Dear Club Managers, Coaches, Athletes & Parents,
As we move further into 2021 we at Volleyball Manitoba continue to monitor the most recent developments surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic response levels and public health restrictions in place.
As you are aware, the current Critical (Red) Response Level restrictions that have suspended all volleyball activities are in place throughout the province until January 22. While we wait and anticipate further notifications next week, we would like to provide you with some updates at this time relating to a return to volleyball.
First, when allowed and approved by the provincial health officials volleyball clubs and teams that are prepared (pre-signed athletes, gym times booked) may be allowed to immediately begin training. On court sessions must be a maximum of 90 minutes in duration. Depending on the health restrictions in place, the number of athletes per court may need to be limited. Once the province makes their announcement on what to expect following January 22nd, we will have an updated RTP document available regarding any training restrictions.
In addition, in being responsible and prudent with limiting exposure and transmission risk it is important that athletes remain in the same group or cohort for at least the first 2 weeks of activity. Accordingly, try-out sessions will not initially be allowed. More information regarding the try-out process for those teams still looking for athletes and athletes still looking for teams will be provided in the near future.
Clubs still looking for players to help fill their rosters can also reference the following list of athletes looking for teams under the “Athletes Looking for Teams” link.
Teams can also continue to pre-sign athletes using the “Early Signing Agreement 3rd Window” link.
Competition will now be delayed until at least March. As you have likely read this week Volleyball Canada has postponed their National Championships until later in the summer and therefore our competition plan is being adjusted accordingly.
With the cancelation of competitions in February, Volleyball Manitoba does have gym time throughout the month that can now be offered to clubs if they are still in need. If your team or club is interested in receiving more information about available gym time please contact Anthony Roberts at volleyball.pd@sportmanitoba.ca and he can provide further details on this process.
The start of online Registration will coincide with a return to the court, currently not opening until January 25th at the earliest.
For those clubs that have not yet submitted your Club Information Forms we ask you to please do so by clicking the “Club Information Forms” link. Even if the form is not fully complete, please provide the basic information that may currently be known and the forms can be updated as information gets determined.
A further virtual ‘Club Volleyball Information Meeting’ is being planned for the week of January 25th. More details to follow on this next week.
We thank you all for your continued patience and cooperation and we look forward to working with you on making this club season as positive as possible when it is safe to proceed, which we hope may be sometime soon.
Take care and stay safe.
November 17, 2020 Update
As with all aspects of life, COVID-19 continues to affect our community and by extension our sport. As we move through the current COVID-19 restrictions within our province, Volleyball Manitoba has continued to plan for the upcoming club volleyball season.
We all have to understand that the club season 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.
We would like to advise you of the following changes and adjustments at the current time relating to the club season:
New Early-Signing Windows:
- Volleyball Manitoba will be instituting two additional Early-Signing periods. This is being implemented due to facility access challenges and safety considerations. With the uncertainty of gathering sizes and limitations to facility availability, holding tryouts may post a significant challenge for Clubs, risk to our membership and community, and be against public health guidelines. Hopefully these Early-Signing Windows can significantly limit the number of tryouts that need to take place.
- Beginning immediately, the Communication Blackout currently in place will be lifted and Clubs can begin to communicate directly with athletes.
- The first Re-Signing Window will be opened on November 16th, where Clubs will be permitted to re-sign athletes who participated in their Club last season. This Re-Signing Window will be open to 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U and 18U age groups.
- Beginning on November 23rd an Open Signing Period will begin, where Clubs will be permitted to sign any remaining athletes. This will include 13U athletes in addition to 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U and 18U. Once Open Signing begins, teams can fill their 13th-15th roster spots if they wish.
- The process around Clubs making offers to athletes is as follows:
- The Re-Signing Offer and Agreement Form will be made available on the VM website on Nov 16th.
- The Open Signing Offer and Agreement Form will be made available on Nov 23rd.
- Athletes may receive offers from a Club at any time during the window, however Clubs must give athletes 3 days to consider any additional offers they may receive.
- Once Clubs have a signed, accepted offer they must register their athletes/team in to the online registration system (HERE) in order for those athletes to be considered pre-signed. Membership fees will not be collected at this time. Clubs/Teams should wait until they have a complete list of early-signed players before they complete the online registration.
- Registered Teams will be updated on the VM website weekly beginning on November 20th.
- It is recommended that athletes do not choose a Club outside of their community if at all possible. For communities without Clubs, athletes should try to ensure that they stay within their region.
- Clubs pre-signing athletes should be confident that they will be able to secure the appropriate gym time to host the teams that they are signing athletes to.
- Later in December, teams will still be required to complete the usual Online Registration where they will purchase memberships for all of their players and coaches.
Tryouts:
- Pending Health Authority Regulations, the Tryout Period will begin on December 12th for 16U and Younger teams, and December 13th for 17U and 18U teams. We will be continually re-evaluating these dates as more information becomes available to us.
- VM will be releasing additional Tryout Regulations at a later date, expected to be inclusive of group size restrictions and other health and safety protocols.
- It is expected that the online registration system will open on December 21st to begin formal team registration, including membership purchase. Teams that have been Early-Signed will still need to go through this process.
Season/Training/Competition:
- Assuming Tryouts can begin on December 12th, any teams that have been Pre-Signed will be permitted to begin training at this time.
- The traditional Holiday Break Training Blackout will also be lifted this year, and replaced by a shorter Training Blackout from Dec 24-26.
- We are still reviewing numerous options about how the season could look in terms of competition, and will be providing more details on our plans in the coming weeks. Competition would not begin until Feb 1 at the earliest.
As everyone is aware, this is a constantly evolving situation and we thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to process and evaluate our options.
