2024 Rules, Format, and Policies

The HOA Power League has been developed to provide a challenging means of encouraging in-region competition among elite teams that would ordinarily not see one another on the court very often, if at all. Top-level teams by necessity must seek out the best competitive opportunities, in order to develop and maintain maximum levels of performance. This quite often, necessitates travel to outlying regions where many high quality events have been developed. This can be costly as well as time-consuming and though we are not going to eliminate or discourage travel needs, the Power League will provide much of the same competitive opportunities for many of the teams in the HOA region without the need for such time-consuming travel. Noteworthy to those aspiring to compete in the coming seasons ’Junior National Volleyball Championships, the HOA Power Leagues are the first event of the year that are used to determine who receives the available region bids.

The Power League will be made available to Premier-level girls teams in the 12 thru 18 and under divisions, but formats differ for different age groups:

12 and under division: 11 teams over 2 play-dates
13 and 18 and under divisions: 16 teams over 2 play-dates
14, 15, 16 and 17 and under divisions: 11 teams in Powerleague 1, 9 teams in Powerleague 2.

Teams who qualify for the Power Leagues will be required to participate or lose their full entry fee. Teams who register for other tournaments on the Power League playing dates for their division, prior to completion of the Power League qualifiers, are automatically disqualified from playing in the Power League and lose their full entry fee.

The general play format for the Powerleague will involve three or four play dates, one or two for the qualifying tournament (QT) and two actual league play dates. The Qualifying Tournaments will be all-day events. Subsequent Powerleague rounds will also involve two full days of competition. Powerleagues for 12’s, 14’s, 15’s, 16’s and 17’s will consist of single round robin competition, played over 2 days. The 13’s, and 18’s divisions will play 3 rounds of 4 team pools.

Fees for 2024 Power League

Note that the total amount for the Power League ($ 550 for age groups 12, 13 and 18, $750 for all other age groups) is due at registration for the qualifying tournament. Teams that do not qualify for the Power League will receive a refund of the entry fee, minus the cost of the Qualifying Tournaments. Teams that did not need to play in the Pre-Qualifying tournament will also be refunded for that fee. Refunds are done once all qualifying events have completed and will be send to the club.

Registration

For the age groups 14, 15, 16 and 17:
Teams with a top 20 finish in the previous year final rankings in the Premier division are guaranteed entry if they register by November 13 , 2023 (a club can claim a spot in the 14’s division if they had a team in the top 20 in the 13’s division in the previous year). These teams will automatically qualify for the Powerleague Qualifier and not play in the Pre-Qualifying tournament. All other teams will be accepted on a first come first serve base for the Pre-Qualifying tournament until that tournament is filled. The Qualifying tournament will have 32 teams. If, for example, 17 teams that can claim a top 20 finish for last season sign up for the Qualifying tournament, 15 teams from the Pre-Qualifying Tournament will win a spot in the Qualifying tournament

For the age groups 12, 13 and 18, the number of teams that can play in the Power League Qualifier is limited to 32. Teams with a top 15 finish in the previous year final rankings are guaranteed entry if they register by the deadline (a club can claim a spot in the 18’s division if they had a team in the top 15 in the 17’s division in the previous year). All other teams will be accepted on a first come first serve base for the qualifying tournament until the tournament is filled.

To sign up for the Power League Qualifier, teams need to go hoaonlineorg and enter/pay. Teams will not be approved into the event until they are approved for competition. Deadline for registration is November 13, 2023

You can download the list of teams that have a protected position based on last years finish in the final rankings (PDF).

Seeding Procedure

The Qualifying and Pre-Qualifying Tournaments will be seeded based on last season’s results/rankings, where possible. Keep in mind that for an 18 & under team registering for the Power League Qualifier Tournament, the HOA seeding committee will look at the ‘same’ team’s prior season in 17 & Under results/rankings. Teams from new clubs or teams who had no equivalent in the same club in the previous year, are seeded at the bottom.

The top eleven or sixteen finishers in each age division of the qualifying tournament will participate in the actual Power League1. For the 14, 15, 16 and 17 divisions, the next 9 finishers will qualify for Powerleague 2. The order of finish in the QT will determine where each team is seeded in the Power League. Teams that qualify in the same round of playoffs, will be seeded based on the match, set and point percentage of pool matches played in the Qualifying Tournament. For example; 4 teams qualify by making it into the quarter finals of the Qualifying Tournament. The team with the best match record of these teams, will get the highest seed. If match record does not seed all 4 teams, we will go to set percentage, then to point percentage. If still tied, a coin flip will determine the seed.

Playing Formats

The Qualifying and Pre-Qualifying tournaments will be standard pool play followed by single-elimination bracket play, designed to narrow down the field to 11 or 16 teams or 11 and 9 teams. Playoff matches that are played for seeding purposes only (not for qualifying for the Power League), may be one set to 25 points.

The actual Power League formats:
12’s division: A single round robin with 11 teams. Each team will play 5 matches on each playing date, with the exception of the 11th seeded team (4 & 6 matches).
13’s, and 18’s divisions: 16 teams play 3 rounds of pool play with pools of 4 teams over 2 playing dates. The last round is comprised of a Gold pool playing for places 1 thru 4, A Silver pool playing for places 5 thru 8 etc. Teams will play 5 matches on the first day and 4 matches on the 2nd day.
14’s, 15’s, 16’s and 17’s divisions: For Powerleague 1: a single round robin with 11 teams. Each team will play 5 matches on each playing date, with the exception of the 11th seeded team (4 & 6 matches). Powerleague 2: a single round robin with 9 teams. Each team will play 4 matches on each playing date.

