• SIDEBAR SOCIAL GOLDEN RULE: Have fun, make new friends, and take advantage of drink specials. The game might not go your way, but cold beer always helps!

• You always need to have your team shirts on league days.

• Referees have the final call on the court. Please respect them.

• No fighting or aggressive behavior will be tolerated and may result in suspension or expulsion from the league. So, don’t do that.

• Please be on time. We recommend showing up at least 10 minutes early to check in and avoid any chance of forfeit – And it gives you time to get a few drinks.

• And, as always, no smoking in the sand or deck area of the Sandbar, please use the designated areas.

 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

Tuesday - Thursday League

6 players will play at once, with a minimum of 2 females. A minimum of 4 players from your roster or a “qualified substitute” (see Qualified Substitutes below) are required to start a game or continue a game; with 4 players, at least one of the players need to be female. Each player must rotate on a side out. 

 

If any team is short the required number of women, they may play down with 4 men/1 woman or 3 men/1 woman. Once again, a “qualified substitute” may be invited to play if accordance to the guidelines below:

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Hardcore League

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At least 1 female is required and a minimum of 3 players to qualify for a win

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QUALIFIED SUBSTITUTES

 

If any team is short the required number of players (6) or (3 for Hardcore league) in a regular season game, they may invite players to substitute for the missing roster player. Substitutes must be qualified by signing the “Sandbar Waiver” and must be approved by the Referee – the Referee has full discretion to allow or deny any substitute from being qualified to play.

 

Teams may not substitute more players than are missing from their rosters. (e.g. If Team A has 10 people signed up on their roster and 1 is missing, Team A can only have 1 substitute). No more than 2 substitutes may be allowed per team any given day of league play. Barring gender requirements, qualified substitutes should be the last ones substituted into the game.

 

At sign in, substitutes should check in with the Game Coordinator on site to sign the “Sandbar Waiver” and pick up a pinnie to wear while playing. This is ensuring that qualified substitutes can be easily identified by the Referees. The substitute will exchange their ID for the pinnie, and the identification will be returned upon receipt of the pinnie.

 

GAMES AND SCORING

 

Each match is best 2 out of 3 played to 21 points. Teams must win by 2 points, capped at 25 points. If a third game is played, first team to 15 wins.

 

Rally point scoring will be used. This means that, regardless of which team served, a point is awarded for each side-out.

 

SERVING

 

Order: Rock, Paper, Scissors will determine which team serves first. The winner chooses: a) either to serve or receive, or b) which side of the court they want to start. The loser make the remaining choice. The team that served first in the prior match will receive first in the second game. Another round of Rock, Paper, Scissors will be played to determine serve if there is a third game.

 

Serving may be either underhand or overhand with either a closed or open hand. The player serving shall not serve until signaled to do so by the Referee, otherwise, the serve will be replayed. If the player serving catches a bad toss in the air, the serve shall be replayed.

 

If the serving team wins a rally, the same player serves again. If the returning team wins the rally, it gains the serve, and the server for the next point is whichever player has not been the server when his/her team was last serving.

 

The player serving will continue to serve until the Referee calls a “side-out.”

 

GAME PLAY

 

Each time a team is awarded the serve, that team will rotate one place clockwise.

 

A ball hit into the net, other than a serve, may be recovered, provided a player does not contact the net or cross the center line. For the safety of all players, please refrain from contact with the net.

 

A team must return the ball across the net with three or fewer contacts. A block does NOT count as a contact.

 

A player may not play the ball twice in succession, unless the initial contact is a block.

 

If the ball lands on the boundary line, it is considered in the court. A player can run out of bounds and play the ball.

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The ball cannot be played off the deck, nets around the deck, or roof.

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A player may not reach over the net to hit a ball. Reaching over the net is only acceptable if it is after the player executes a hit AND the contact does not interfere with the opponents play.

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The ball may touch ANY body part.

 

FOULS / VIOLATIONS

 

If a foul is committed, the penalty will be a side-out point. The following are violations:

 

• Illegally serving or serving out of turn.

• Failure to return the ball over the net in three or fewer contacts.

• Catching, holding, or blatant carrying of the ball while playing.

• Slapping or scooping the ball in an underhand motion with open hand(s).

• Touching or reaching under the net to interfere with an opponent playing the ball.

• Contacting the ball twice in succession, unless the first contact is a block.

 

TIMEOUTS

 

Each team may call one one-minute timeout per match, if needed.

 

SUBSTITUTIONS / ROTATION

 

Substitutions can only be made into the server position upon rotation. There is no limit on the number of substitutions per game. Remember, those deemed a Qualified Substitute must be the last ones substituted into the game.

 

There must be a fair rotation of all players through court positions. This means that both men and women get time both on the bench and on the court. Referees may require substitutions to ensure this. 

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* Monday league rotation is not required. 

 

FORFEITS

 

Teams should report to the courts at least 10 minutes before their scheduled start time of the match. A game will be ruled a forfeit if any of the following occur:

 

• No one from one of the teams is present at the start of the game

• The minimum of one female is not present

• Not enough female players are present

• Improper conduct or fighting by one or more players on any team

 

While any of the following can result in a forfeit loss of 3-0, exceptions can be made if a team has exigent circumstances. Still, the final decision is subject to the Referee’s discretion.

 

SEASON ABANDONMENT

 

Registered teams that miss two weeks of play will be considered to have abandoned their place in that season of the League. Teams meeting this criterion will be contacted by Sidebar Social’s coordinator to confirm their abandonment status. If the team fails to respond within two business days, they will be removed from the season schedule and will forfeit their registration fees. Teams that respond will be required to supply reasoning for lack of attendance and can petition the League for reinstatement. Reactivation decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis at the sole discretion of the League management.

 

INCLEMENT WEATHER

 

In the event of weather conditions making the games unsafe, Sidebar Social will send an update to those who have signed up for notifications at registration. Additionally, updates will be posted on Sidebar Social’s website (sidebarsocial.com) under the League updates.

 

In the event the matches have been started and then must be postponed due to weather, the matches will be restarted from the beginning if less than the first half of the first game has been played; otherwise, the games will be called or resumed from the stoppage of play if the progress of the game if after the first half of the first game.

 

Any matches postponed for weather will be rescheduled and information on the rescheduled game will be sent to all players via email.

 

 

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY – This is a SOCIAL LEAGUE, so have fun and make friends!