CAN Volleyball 2012 - Application Information 

As winter approaches, the Capital Alumni Network (CAN) turns its attention toward its Tenth season of alumni volleyball. Last season, 21 teams competed in the league, with 7 teams in the Competitive division and 14 teams in the Recreational division. This season will be more exciting and even more inclusive, but first, we need to hear from the schools who are interested in having a lot of fun and playing in this year’s CAN Co-ed Volleyball League.

IMPORTANT DATES

• November 6 - Applications go online
• November 21 - Applications for league consideration due by 5:00 PM
• November 21 - $200 team deposit due by 5:00 PM
• November 29 –Teams notified about included schools and new divisions
• December 4 - Mandatory coaches meetings for teams selected. Location and time TBD
• January 7 - Season Begins
• March  - Season ends and Tournament begins (tentative)

2012 VOLLEYBALL SEASON

CAN is requesting that alumni chapters indicate their interest in participating in this year's season and tournament. Interested teams MUST commit to both as tournament participation is required. 

Regular season games will begin on January 7 and will continue through the end of March. Games will be played on Saturdays at The National Cathedral School. The best-of-3 match length will be approximately 50 minutes. Each team will play 10 games in the regular season.

National Cathedral School

3609 Woodley Road NW

Washington, DC 20016-5034 map

This year, the playoff tournament is tentatively scheduled to begin towards the end of March, but we will not have a definitive date until we know how many teams we accept in the league. 

APPLICATION PROCESS

The application process this year will consist primarily of an online form filled out by a coach designated by the alumni chapter. A follow-up email will be sent to the chapter President to confirm that they are aware of and support their chapter’s formation of a volleyball team. All chapters submitting an application agree to the requirements of the league and acknowledge the responsibilities that are expected of the coaches, players and other volunteers.

DO NOT partially complete an application and expect to update it later. Please collect all necessary information before submission, as no preference will be given to teams that submit their application rapidly. All applications must be submitted by 5pm on November 21, 2011. The application will be posted on the CAN volleyball website during the day on November 6, 2011. 

Teams will also be required to submit a $200 deposit this year with their applications. This is a good faith deposit that will be put towards the full season fees for accepted teams. Universities who are denied entry in to the league will have their deposit refunded. Until we know how many teams will be accepted, we do not know the full cost per team. Expect this year’s fees to go up significantly with the new venue.

Below is the process that must occur for the application to be processed by CAN:

Please be sure to check Spam folders, as the email will be sent directly from the website from Sports Chair's email address.

WHAT CAN WILL CONSIDER IN NEW CHAPTER SUBMISSIONS 

As a league we find ourselves in the enviable position of running a very fun league. This also makes our league attractive to those individuals who are not necessarily affiliated with one of our alumni chapters. As an organization CAN is committed to offering league sports that benefit alumni chapters not just individuals or groups of friends that "might" be associated with a college or university.

To that end, an alumni chapter’s team will be accepted into the league based on the following criteria: 

• Current status of your chapter - Is your chapter in overall good standing with CAN? Is it active or inactive? If it’s inactive you will not be able to sponsor a team; 
• Backing of chapter leadership – Is the chapter president aware that there is a team being formed? Does the chapter president support the formation of a team and the individuals who are responsible for its creation; 
• Commitment to promoting volleyball as a chapter activity - Show us that you intend to make it an extension of your chapter, not just a set aside in which 8 people out of 2,000 can participate; 
• Commitment to finishing the entire season and tournament (including all reffing assignments each team is asked to do) - Too many teams are impacted by a team's ability/inability to play and ref. When one team doesn't carry its weight, it affects all the other teams; 
• Past participation in CAN sports leagues – Did the team live up to its responsibilities in other CAN related sports activities prior to volleyball season? How did the team adhere to its responsibilities last volleyball season (e.g. officiating the required games, forfeits etc.)? Did the team participate in both the regular season and tournament; and 
• Participation in other non-sports related CAN activities – CAN is about more than just sports leagues. 