All matches will be best two out of three sets, starting at 4-4. All sets, except the third, will be to 25 points. The third, if needed, will be to 15 points.

Officiating

One certified adult referee will be provided for all matches. When teams are not playing, they may be assigned to help officiate matches. A rostered coach has to be the R2 or Scorer for all age divisions.

Winners

The winner of the Power League will be the team that wins the most matches. In case of a two-way tie, the result of the match between the tied teams will be used to determine the winner.

The winner of each age division of the Power League will be offered a National Club Division bid to the Girls Junior National Volleyball Championships (JNVC’s). Runners up may also receive a bid to the girls Junior National Volleyball Championships.

A team which has been formally offered a bid for JNVC’s must either accept or decline such offer on or before 5 pm of the first Monday following the conclusion of the last round of the Power League. Notice to accept or decline must be made in writing, signed by the subject team’s coach or club director, and delivered to the HOA office by the above-prescribed deadline. If such notice is not received in the prescribed form and by the above-referenced deadline, the bid will be offered to the next finisher. If such occurs, the next finisher will have 24 hours to either decline or accept the bid.

A team that accepts a JNVC bid thru the Power League is required to prepare and submit all appropriate forms and fees that may be required by the JNVC registration process. It is highly recommended that each team make itself aware in a timely manner, of all requirements. Any team allowing a bid to ‘drop’ and be lost for use by an HOA team, will be subject to sanctions, including but not limited to, being denied entry into the following season’s HOA Power League and/or the HOA Region Bid Tournament. It is imperative that a team that has accepted a bid for JNVC’s, notifies the HOA office immediately if unable to attend. This increases the likelihood that another HOA team can attend. Teams who have received a National bid through their Power League finish cannot participate in the Heart of America Regional Championships, as they cannot improve the level of their bid through that event

Ties

The tie-breaking procedure for the Qualifying Tournament Ties will be broken on pool competition results. No tie-breaking sets will be played! In 5 team pools teams may be eliminated from playoffs based on points.

Tie breaking for 2024 for Power League: All ties will be broken based on Match, Set and Point results. The only time a tie-breaking set will be played in the Power League, is when all tie-breaking criteria are exhausted and a tie still exist. Instead of a coin flip, one 25 points set will be played to break the tie.

2 way tie: Head to head match result will determine the tie
3 or more teams are tied in match record:

1. Head to Head Match record between the tied teams, if still tied:
2. Head to Head Set record between the tied teams, if still tied:
3. Head to Head Point differential between the tied teams, if still tied:
4. Overall Set record between the tied teams, if still tied:
5. Overall Point differential between the tied teams, if still tied:
6. Tie-breaker set

If a team is eliminated from the tie following these procedures, but 2 or more teams are still tied, the next step on the list will apply (keep moving down the list, do not go back to the top with one team less in the tie).

Rosters

The Power League is one single event, played over multiple playing dates. Teams will sign off their roster before play starts on the first playing date. No player can be added to the roster after that moment. No player can play on either playing date who is not on that original roster (no player can be added for the 2nd or 3^rd playing date, if they are not on the roster at the first playing dates). This applies to the Power League only and does NOT include the Power League Qualifying tournament.

No individual can play for more than one team in any of the divisions of the Power League Qualifiers (including Pre-Qualifiers). No player can play for more than one team in any of the Power League divisions. A player can play for a different team in the Power League Qualifier than in the actual Power League. Clubs are allowed to add a certified coach to the roster for the 2^nd or 3^rd playing date.

Inclement Weather Procedures

In the highly unlikely case one of the Power League playing dates will be cancelled due to inclement weather, the following procedures will be followed:

Qualifying tournament gets cancelled and cannot be rescheduled: Highest ranked 11 or 16 teams from the previous years final rankings will be selected. Teams who have changed to a different club as a whole cannot claim a spot. It will be given to the established clubs. New clubs cannot claim a spot.

1^st Playing date gets cancelled: A one- or two-day tournament format will be used on the 2^nd or the 2^nd and 3^rd playing day to determine the winner

2^nd Playing date gets cancelled for 12’s, 13’s, 14’s or 18’s division: Power League will be considered incomplete and all bids will default to regional championships.

2^nd Playing date gets cancelled for 15’s 16’s or 17’s division: A one day tournament will be played on the third playing date with 16 teams (4 pools of 4, followed by single elimination playoffs). Results from the first playing date will not be taken into account for the Power League finishes.

3rd Playing date gets cancelled: Power League will be considered incomplete and all bids will default to regional championships

Extraneous

• If a team misses a round or day of play, that team will be listed as losing all sets and matches in the Power League (all playing dates). Wins will be recorded to the appropriate teams’ records.
• Teams that qualify for nationals before the completion of the Powerleague, will remain in the event and have to compete all playing dates.
• Under extenuating circumstances, the HOA Regional Commissioner or designated agent (ie…Site Director) may modify set or match formats. However, every reasonable effort will be made to follow the event’s intended play format.
• Teams can only claim preferred seeding/guaranteed registration or automatically get in the Powerleague Qualifier, without playing in the Pre-Qualifier, when competing for the same club under the same club name as in the previous season, or when 2 clubs completely merged with notices from the club directors confirming that there is a full merger between 2 clubs. Single teams merging or joining another club are not considered to be a full merger of clubs. The protected status is earned for the club in the previous season.