Club Approval, Early Signing and December Tryout Procedures

Volleyball Manitoba has made some updates to the Club Approval Process, as well as our Early-Signing Procedures and the December Tryout Period. Please review below for information on how these processes will work for the upcoming season.

Athletes who are interested in joining a Club Volleyball team for the 2025/26 season can do so in two ways, depending on their age category.

The Early-Signing Period (only available at the 17U and 18U age categories) allows clubs to offer spots to players and formally receive commitments for the upcoming Club Season in advance of the High School Season. New This Year: We have made some adjustments to the Early-Signing Process for 2025/26, please review updated details below.

Clubs are not required to utilize the early-signing window, and athletes are not required to sign with clubs during this time.

17U-18U athletes who are not signed during the Early-Signing Period will have the opportunity to try out for a team during the December Tryout Period. Please note that athletes born in 2010 or later (i.e. 16U or younger) are ineligible to early-sign with a 17U or 18U team. They may sign following the December Tryout Period if they decide to play-up.

For athletes who will be playing 13U, 14U, 15U or 16U, the first formal opportunity to commit to a team begins in December during the tryout period. Athletes at the 13U, 14U, 15U or 16U age categories are not eligible to make commitments to club teams during the Early Signing Window, or at any point earlier than the December Tryout Period. New This Year: We have made some adjustments to the December Tryout Period for 2025/26, please review updated details below.

Club Approval Process:

Please note: A recruitment blackout is in place beginning June 1^st, remaining in place until the Tuesday after August Long Weekend (for 2025, this is August 5^th).

- “Recruitment Blackout” indicates a period of time during which no Direct Recruitment of athletes can occur. Indirect Recruitment can still be made available.
  - “Direct Recruitment” means communicating with an individual athlete or group of athletes in a personalized way with the purpose of convincing them to participate with a Club program. This includes any in-person communication, phone calls, emails, social media direct messaging, etc. Any Direct Recruitment must always involve an athlete’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s).
  - “Indirect Recruitment” means passive communication that is not personalized and is available to the public such as website postings, general social media posts, flyers, posters, etc.

Club Directors can begin to purchase their memberships and apply for approval using the Club Approval Form on July 11^th, 2025 (full info available HERE)
Applications will be reviewed promptly and clubs will be notified of approval or need for re-submission.
Please note that Club Directors need to have all Screening Requirements completed and submitted in order for their club to be approved.
All Clubs that wish to utilize the Early-Signing Period must be Approved Clubs no later than July 25^th, 2025 (please note that while the 25^th is the deadline, clubs should do their best to have it done ASAP or they will have a very hard time meeting subsequent deadlines for coach registration and screening.)
Coach Registration will open in SportLomo on July 22^nd, 2025.
Head Coaches that wish to early-sign players must have all screening and certifications requirements completed and submitted, and be Active members in SportLomo no later than July 31^st, 2025.
Teams must be created in SportLomo, with Head Coaches rostered by July 31^st, 2025.
If these conditions are not met, the club/team/coach will not be eligible to early-sign players.
A full list of eligible clubs/teams/coaches will be posted on the VM Website on August 1^st, 2025.
This is in place so that athletes/families will be able to confirm which clubs/teams/coaches are eligible to utilize the Early-Signing Period.
Clubs that do not wish to utilize the early-signing window are not required to meet these deadlines in order to register as a club. Club Approval will remain open through the fall, with clubs needing to be approved in advance of the December Tryout Period. Full Club Approval information is / will be available on our website HERE.
Clubs can not host tryouts or identification camps in August, or any time prior to the December Tryout Period. Any summer or fall skills camps must remain neither Mandatory (athletes are not required to attend in order to gain or maintain a place on a Club Team) nor Exclusive (must not be invitation only), and must not be used as part of a clubs/teams athlete identification process.
Clubs found to be in violation of these rules and regulations risk losing their Approved Club status for the season.

