Adding Sand Volleyball to North Carolina High Schools (Triangle area Focused Proposal) Proposed by The Carolina Region of USA Volleyball

USA Volleyball (USAV) – National Governing Body of the sport of volleyball (both indoor and beach) in the United States Carolina Region/USAV - 1 out of 40 Regions in the United States affiliated with USA Volleyball Who is USA Volleyball and Who is the Carolina Region USAV?

501(c)(3) non-profit Dedicated to developing and improving the sport of volleyball throughout the state of North Carolina from grassroots programs to elite by utilizing: Coaching Education Player clinics Facility improvements/development Quality tournaments Information services. The Carolina Regions Mission

2000+ adult members (players, officials, coaches) junior members (players – mostly girls but some boys too) 7+ indoor tournaments for both adult and junior players 5+ coaching education opportunities Official training opportunities Sand volleyball for adults and juniors Annually, the Carolina Region offers the following:

800 million participants world wide 29 million in United States Includes indoor, sand, grass, sitting, deaf, etc. 217 nations member of FIVB 2 nd most popular team sport (indoor volleyball) in United States high schools after basketball The Popularity of Volleyball

2 person vs. 2 person form of volleyball played on sand (or grass) Traditionally called Beach or Doubles Volleyball Added as an Olympic Sport in 1996 Most represented sport in world internationally Sand players Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are most recognizable figures in U.S. volleyball Several organizations offering professional tournaments around world International: FIVB US: AVP, USAV/IMG, NVL Growing Popularity of Sand Volleyball

2006 – vh1vball – Triangle area outdoor organization starts hosting jr beach tournaments (~16-20 teams/event) 2007 – vh1vball forms a Spring junior beach club with practices/league matches Hugely popular and fills up within a few days of registration opening each Spring Carolina Region USA Volleyball forms a Junior Beach Tour Serves as umbrella tour with events hosted by several different organizations across the state Triangle area – vh1vball, Blue Sky Volleyball Charlotte area – Sportslink Western NC – Bearfoot Juniors Wilmington – Captn Bills 2012 – Tour Highlights 15 events in nd Annual Carolina Open (USA Beach National Junior Tour event) with 103 junior teams competing; one of the largest on the entire tour Triangle area tournaments by vh1vball averaged 90+ teams! Beach Volleyball in North Carolina?

Collegiate scholarship opportunities Title IX considerations Low cost start up Lots of player development advantages Other states getting programs started in high schools (Arizona and Southern California had high-school focused leagues in spring 2012) Why Sand Volleyball? Why Now?

Jan NCAA approves Sand Volleyball as an emerging sport with scholarship opportunities Sport has 10 years to establish 40 programs before becoming an official NCAA Championship sport Spring inaugural season 16 schools including College of Charleston and several others in Southeast and West Coast Projections suggest the number of schools participating will easily meet the 40 program minimum by 2014 season. Collegiate Scholarship Opportunities

The addition of one High School team could mean at least a dozen or more females participating in athletics Title IX Considerations

Practice facilities Near term: Local parks (free or discounted rental rates) Longer term: New facilities on school campuses Low cost uniforms (shorts and t-shirts) Can be a self-officiated sport much like Tennis Will be run as a club activity until enough schools are participating so to officially add to the NCHSAA athletics program Low Cost Start Up

More contacts per player (2 players instead of 6 on court) Allows players to very quickly pick-up Improves all skills involved with volleyball Great for general athletic conditioning (cross- training for other sports) Dont need to be the tallest or fastest, just consistent and smart Great outdoor sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime If you want to become a better volleyball player, coach and play sand doubles. ---John Kessel - USAV Player Development Advantages

Rules? NCAA Sand Rulebook (adapted from USA Beach rules) When? Spring (mid March to mid May) What? Practices Late afternoon (3-5PMish) however many days per week as school desires (recommend at least 2-3 times) Tournaments multi-school invitationals or head-to-head meets One school serves as host, responsible for preparing site/running event Where? Green Road Park (Red Division) – 4201 Green Rd, Raleigh - 6 courts <=5 miles: Ravenscroft, Millbrook, Wakefield, Sanderson, Leesville Jaycee Park (Blue Division) – 2405 Wade Ave, Raleigh - 6 lighted courts (nets must be slackened and tied down for proper junior height play) <= 5 miles: Broughton, Cardinal Gibbons, Cary High, Cary Academy, Athens Drive Proposed Specifics for 2013

With increased participation and facilities on school campuses we can switch to fielding already existing school conference divisions Map Legend: Yellow Flags – Sport Facilities Blue Flag – Blue Division Schools Red Flags – Red Division Schools Proposed Blue and Red Divisions

How? Follow the Tennis Model (partially) Minimums: 6 female players Seed teams 1-3 which plays the comparably seeded team for an opposing school Flexibility for More Players: Boys: Minimum of 4 players to field 2 teams to add to the required 3 Girls: Either 4 or 8 more players to field a total of 5 teams (if 2 boys teams also contesting) or 7 teams (if no boys teams) Proposed Specifics for 2013

How? Continued… Schools play either 3, 5, or 7 matches depending on how many teams each school can field. Extra teams from a school can play exhibition matches against other school teams after required minimum matches played. Match format: 2 games to 21, 3 rd to 15 if necessary Matches can be played as follows based on number of teams fielded and number of courts available 3 teams – all 3 matches at once 5 teams – 3 matches, then 2 matches 7 teams – 4 matches, then 3 matches Each match counts as a point Team with majority points based on number of teams playing WINS Proposed Specifics for 2013

Playoffs/Championships Host: vh1vball - 6+ years of running large junior beach volleyball tournaments Location: Green Road Park, Raleigh Date: May 11, 2013 Top 4 Schools Invited seeding based on regular season records Teams within each flight (1-3 or 1-5 or 1-7) will be seeded in a double elimination style playoff Points awarded based on finish for each schools team at each flight 1 st – 43 rd – 2 2 nd – 34 th - 1 Winning team from each flight with get an award School with most points wins a team trophy Proposed Specifics for 2013

Transportation costs to tournaments Uniforms Coaching salary Costs to the High Schools

Sand Volleyballs Coaching Education opportunities Hosting services for Championships event Items provided to the High Schools by the Carolina Region

Mark Nalevanko – Carolina Region Beach Program & Kevin Wendelboe Commissioner Carolina Region of USA Volleyball Thank You for Your Consideration Questions???