Volleypong: Official Rules

I thought it'd be good to post up the official rules of volleypong, since they've changed since I first sent them out. So now anyone who wants can access them and get a game going... and any disputes can easily be resolved (until we find something I've missed). So here they are (except for the diagrams, but those are fairly self explanatory):


The Official Rules of Volleypong

1.00 - Objective
1.01 Volleypong is a match between two teams of three players each, played on a ping pong table. NOTE: The game may also be played with two players on each team provided that in Rule 5.01, any reference to the backer is omitted.
1.02 The objective of each team is to win by scoring more points than the opponent.
1.03 The winner of the match will be that team which will have won two sets.
1.04 The winner of a set is the team which has a two or more point lead when they reach fifteen points, or first gains a two point lead after being tied at fourteen.

2.00 – The Playing Area
2.01 The game will be played on a ping pong table, with a preferred distance of eight (8) meters of room on all sides of the table. In addition, the floor must not be carpeted. NOTE: If there is any obstructing material within eight meters of the table, all such material (including the ceiling) should be considered in play and any contact with such material shall not be considered a bounce.
2.02 The ball is to be the same as used in ping pong.
2.03 A line even with the back end of the table on each side extends to the edge of the playing area. This is the attack line.
2.04 All players on each team must not be wearing anything on their hands, or in any way add grip to their hands to assist in spinning the ball.

3.00 – Definitions of Terms
An ATTACK HIT is any hit on which the ball goes directly from a player’s hand over the net. An attack hit must be made with one or both feet fully behind the attack line. An attack hit may not be made off a floor bounce unless hit by the backer.
The BACKER is the player in position 3.
A BLOCK happens when a player lines his hands above the net in order to prevent an attack hit from crossing the net. A block must be made with one or both feet fully behind the attack line. A serve cannot be blocked. If a blocker makes contact with the ball, but fails to prevent the ball from crossing the net, it is considered a hit. A blocked ball must make immediate contact with the table.
The DEFENDER is the player in position 2.
A FAULT occurs when a player hits the ball, but his team is unable to attack successfully.
A FLOOR BOUNCE is when the ball comes in contact with the floor.
A FOUL occurs whenever a player violates one of the rules stated herein.
A HELD BALL is when a player contacts the ball for longer than a moment.
A HIT is made any time the ball momentarily comes in contact with a player.
A MATCH consists of a best-of-three sets.
A NET ATTACK is an attack hit that hits the net, but successfully crosses to the other side of the table. A net attack remains live. The poles are considered part of the net.
A NET SERVE is a serve that hits the net, but successfully crosses to the other side of the table. A net serve results in a reserve.
OVER THE NET requires the ball to pass through the air directly above the net. That is, if an attack hit passes outside the area bounded by the lines going up from the poles on the edges of the net, it is a fault (See diagram 1)
A POSSESSION begins when a serve or attack hit creates a table bounce.
A RALLY starts with a serve and ends on a foul, a fault, or a winner.
A SERVE is used to start a rally. Once hit, a served ball must hit the server’s side of the table before going over the net. A serve must be made with both feet fully behind the attack line.
The SERVER is the player in position 1. The server is the one who serves.
A SET lasts until one team leads by two or more and has at least fifteen points.
A SIDEOUT is a change of serves. It occurs when the non-serving team wins a rally.
A TABLE BOUNCE is when the ball comes in contact with the top or upper edge of the table.
A WINNER occurs when an attack hit is successfully made and the opposing team does not hit the ball.


4.00 – Scoring
4.01 A point is awarded to a serving team that wins a rally.
4.02 A rally is won by a team when:
a) the opposing team faults.
b) the opposing team fouls.
c) a winner is hit by that team.
4.03 It is a fault if:
a) a hit ball performs a table bounce immediately before crossing the net.
b) the ball is hit more than three times in one possession.
c) the ball is allowed more than one table bounce between hits.
d) the ball is allowed more than one floor bounce in a possession.
e) the ball is hit over the net, but fails to bounce on the opposition’s side of the table.
f) the ball is hit twice in succession by the same player.
g) an attack hit is made with any part of the body other than one of the hands.
h) a player comes in contact with the net while making a play on the ball.
i) an attack hit causes the ball to pass outside the area over the net.
j) the ball is hit before the start of a possession while it is still over the table and does not immediately come in contact with the table.
4.04 It is a foul if:
a) a player performs an attack hit with both feet on or beyond the attack line. NOTE: If one foot is on our beyond the attack line, the other must be on the floor behind the attack line.
b) a player successfully performs a block with both feet on or beyond the attack line. NOTE: See 4.04(a)
c) a player performs a serve with one or both feet on or beyond the attack line.
d) a player, while blocking or attacking, makes contact with the ball on the opposition’s side of the net.
e) the players are out of position at the time of service.
f) the ball is held.
4.05 It is a winner if an attack hit or serve is made and:
a) the ball bounces twice on the table before being hit.
b) the ball bounces once on the table and twice on the floor before being hit.