Early-Signing Timelines:

On August 5^th, the recruiting blackout lifts and clubs can begin communicating with athletes.
On August 18^th, the Re-Signing Window opens and eligible clubs/teams/coaches can make formal offers to age-eligible athletes who participated with their club the previous season. Please note that athletes still need to be signed to a specific team with an eligible Head Coach, they can’t just sign to a club with team to-be-determined later.
Clubs must give athletes 24 hours to consider all offers, after which if they haven’t heard back they can rescind the offer. All offers must be made by email, and must include VMs Early-Signing Agreement form. The 24 hour window begins when the offer email is sent.
Any re-signed athletes must be signed and submitted to Volleyball Manitoba by end-of-day on Thursday, August 21^st. This includes the submission of the completed Early-Signing Agreement Form for each athlete. Without this documentation, athletes will not be considered signed.
A list of re-signed athletes will be posted on the VM Website on August 22^nd.
On August 25^th, the Open-Signing Window opens and eligible clubs/teams/coaches can make formal offers to any age-eligible athletes. Please note that athletes still need to be signed to a specific team with an eligible Head Coach, they can’t just sign to a club.
Reminder: athletes born 2010 or later are ineligible to be early-signed to a 17U or 18U team; they would still be eligible to “play-up” following the tryout period in December.
Clubs must give athletes 24 hours to consider all offers, after which if they haven’t heard back they can rescind the offer. All offers must be made by email, and must include VMs Early-Signing Agreement form. The 24 hour window begins when the offer email is sent.
Any committed athletes must be signed and submitted to Volleyball Manitoba by end-of-day on Thursday, August 28^th. This includes the submission of the completed Early-Signing Agreement Form for each athlete. Without this documentation, athletes will not be considered signed.
A full list of signed athletes will be posted on the VM Website on August 29^th.
SportLomo Registration will open for early-signed athletes on September 2^nd.
All early-signed athletes must be registered in SportLomo by September 30^th.
Clubs that do not meet these deadlines and/or do not follow these regulations may lose their eligibility to early-sign athletes and/or their approved club status for the season.

Clubs that have signed athletes through the Early Signing Period can maintain contact throughout the school season, however, clubs are still not allowed to train as a team during this season and athletes are not required to attend any club activity such as camps.
Clubs should avoid conflict with School programs and encourage athletes to prioritize their School Season.

When a club makes an offer to an athlete and the athlete accepts and commits during the early signing period, it is intended as a commitment by both parties for the club season, just as if the offer and commitment were made during the try-out period in December. Once they have signed and committed to an offer, athletes are considered signed until the end of the Club Season and any signed athlete may not be recruited by any other club (no further communication or contact from other clubs can be made).

Volleyball Manitoba will review the Early Signing Process moving forward to ensure it is meeting its intended purpose for the best interests of athletes and clubs.

December Tryout Period Timelines:

New This Year:
13U and 14U Tryouts can begin on Sunday, November 30th.
15U and 16U Tryouts can begin on Saturday, December 6th.
17U and 18U Tryouts can begin on Sunday, December 7th.
While Tryouts may begin on these dates, clubs may not make offers to athletes until Sunday, December 7th for all ages.
On December 7th, clubs/teams/coaches can make formal offers to athletes. Clubs must give athletes 24 hours to consider all offers, after which if they haven’t heard back they can rescind the offer. All offers must be made by email, and must include VMs Individual Registration form. The 24 hour window begins when the offer email is sent.
We strongly encourage Clubs/Teams to allow athletes to attend tryouts for multiple Clubs/Teams (if they wish) and not pressure them to commit immediately following a tryout.
If a Club/Team extends an offer to an athlete any time after the initial tryout weekend, they must allow that athlete 24 hours to consider the offer, and must honour the offer for the duration of that 24 hour period.
Player Registration will open in SportLomo on December 15th, with all athletes required to be registered in advance of the first Premier Tournament offered at their age group (regardless of whether the team will be participating in the tournament).
Clubs found to be in violation of these rules and regulations risk losing their Approved Club status for the season.