S10 League Policies Updates

Hello VDLers,

As we gear up for Season 10, we’re making some updates to our League Policies. Here’s the scoop:

1) Restrictions on male substitute players

(General, #7)

Male substitute players can only play for one team per night.

This rule complements Rule #6 by not allowing male players, either rostered or substitute, to sub for another team in the same division. This prevents skewed matches and score results.

2) Introducing a Captains’ Clause

(General, #11)

Captains’ Clause: a game may be played under some variation of the rules and policies agreed upon by the captains of the teams involved.
Both captains must agree to any changes on the rules and policies. In addition, pressuring another captain to change the rules and policies against his/her will is unsportsmanlike.

This rule, borrowed from Ultimate, aligns well with the honour rules and empowers Captains to jointly decide how to handle extenuating circumstances on the court. It is not an excuse to allow 7-on-7 league game match-ups, nor allow teams with constant female player absenteeism to play ‘officially’ and not default. Rather, it’s geared towards rare circumstances, especially at Playoffs. For example, let’s say Team A and Team B are in the Playoff Finals. Team A has exactly 6 players (4M, 2F). One of the female players gets injured, leaving Team A with 5 players, including only 1 female player. Under existing policies of needing at least 2 females on at all times and no substituting players at Playoffs, Team A would have to forfeit. However, let’s say Team B wanted to continue playing, and not win  the championship by default (let’s face it, there is no glory in this kind of win), and was okay with 1 female player sub or maybe even 1 female player playing. The Captains Clause allows for this exception.

3) Changes to Retiering

(Tiering & Scheduling, 2 & 3)

The first re-tier moves roughly 5-6 teams up and down, the second re-tier moves roughly 2-4 teams up and down; there is no set number.

The amount of teams moved depend on a team’s performance, players’ skill level, and the competitiveness of the tier. Ultimately, it is based on the discretion of the Division Director and the League Scheduler.

Before, the policy was 6 up, 6 down for every retier; however, we found this too restrictive and arbitrary. Instead, the approach is like an archaeologist sifting through earth: we’re going to use a large filter initially, and then a finer one later on, to match up teams and skill levels. We still have general guidelines in place for each retier, but now, it’s ultimately up to the discretion of the Division Director and the League Scheduler.

That’s all for now!  If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, post them in the comments below. Thanks and see you on the courts soon.

On behalf of the VDL team,

Kevin Bao
League Director