Tournament Day FAQ

What about the tournaments we host?  Please be courteous and helpful to out-of-town teams.  Everyone associated with a Northlake jersey is a representative of our club.  Visiting teams will decide to come back to our tournaments if they have a good experience here & feel welcomed by each of us. As the host club, it is our team (parents & players) duty to assist the court manager with clean-up and enforcement of the “no food or drink in the gym (except water bottles or Gatorade bottles)” policy. As host club, we also provide food for the referees – be sure to allow them to snack from our team tables!   We also give them water bottles during the day and occasionally help time warm-ups so they can take a rest-room break.

How should I prepare physically? Aim for 8 hours of sleep daily the week before a tournament (do not stay up after midnight!) and eat a meal of carbs, chicken or fish and fruit the night before.

What about food? Your Team Mom or Team Dad will coordinate food for each family to bring to the tournaments since the players will be there all day and will need a light lunch & healthy snacks (pasta, fruit, nuts/ trail mix are excellent). Most teams set up a food table in the lobby or backstage areas of the gym. (It's like tailgating, only usually it's inside.) Keep hydrated by drinking at least 8-16 ounces of water an hour during tournament play.

When will we know where we are playing? The SRVA (Southern Region) officials won't post the actual gym locations until the Wednesday immediately before each tournament.  We will post the starting gyms on our web site as soon as we get them from the SRVA. You can always check the Southern Region web site directly for this information at http://www.srva.org. Click on the Tournaments tab, then the Juniors tab. Then scroll down until you find the tournament and the age division for your player.

What time should we arrive at the gym? Arrive at the time your coach requests. If in doubt, plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before the posted time of the coach/captain meeting. Arrive in uniform & ready to warm up! Teams not able to take the court when the whistle blows will forfeit their  match. This can also mean that if a team forfeits that is scheduled to play ahead of you, your start time will then be moved up without any advance notice!

What jerseys/uniforms should I bring? 

• All 13-18's teams MUST bring BOTH red & black jerseys, black spandex & volleyball shoes.
• 12U players MUST bring their red jersey, black shorts & volleyball shoes.
• Without your official jerseys, referees will not allow you to play.

What else should I bring?

• Refillable water bottle
• Homework to do or books to read during "sit" matches
• Pillow, pajama pants, blanket or sleeping bag if not doing homework during "sit" matches
• Any medications you normally take yourself - this includes inhalers.
• If you wear contact lenses: extra set of contacts, contact solution & backup pair of glasses.
• Whistle for player-referees; pen, pencil, white-out, watch/timing device for player-scorekeepers
• Parents should bring: camp chairs, cell phone, team phone list, Tylenol or Advil, mints (Tic-Tacs, Altoids, etc.), reading materials, sweater (in case gyms are cold or you need a pillow), extension cord, band-aids, training tape, extra toilet paper/paper towels/Kleenex, any current medications for your daughter (sinus, allergy, Midol, attention meds, etc.).
• See also our "ultimate" tournament packing lists.

I don't see my age bracket - what's up with that? Some tournaments only offer certain age brackets, such as 14, 16 & 18. In these tournaments the 13's will play 'up' in the 14's bracket, the 15's will play 'up' in the 16's bracket & the 17's will play 'up' in the 18's bracket.

Will my team play 'Club' or 'Power' tournaments? Most of our teams will play in the 'Club' division, indicated by a 'C' on the tournament brackets (14C, 16C, etc.).  'Power' and 'Open' tournaments are for highly skilled teams.

What about road tournaments? Will there be a bus or chaperones?

• Northlake Volleyball is unique in that we want travel tournaments to be a family affair. We will block rooms in advance so that entire teams can stay at the same hotel at a competitive rate, but we want the parents to attend with & supervise their child.
• Although not mandatory, we strongly encourage all players to stay at the team hotel.  This not only fosters team bonding but enables on-the-spot communication if the coach needs to alert the team if a match time or location has suddenly changed. 
• During a tournament weekend, please do not arrange private parties or activities for a subset of the team. If a special social event such as a birthday is celebrated that weekend, all players are to be included.
• For older girls, often 2-3 players will book 3 rooms so that  players can room together and then two sets of parents can stay in rooms on the same hall. 
• If a parent cannot travel with the team, they should arrange for their daughter to travel with & share a room with another family or player on their team.  If a parent has difficulties securing a ride or a room for their unaccompanied daughter they should first contact their Team Mom/Dad, then their Coach, and then the club's Team Parent Liaison. 
• For an away tournament that begins on Saturday, we request that all players arrive on Friday night to ensure a good night's sleep and to make sure you are there on time.  Please allow at extra driving time in the morning after eating breakfast to find your gym. We usually try to book hotels within a 30-minute drive of the sites; add on at least an extra 20-30 minutes to get lost. Be sure to take the cell phone number of your Team Parent or Coach or other team members when traveling. Do NOT be late to your match, however challenging the local driving directions might be!

Is there a curfew? Curfew will be usually set by your coach, but if not, players are to be in their rooms & quiet no later than 10:30 PM before an 8 AM start.  Players are to be well-behaved and quiet in the hotel so that we all stay safe and are welcome to return. Common sense prevails here: do not be away from your room without a buddy or parent; do not roam the halls, lobby or parking lot; do not be loud in hallways or rooms; do not slam doors; do not socialize with strangers, especially those cute boys from the basketball/baseball/golf/swim/soccer/wrestling tournament that are staying at the same hotel.  Please respect the common areas of the hotels including, but not limited to, the lobby, the business/internet center, the concessions area, the gym/pool and the parking lot.  Please remember that your individual actions reflect upon the entire club.

What about conflicts?  Most team tournaments will be 1-day or 2-day weekend tournaments.  Tournament participation is expected of all players and each day of tournament play usually requires a full day commitment.  Some tournaments may fall on religious holidays or school breaks. Some teams may have one 3-day tournament.  Although no 3-day tournaments are currently projected, a 3-day tournament could possibly be added to a team’s schedule in rare circumstances.  Three-day tournaments may not coincide with all schools' holiday schedules and may cause a player to miss all or part of a school day.  Other tournaments may cause a player to miss all or part of a vacation day, a Sunday morning or a religious holiday.  In such cases players are expected to pre-arrange their school absence & family plans in advance so that they do not miss the tournament.