Regional Tournaments

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES: REGION TOURNAMENTS

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

All Region Tournament information (including schedules and results) is retrieved from the Arizona Region's website. This is where the CCJ coaches and administrative staff will get information for each tournament. Tournament locations and start times will be selected by the Arizona Region and posted 3 to 7 days prior to the tournament.

ARIZONA REGION TOURNAMENT LINKS
- Club Division Schedules: 16-Club 14-Club 12-Club
- Championship Division Schedule
- Open Division Schedule

CCJ Team-by-Team Schedules (Arizona Region Schedules only)

SAVE THE DATE: For each tournament date that your team is scheduled to play, please be sure to reserve the entire day for competition. Tournament dates are published at the beginning of the season. However, the start times for each tournament are not announced until the Monday prior to the event.

REGION COMPETITION DIVISIONS

The Arizona Region offers three different divisions of competition to accommodate all the club teams in Arizona. CCJ reserves the right to evaluate each team and enter them in the appropriate level of competition for the season.

CLUB DIVISION: The Club Division offers three age groups: 16U, 14U, and 12U. A majority of the teams in the Arizona Region compete in the Club Division. For each age group, the teams will be restricted to playing teams in their own age group, with no movement between age groups. The Club Division schedule includes 6 regional tournaments and the Regional Championship Tournament at the end of the season. The format will be half-day tournaments that start play at either 8:00 AM (AM Wave) or 3:00 PM (PM Wave) and includes an 8-team bracket format - teams will play 3 matches each tournament.

CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION: The Championship Division allows most teams the opportunity to mix age groups during the season. The teams are not restricted to playing within their own age group, so it's common that a 14U team might play against a 16U team. The Championship Division schedule includes 6 regional tournaments and the Regional Championship Tournament at the end of the season. The format will be half-day tournaments that start play at either 8:00 AM (AM Wave) or 3:00 PM (PM Wave) and includes an 8-team bracket format - teams will play 3 matches each tournament.

OPEN DIVISION: The Open Division generally considered the top (or elite) Division that features Arizona's top National Teams from each club in all age groups. The Division accepts all age groups (18U, 17U, 16U, 15U, 14U) and the teams are grouped based on level of competition and not necessarily by age. In order to accommodate a team's National Tournament or JNQ schedule, the Open Division's schedule only includes 5 regional tournaments and the Regional Championship Tournament. The Region's Open Division competes on Sunday. The format is a full-day tournament that starts play at 9:00 AM with a round-robin pool followed by a cross-pool match in the afternoon - teams will play 4 matches each tournament.

REGION COMPETITION STRUCTURE

All Arizona Region Divisions (Club, Championship, and Open Divisions) will use a "ladder" Competition Format for moving teams up and down to create competitive groups.  In the Club Division, the continuum is by age (U12, U14, U16, U18).  In the Championship and Open Divisions, the continuum includes all of the teams registered to play.  Regardless of how the continuum is comprised, all of the teams are broken down into 5-8 team pools.  Each teams' final seed of each competition will determine the pool they will play in at the next tournament. Generally, teams that finish 1-3 will move up one pool; teams that finish 4-5 will remain in the same pool; and teams that finish 6-8 will move down one pool.

Please keep in mind that the format may vary if divisions are missing teams on a particular play date.  Regardless of the format, teams will move up or down based on their ranking at the end of the play date.

The power format and movement allows teams to eventually compete against teams that they are similar to, creating competitive match play for all.  Ultimately, the final power ranking will seed each team into the Region Championship Tournament.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT TOURNAMENTS

Players are expected to arrive on site 70 minutes prior to the published start of the tournament. This will allow our athletes enough time for a proper warm‐up prior to the first match to avoid the likelihood of injury. In addition, the team must be ready for any last‐minute schedule changes.

Players are responsible for everything they need to have a successful tournament day. This includes preparing their uniform and gear, preparing food and water for an entire day of competition. We recommend that the player prepares everything the night before to eliminate stress and time issues in the morning. Players need at least 8 hours of sleep prior to competition.

Cell phones should be turned off while at the tournament to avoid distractions. When officiating, it is vital that all members of the officiating team pay close attention so that the match can be completed in a timely manner. Electronic devices (cellphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) are not to be used while officiating any match.

At the conclusion of the tournament, coaches will meet with the team to debrief and will release the players once all playing and officiating responsibilities are complete. We ask that parents please wait until players are dismissed before taking your daughter from the playing site.

2021 SEASON: ARIZONA REGION SPECTATOR POLICY

12/1/2020: The Arizona Region has adopted a new Spectator Policy in response to the pandemic in order to limit capacity at the playing sites for Regional Tournaments. The Arizona Region uses private gyms as well as public and private schools to host the tournaments each weekend.

The Region has worked with facilities to currently allow only 3 spectators per team into the facility.

