As winter approaches, the Capital Alumni Network (CAN) turns its attention toward its 18th season of alumni volleyball. Last season, 17 teams competed in the Recreational division of the league. We anticipate that 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 8 - Applications go online.
November 22 - Applications for league consideration due by 6pm
December 1 - Teams notified about included schools and new divisions
December 12 - Mandatory coaches meetings at CCSP (tentative)
December 19 - Full Payment due by 6pm
January 9 - Pre-season roster with president approval due by 6pm
January 12 - Season Begins
March 1 - Regular Season ends*
March 7-8 - Post-season Tournament*
* Pending weather cancellations
Once again, we are streamlining the application process and will not require your chapter president to approve the team at this point. HOWEVER, please note that you will need to get presidential approval of your roster as usual, and by completing this application you are confirming that you have the support of your chapter to have a team in CAN.
2020 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 12 and will continue through the beginning of March. Games will be played on Sundays (and potentially Saturday evenings). We are working on the location and are hoping to be at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria again. The best-of-3 match length will be approximately 50 minutes. Each team will play 8 (or 10) games in the regular season.
Cost for this year will be similar to previous years but is still being worked out with Alexandria.
(Probable location) Bishop Ireton High School
201 Cambridge Road
Alexandria, VA 22301
This year, the playoff tournament is tentatively scheduled to begin March 7-8, 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 of an online form filled out by a coach designated by the alumni chapter. All applications must be submitted by 6pm on November 22, 2019. Please do not wait until the last minute to complete the entire application.
This year team fee will likely be $700, but we are waiting on confirmation from Alexandria, a similar fee to last year. Unlike last year, we will NOT be collecting deposits. Submission of this application is confirmation that you will pay the full amount once accepted into the league by the due date.
What will CAN 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 chapter’s 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 basketball 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 scorekeeping assignments each team is asked to do) - Too many teams are impacted by a team's ability/inability to play and score. 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 basketball season? How did the team adhere to its responsibilities last basketball season (e.g. scoring the required games, forfeits etc.)? Did the team participate in both the regular season and tournament? Were there any disciplinary issues with the team?; 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 3 women (minimum of 4 players to start) 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 70% alumni rule on the court that will be enforced for the regular season and 75% in the post-season tournament -- for volleyball that means only 1 non-alum on the court at a time. Teams will be required to submit a roster at the start of the season and after every regular season game. It is expected that 70% on the court in each game will be alumni from the sponsoring university. Spouses will be considered alumni to fulfill the 70% requirement. "Grand fathering" exceptions must be approved by the Sports Chair, per the CAN rules.
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 CAN rules here (which will be updated Jan 1):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H7Y2toOQcoyjiX1QlVkrOrLcYLIsp0wD/view 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.
For new teams and/or new coaches, you will need to send a representative, preferably the coach, to the coaches’ meeting which will be scheduled for early December.
Provide individuals to referee for as many games as your team is scheduled. Referee duties will be distributed evenly amongst all teams. The league, according to game times, will schedule officiating slots. It doesn't have to be the coach who refs, but whoever does should know the rules and/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.
If you have any more specific questions about the application process or the requirements/expectations for the teams please feel free to email Ashley Philips at
ashphil@gmail.com.
We hope to see you out there on the courts!
Ashley Philips (American) – Sports Chair
Daryl Kleist (Wisconsin) – Sports Chair
Meghan Toomey (Elon) - Assistant Sports Chair
Marvin Yates (Michigan State) - Assistant Sports Chair
Carrie Philips (Northwestern) - Commissioner
