TOURNAMENT
INFORMATION
Here is some direction to get you started on your team practices. We have included the do's and don'ts below, as well as information about managing your team.
Tournaments
​TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES
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Tournaments schedules are usually on SportWrench or Advanced Event Systems (AES), our home tournaments will be on SportWrench.
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Tournament spectator admission is separate from seasonal club fees. Larger tournaments like qualifiers generally have higher-priced admission. The price is decided upon by either the organization governing the tournament or the organization managing the tournament.
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Be prepared for tournaments. This means arriving to the venue early (especially for large tournaments). Parking and lines can sometimes be an issue and you don't want your player to be late.
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Players must wear the uniform of the day told to them by their coach and bring ALL jerseys in their backpack; it's also a good idea to bring extra shorts/socks/kneepads, as well as ALL jerseys. Unfortunately, spills, rips, etc happen occasionally and you don't want to have to find replacements for your player in jam. Uniformity of the team is often overlooked, but when a team looks good they feel confident and play well. The team should be wearing their WPVC issued gear to and from and in the venue. Girls are all given cover shorts, we want them wearing them to and from the tournaments. Girls should not come and go with just the spandex on.
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Players will bring their issued ball and travel bag to all travel tournaments. Each player will get their own ball and travel ball bag and each coach will get a mesh bag to use for the season. The mesh bag can hold the balls during the tournament and then the players take the ball home with them. This keeps the coach from having to sign out balls and it keeps our gym with balls for practice.
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Bring healthy snacks and extra water. Most tournament venues have concessions, but they don't always have healthy options to keep your player going for a 5-hour day of playing volleyball.
Tournament Etiquette
Make sure you are always representing WPVC in the best manner.
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Parents, players and coaches represent our club, so please be mindful of your actions and things you say. Your behavior at and around the court is seen by many. You never know if you may be caught on camera by a parent filming the game.
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While our team is not playing our players (and parents) should not take the seats on the courts unless there are many open and there aren’t people standing. It is proper etiquette to allow the fans of the teams playing the seats. Even when your team is the officiating it is proper etiquette to offer the seats to spectators of the playing teams.
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No flashes on cameras are allowed in the venue. The flashes are distracting to the players and a referee will not hesitate to stop a game to tell someone to turn their phone or camera flash off.
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Cheering is encouraged, but heckling and noisemakers are not. You are not allowed to interact with the line judges of the officiating team at any time. We've all been there when we feel there was a bad call, but if you feel that you may say something you shouldn't then give yourself a timeout and take a quick walk to calm down.
Travel
​How to Get There
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You may fly or you may drive. Each family is responsible for their own travel arrangements.
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You must be there the night BEFORE the tournament by 6 pm and you cannot book a return flight home until after 6 pm on the last day of the tournament. This is because your team could still be in bracket play due to much longer games on the last day.
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If you fly, it is REQUIRED that your player bring all uniform items needed for the tournament in their club backpack as a carry-on. If your luggage is lost, your player can still play.
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It is not necessary to book the same flight as the coach if you are traveling with your son/daughter. If your daughter/son is travelling alone he/she needs to be either on a flight with the coaches or another parent-approved team adult.
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Hotels
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Stay and Play--WPVC will reserve a block of rooms at a tournament and families will receive a link (once available, from coach and/or team parent) to make their individual reservations at that hotel.
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​For all travel tournaments outside of Central Florida, WPVC players/families will reside at a “Stay and Play” hotel. This means that part of WPVC's participation agreement with the tournament requires teams/families to stay at the hotel assigned by the Housing Department for that tournament. This also ensures teams are all together for meals and can travel all together to and from the playing venue.
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Hotel selection is based on what Stay and Play hotels are closest to the playing venue and can accommodate all WPVC teams attending the tournament.
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Non-Stay and Play--You may choose to stay in a hotel near the venue if you'd like, but it is not required. Example: Daytona.
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Whenever you are staying at a hotel, please give your room number to your coach in case they need to speak with your player and cannot reach you on your phone.
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Please supervise your player in the hotel and try to refrain from activities which may cause injury during a tournament.
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Email Travel@wpvc.org for any Hotel/Travel Questions
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Sightseeing
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Teams may choose to do some team bonding and light sightseeing together once they know their tournament schedule. This will be discussed between the coaches and parents.