We understand the disappointment for our parents that want to watch their daughter play volleyball. It is fun for the parents and it is fun for the athletes to be watched and cheered by their parents and friends. However, these unprecedented times calls for unprecedented measures to allow the athletes to play safely. We need the facilities to remain open in order for the season to continue. As the numbers rise in Arizona, the facilities may decide that they need to change the current spectator policy. If the metrics improve to increase capacity, we could see a change for additional spectators as well.

Wristbands will be given to each team at the tournaments. These wristbands will distributed to the 3 designated spectators for that day. The wristbands are not to be shared by parents so that more spectators can go in on any given day and will be returned to the coaches at the end of the day.

The names of the 3 designated spectators will be written on the team's Event Roster. Temperatures will be taken at the door and an ID will be required and compared to the roster when they enter the facility.

The coaching staff is working to establish some guidelines with each team for the fair distribution of wristbands at each tournament. This is not going to be easy and will vary from team to team based on the number of parents wishing to watch their daughter play. Coaches may select the spectators themselves, create a lottery, or opt for a "parent committee" to assist with each event.

The following expectations and responsibilities are required by the club for the parents that will be inside the facility:

Live-Stream all matches. Parents will set-up a system to video and live-stream the matches for the other parents. This may include a Facebook Live post (on a private group), YouTube, Face-time, Zoom, or any other streaming platform.
Group Text set and match scores. Along with the live-stream, one parent will need to update the the scores of games and schedule.
Assume Chaperone Responsibilities. Without the other parents in the facility, we may need parents to assist if a player becomes ill or injured during competition - being with the athlete, calling parents, etc.
Player Account must be current.
Signed CCJ COVID-19 Wavier or Liability Form
Arizona Region COVID-19 Form

The coaching staff nor the allowed spectators WILL NOT BE responsible for transportation of any athlete(s) while other parents cannot attend the tournament. Transportation to and from the playing site for all Regional Tournament remains the responsibility of the athlete's parent(s) regardless of being able to watch or not. While CCJ will not be reserving vans for the tournament, parents are welcome to coordinate carpools or van rentals. Please note that USAV insurance will be in place for any travel to/from a sanctioned USAV event - as long as all drivers and passengers are registered..

Thank you again for your patience and understanding. This is not our policy and we're hopeful that the metrics will improve to allow more spectators into the facilities during the season. In the meantime, we are all working as hard as we can to keep all the athletes, coaches, and families safe.

TEAM CAMPS

Many clubs and parents will create "Team Camps" or tailgate parties in the parking lots of the Region's playing sites. These camps were developed as a healthy food table for the athletes to remain hydrated and fed during a long tournament. However, over the years, the camps have evolved into elaborate tailgates with food, chairs, music, and team banners that have become a hangout for the parents and distracting for the players during the tournament.

CCJ strongly discourages the set-up of any Team Camp at any tournament. Our fundamental philosophy is that players should be focused on the tournament and competition during the day, and not lounging or sleeping at a Team Camp.

Our NO-CAMP POLICY is in place for the following considerations:

Players should be focused on playing, scouting, and officiating at the tournament. In a six-round format, the team will be competing during 3 rounds and officiating for at least 1 round. The rounds that the team is off should be dedicated to scouting the opponents in the pool and refueling.
- The tailgates tend to provide too much distraction and some players spend most the off time either updating their story, creating a TikTok video, or sleeping .
- We still want players to have fun while together - and they will find a way - but the purpose of being at a tournament is to compete, and we believe that they should be focused on this.

Players should be responsible for their own food. Over the years, we've noticed that the Team Camp offerings resembled that of a football tailgate with little nutritional value for competing athletes.

Pressure on parents to set-up/maintain/clean-up the Team Camps. In the beginning, parents would split the responsibility and cost of the Team Camp and food/drinks. However, over the years this burden started to fall on one or two parents.

The burden on the playing site. Having a Team Camp at the gym or school places an unnecessary burden on the owners of the playing site in terms of reduced parking spaces, setting up on landscaping or other areas, loud noises, and extra trash left on site or in the dumpsters. Not having a Team Camp helps the Region maintain a good relationship with facilities.

It is our intention that we do not set-up any Team Camp specifically for the players. If parents wish to set-up a small area to gather during the tournament, please consider the club's expectations for the players while competing at the tournament.

12/31/2020: In order to maintain social distancing and eliminate the sharing of food, CCJ Teams WILL NOT set-up any Team Camp or Food Tables of any kind at any playing sites. The CCJ Director requests that all parents not allowed inside the facility to please follow all site rules and respect social distancing when setting up any "watch-party" outside the gym.

We understand that these policies will need to be reviewed week by week. At this time, the club is respecting the directive of the Arizona Region to reduce the number of Team Camps and groups of people (including athletes) gathering outside the gyms. If you have any questions, please contact the CCJ Director.