What is Early-Signing?
Club Teams are most often populated through athlete tryouts in early December. However, this year, due in part to the pandemic, Volleyball Manitoba has instituted a series of Early-Signing Windows for clubs to sign athletes without the need for tryouts.
The first Early Signing Window happened back in September, where Clubs at the 16U, 17U and 18U age categories were permitted to recruit and sign athletes to their teams in advance of the projected School Season.
The next window is a Re-Signing Window. Beginning November 16th, Clubs will be permitted to Re-Sign athletes who played for their Club last season, at the 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U and 18U age categories.
The last window is an Open Signing Period. Beginning November 23rd, Clubs will be permitted to sign any remaining athletes who have not pre-signed with another team. This window will include 13U athletes, along with 14U-18U athletes.
For parents, this means that your son or daughter would be eligible to re-sign with their club from last season beginning on November 16th, and eligible to sign with any club beginning on the 23rd. Please note that while Clubs are permitted to make offers beginning on the stated dates, they are obligated to give you at least 3 days to consider the offer in case you have multiple offers on the table. After these 3 days, Clubs can withdraw offers and move on to other athletes, so we recommend keeping an open line of communication with any Clubs to receive offers from.
Can a Club ask for a deposit if we sign early?
Signing athletes early does not cost a Club any money, however even though we don’t know what the season will look like exactly, Clubs may require a deposit following an Early-Signing commitment. This deposit can not be requested any earlier than December 21st when Clubs can officially begin to register players and purchase memberships. Clubs should be transparent with their expenses, and this deposit should be a reasonable amount based on upfront costs that a club may have (this would primarily include gym time, membership fees, clothing, etc.)
If we haven’t signed anywhere early, what about Tryouts? (Updated Dec 9)
Due to the current Manitoba Pandemic Response System level, Tryouts can begin no earlier than January 9th for 13U-16U and January 10th for 17U and 18U. We are strongly encouraging clubs to avoid hosting tryouts if at all possible, and only filling their teams through Open Signing.
Tryout regulations are still being formed, but group size restrictions and other health and safety protocols will be enforced. More information on tryouts will be available at a later date, and will be updated here when available.
We are strongly recommending that athletes participate within their own community if at all possible, and within their region if not. As different regions of the province fall under different levels of the Pandemic Response System, levels could change suddenly from one region to the next, making participation with a team outside of your community impossible.
What could the Club Season look like?
We all have to understand that the club season this year will look different than normal, with Return to Play protocol implementations being required for team training and for competitions. Competitions themselves will also likely involve modified formats to meet public health and Return to Play guidelines. The current focus is on being able to offer as many athletes as possible across the province an opportunity to return to or join a program that will allow them to grow and develop as volleyball players.
Should we expect events like Provincials and Nationals to happen?
Provincials and Nationals could happen, but they would proceed in a much different format. Volleyball Manitoba and Volleyball Canada are still working on several options to hopefully deliver these events in some capacity this season.
What if we can’t find anywhere to play?
We have a list of Clubs planning on running teams available HERE. This Club List will continue to be updated as we receive more information from Clubs.
If you’re an athlete looking for a team, you can put your name on our Players Looking For A Team list by completing the form online HERE.
If you are unable to find a Club team, Volleyball Manitoba is looking at the feasibility of offering a program for athletes ages 13-15 for the 2021 club season. These teams would be open to any athlete not currently in a Club program, and there would be no tryouts necessary. Following training throughout the month of January teams would be formed based on skill level. These teams would train 1-2 times per week and compete throughout the club season in their own league cohort. Presuming competition does return in some form, these teams would compete in tournament play, Provincial Championships, and potentially National events. Program would be planned and led by Volleyball Manitoba with support from local coaches. Once more details and/or registration is available, it will be posted HERE.