The organization offers a wide variety of activities from which your alumni can benefit. CAN monthly meetings are not mandatory, but please recognize that similar to anything else, you and your chapters will only get out of the organization what you put into it. We all stand to benefit from each other’s knowledge and expertise. 

WHAT COMPRISES AN ALUMNI TEAM

The key thing to keep in mind is that this is a co-ed league, with, 3 men and 2 women (minimum) on the court at a time. We recommend that if you are forming a team, you have (or be able to field) a team of at least 10 people. Please remember that this is an alumni league and your team should be comprised primarily of alumni who attended the school which they are representing and the local/official alumni chapter in the area must be the sponsor of the team. Partnering of teams is not allowed. 

Currently there is a 75% alumni rule that will be enforced for the regular season and the post-season tournament. Teams will be required to submit a roster at the start of the season and after every regular season game. It is expected that 75% of the people who play in each game will be alumni from the sponsoring university. Each team's post-season roster will also be required to have at least 75% of the players classified as alumni from the sponsoring university. Spouses will be considered alumni to fulfill the 75% requirement. "Grand fathering" exceptions will not be accepted under any circumstances. 

Falsifying the alumni status of a player will result in the forfeiture of ALL games played by that player/team, expulsion from the post-season tournament and a possible ban from participation in future CAN sports leagues. 

For more on CAN Rules please see the attached Rules document regarding Alumni status and varsity athletes Here. 

TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES

Teams that are accepted for participation in the league will have certain responsibilities. Some of these include but are not limited to the following: 

Teams must have a roster comprised primarily of alumni who attended the sponsoring school. Many teams may have a few non-alumni who are active with people in their club, significant others, roommates, and the like. We understand that. However, we do not want to become a cheap alternative to Sports Leagues or the Arlington leagues where people play for a team with a school name. So please, use your team as an activity for your alumni chapter and use it as a vehicle to get people involved. Your chapter President should be aware of and in full support of your team and should approve of the individual (s) designated as coach. 

Each team must provide their referee representative (s) (see below) with the following equipment: whistle and stopwatch. 

Send a representative, preferably the coach, to the mandatory coaches’ meeting which will be scheduled for early December. It doesn't have to be the coach but every team must have someone there to review the rules, vote on proposed changes, and schedule the team’s regular season games.

Provide individuals to referee for as many games as your team is scheduled. That is, if you play 8 games, 1 or 2 representatives of your school must referee 8 other games (you can't ref your own game). The league, according to game times, will schedule officiating slots. It doesn't have to be the coach who refs, but whoever does, must have either attended the coaches meeting, an officials clinic or had prior experience in officiating CAN volleyball games or volleyball games in general.

Please realize that we make these responsibilities a requirement for everyone in order to bring you a low cost, friendly, fun league. Post game activities are a big part of CAN sports and we are currently in the process of procuring a sponsor bar and beer to coordinate this season’s specials. We know we cannot please everyone and we realize that there are chapters that have game watching parties at other locations, but making it possible for all the teams in the league to rendezvous at one location to share a pint and some food at reasonable discounts is what CAN is all about. 

CONCLUSION

All the fine print aside, CAN volleyball really is a great time and a great winter activity for your alumni chapter. So whether you are new to the league, or returning from last year, we want to hear from you if you are interested in joining us this season. 

You can also keep tabs on the CAN volleyball webpage for a constant stream of information. Just keep checking HERE. 

That's it for now. Feel free to contact this year’s co-commissioners or one of the sports chairs with any questions you might have about fielding a team.

Hope to see you out there on the courts! 

Aaron Trus (Maryland) - Sports Chair

Nick Walkosak (Arizona) - Sports Chair

Brian Pacheco (Penn State) - Asst. Sports Chair

Allen Van Brunt (Florida State) - Co-commissioner

Kim Wierzbicki (West Virginia) - Co-commissioner