Eastern Pennsylvania is home to the Pottstown Rumble, the largest grass volleyball tournament in the country. One of the things that makes Pottstown unique is playing by “Old School Rules.” These rules have been adopted for most grass tournaments in the eastern Pennsylvania area, and most Philadelphia Volleyball events are run by similar rules.
Equipment
- Games are played on a 60x30 court
- The Yellow OPTX Volleyball is the official ball for Philadelphia Volleyball events. The new pink OPTX (not GRX) may also be used.
- At no time may a player touch the net
- If you touch the net after the ball is down and it's part of your follow-through, it's a net violation. (Even if the ball has touched the ground)
- Hair and clothing is may touch the net. Hats and shoes are NOT permitted to touch the net.
- Any equipment issues with the net or court (lines) results in an immediate re-do of the point (or a ball on the court)
- A player may not purposely cause such an issue (judgement by the ref in a competitive environment.)
- If there are no antennas, the poles are considered the boundary line. If a ball passes outside of the poles, it is considered out of bounds.
- A player may enter the opponents space, court, or free zone, provided that the player does not contact the net and it does not interfere with the opponent's play. Interference includes crossing over into an opponents space in a way that prevents them from making a play on the ball, not just physically contacting another player. In a tournament setting, this is a call made y the ref.
- No cleats are permitted
Pursuit
A player may not chase the ball into another active court; it is out of bounds. A court is active if there is active if it is in use by the tournament (for pool play or playoffs) regardless of it a game is currently being played on it.
Serving/Serve receive
- Let serves (ball contacting the net on the serve) are not permitted
- You cannot open hand pass a serve
- No "finger action" may be used while in serve receive. The ball must "pop" off the receiving surface, and may not come to rest in any fashion. If using two hands; Hands must be touching or together when receiving the serve
- The service toss may be dropped anywhere with no fault once per point
- A subsequent drop of the service toss results in a loss of serve
- In Doubles, Triples and Quads there is no rotation required however you must serve in order
- A team determined to be out of serving order will lose that serve
- We do not have a courtesy rule (restrictions on serving to women in coed.) Please do not play in a manner that would require us to make a courtesy rule.
Scoring
Many pickup events will use rally scoring to 21, win by 2 points with a cap of 23. Teams switch sides on multiples of 7
Many competitive events (and some pickup events) will use sideout scoring, meaning teams only score a point on their own serve. Games are usually played to 11, win by 2 points with a cap of 13 (except playoffs). Teams switch sides on multiples of 4
Many tournaments will use sideout scoring
Attacking
- No open hand tips/dinks are permitted. You may send the ball over using closed knuckles or other rigid hand action, but you may not use finger tips to redirect the ball over the net
- You may not hand set/push the ball over the net. If the wind blows a hand set over the net, it is a violation.
Blocking
- A block does not count as a touch
- No directional blocking (redirecting the ball with fingertips)
- You may use two hands to throw a ball straight downwards or can deflect a ball in any direction with a firm hand or "swat", but you cannot throw/swipe/grab with your using your fingertips to change it's direction/angle.
Defense
- A ball cannot be received with open hands, unless the ball is “hard driven”
- An attack is only considered “hard driven” if the ball is hit on a continuous downward path. If the offensive driven ball arcs at all, or deflects off a block, and you use your open hands to pass it, it is a violation
- For pickup events at B and BB levels, there is usually a blanket "no open hand receive" rule as players are rarely hitting true hard driven balls, and it tends to cause arguments
Setting
- You may not contact the ball twice in succession. This can happen when setting the ball overhand. If a player uses two hands to play the ball and the contact or release is not simultaneous, it is a violation (colloquially known as a "Double or Double Contact")
- A ball spinning is casually used as an indicator of a double contact, but at competitive events, refs should watch a players hands for double contacts
- The ball may not come to rest in your hands while setting
- Compared to indoor volleyball, there is some more leniency for a longer contact/lower contact point when setting. You still may not allow the ball to come to a stop while setting the ball. Once you contact the ball it must be released in a continuous motion — you may not bring the ball downwards once you contact it.
Substitution
- In Doubles, Triples and Quads tounaments there are no subsitutions
- If you have an injury in doubles, you may have a level appropriate player play to finish pool play, but you are not eligible to make playoffs
- If you have an injury in Triples or Quads you may finish the tournament with the players you have
- In B and BB divisions, you may finish the tournament with a level appropriate player (approved by the tournament organizer) but they will be grounded (they may not block or jump to attack a ball)
Misc
- Each team is allowed one time out per set (90 seconds)
- This does not include injury timeouts
Sandbagging
Sandbagging is playing below your level in order to win more easily, usually for prizes or clout. We want to keep offering cash prizes, so don't sandbag and ruin it for everyone. Remember these are all amateur divisions, and while this is competitive volleyball we want everyone to have a good time and keep the spirit of fair play.
- You should register for the division of the highest level player on your doubles team (If one player usually plays AA, then you should sign up for AA)
- For quads there is a bit more wiggle room, but the average level of your team should be the level you are registered for. You should not sign up for BB with a team antirely compesed of A players.
- If you have placed (1st or 2nd) in your division twice you should move up to the next level
While we would prefer to keep a light touch, organisers may move teams to a more appropriate division if their play history indicates that they are in the wrong division.
Additional rules for Revco (Reverse Coed)
- Women's Height Net
- Men may not make contact with the ball to send it over the net from above the height of the net in front of the 10ft line
- Only one male player can jump and attack the ball behind the 10ft line each set
- Only one male player can jump serve each set (any serve in which both feet are off the ground when contacting the ball is considered a jump serve)