (Example: a player could play 18 Open in the spring and 17 Open in the summer), as long as they are still participating with the same club. Players may be waived from the 18-&-Under Division and allowed to compete in the 17-&- Under Division as long as they provide proof that they are a current high school junior. A team (based on team code), regardless of the age group, may only play in one Championship division requiring qualification (Open, National, USA or American) in a year. Example: A team could play in the Patriot Division in the spring and the American Division in the summer, but could not play in the Open, National, or USA in the spring and then play in the American in the summer.
Only 18s teams will be eligible to initially enroll for the 18 Patriot Division. 17s teams will be waitlisted and added on a space available basis after the deadline. In closing, this plan will be in place for the 2016 and 2017 seasons with minimal to no changes or adjustments. Upon completion of the 2016 season, the process will be evaluated for merit and adjustment. No major changes or adjustments will take place prior to the 2018 season.