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If you plan on making the trip a vacation, try come to the tournament city a couple days early or stay a couple of days late. We want the players to enjoy themselves, but ultimately they are at the tournament to try to qualify for Nationals.
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TOURNAMENT & TRAVEL FAQs
Q. WHEN WILL WE KNOW WHAT TIME(S) WE PLAY ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE TOUNAMENT?
Typically pool play is announced the Wednesday before the tournament starts. You will be notified by coach and/or team parents as soon as the schedules are released. Only thing we may know in advance of Wednesday is AM or PM wave, but that is not always a guarantee either.
Q. DO ALL THE TEAMS PLAY EVERYDAY OF THE TOURNAMENT?
Yes. No matter how you do in pool play, all teams play the last day of the tournament. The last day is usually play until you lose.
Q. WHERE ARE THE TOURNAMENT LOCATIONS?
All tournament locations are on the master schedule on the website. You can also get this information directly from your coach/team parent.
Q. WHAT TIME DOES MY DAUGHTER/SON NEED TO ARRIVE PRIOR TO THE TOURNAMENT STARTING?
Coaches usually ask that players arrive 1 hour before they first play or ref.
Q. DOES MY DAUGHTER/SON NEED TO REF? CAN HE/SHE LEAVE BEFORE TEAM FINISHES THEIR DUTIES?
All team members must help ref; the team members ALL stay until the team is finished playing or with their ref duties. Reffing is part of club volleyball and every team member must do their part, and the job that the coach asks of them.
Q. HOW DOES MY DAUGHTER/SON GET TO TOURNAMENTS?
The parent is responsible for getting their son/daughter to the tournaments and/or arranging it with another parent.
Q. WHAT IF MY PLAYER WILL NOT BE ATTENDING A TOURNAMENT AND WILL NOT NEED A ROOM?
It's EXTREMELY important to be at all tournaments as volleyball is a team sport; however, if a situation arises and your child cannot attend a tournament please let your coach know ASAP and also email office@ wpvc.org as soon as possible with a reason why. This affects your team’s roster and your coaches’ preparation and lineup plans.
Q. WHAT IF I NEED TO BOOK 2 ROOMS FOR MY FAMILY?
Please email (travel@wpvc.org) as soon as you know this will be needed. We can add an additional room to our block of reservations in advance if we know of your need.
Q. CAN I RESERVE ROOMS FOR ALL OUR RELATIVES?
No, rooms are reserved for players only (including mom/dad in the room). We will do our best to accommodate if rooms are available after players have booked.
Q. WHAT IF I NEED TO CANCEL A ROOM?
Please get ahold of our travel (travel@wpvc.org) immediately and let us know why. DO NOT cancel on your own. If you cancel and someone else still needs a room, the room may end up being lost to another club leaving us without enough rooms.
Q. WHAT IF MY CHILD AND I ARE SHARING A ROOM WITH ANOTHER PLAYER/PARENT?
Please let your coach/team or travel parent know so they can account for that and be sure we have met the room quota for the tournament.
Q. CAN I PICK MY OWN HOTEL FOR TRAVEL TOURNAMENTS OR STAY WITH A FAMILY MEMBER IN THE AREA?
DO NOT book rooms on your own. Also, players cannot stay with family/friends in the area. Most all travel tournaments have housing company requirements and WPVC will send you a link to book your team rooms. Our teams can be removed from the tournament if the housing requirements are not met. There are a few exceptions to not booking with the assigned hotel, but prior permission is needed.
Q. IF I HAVE HOTEL POINTS AT ONE OF THE STAY AND PLAY HOTELS, CAN I USE THEM TO PAY FOR MY FAMILY'S ROOM?
Yes, you will need to first book/reserve your individual room with a credit card. Upon check in, you can provide the hotel with your membership number and points to be used towards the final payment.
Q. CAN MULTIPLE PLAYERS STAY TOGETHER IN ONE ROOM WITH A CHAPERONE?
Each player should travel and stay with at least one parent/guardian in their own room. If for some reason a parent/guardian can’t travel with their player to the travel tournament, please let your WPVC coach know well in advance.
Q. WHAT IF I NEED TO ADD ADDITIONAL NIGHTS (FRONT/BACK) END OF THE WPVC RESERVED DATES?
You will need to contact the housing department directly once the hotel information is released and request additional days be added to your reservation. DO NOT contact the hotel directly as they will not have your reservation info until right before the tournament begins.