5.00 – Player Positions
5.01 There are three positions behind the volleypong table: server, defender, and backer. At the time of service, the players on each team must stand such that the server is to the left of the defender and in front of the backer and such that the defender is in front of the backer. The penalty is a foul (See diagram 2)
5.02 The teams will rotate clockwise each time they start service after a sideout.
NOTES: In the case that a team has only two players, the players will simply switch places after a sideout. In the case that a team has more than three players, substitutes may rotate into the backer’s position.
5.03 The server is allowed to serve from anywhere behind the attack line, provided all other players are positioned accordingly.
5.04 The teams will trade sides between each set, and when fifteen total points have been scored in the third set.

These rules were revised on Nov. 20, 2004

A chance to expand

I just got home from a leaders' meeting for our Conference Youth gathering in Minneapolis and guess what...

the hotel we're staying at has ping pong tables.

Now, before we get too excited, they're probably on a carpeted surface, but we can hope.

The greatest part of the whole thing is that there will be people there from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Texas (maybe), and Belize! Just look at the potential... perhaps we can work out something for instances when there is carpet... hmm

Anyway, just thought I'd pass that along.

Looking ahead...

OK, I've been doing a little research (it's what happens when I'm supposed to be writing a paper) and here's the conclusion:

We should set up a "league" for which there would be a "schedule" during the "regular season" which would be followed by the "playoffs" to determine a "league" "champion." I use the quote quite liberally simply because I don't know if we want to get that competitive. However, we'll never be in the Olympics if we don't get competitive at some point...

I would propose a blitz of volleypong mentionings around the campus to try and get as many people interested as possible. Then we could have a signup and if we get enough people (ie. 4 teams or more) we could get it going. My guess is that this would be the first step to actually getting recognized.

Eh?

A Chance to Play

OK, everyone, here's another chance...

The UW VCF is having a "hanging out" night that will start out in the Bulman Centre on Sat. Nov. 27th. If we can get enough people wanting to play, we can be almost certain that some volleypong will break out. Therefore, if anyone wants to play... come out. There will probably be some going to a coffee place afterward, in case anyone wants to do that too.

The greatest part is that it costs $0... Unless you buy coffee, etc.

Lot's of stuff

Wow! A lot's going on in the next couple of weeks. None of it has anything to do with volleypong, but it's good nonetheless.

Got the "Liquid Desert" concert coming up... Nov. 25 @ UofM. It'll be great. Three bands, a drama team, food, other people, all the money goes to AIDS Africa. Check out the VCF website (www.freewebs.com/uwvcf) for all the details.

As for volleypong, I think we may be taking a break until January, but you never know when a game will break out.

The canteen

So really I should be doing my homework right now, but procrastination is an art that takes little perfecting.

Anyway, last night I was running a canteen station (sort of a smaller version of Sugar Mountain) at a Bible Quizzers meet here in Altona. Well, who shows up? It's Keith... from the UofM. So Patty (my co-canteen management engineer) got to hear the exciting news of volleypong. This is getting around to more people than I thought. Now if only there was a way to get them playing...

The Ed Social

So I was at an education social last night and mentioned the game to a few people... they sounded interested. Perhaps they can be convinced to join the festivities somewhere along the line. One guy even commented that he thought the floor bounce was brilliant. So guess what, we're brilliant! Good news for us.

Here we go

OK, everyone get excited now... with a whole weekend of volleypong under our belts, this thing is one step closer to becoming real. Soon this new phenomenon will sweep the globe (Olympics by 2016, of course).

The revised version of the rules is now available. Changes simply form the game to what was being played on the weekend (so we weren't actually breaking the rules, they just weren't written that way yet).

So yeah, hopefully the website will be done soon and we can bring converts into the fold in unprecidented numbers.

But now off to school.