2007 / 2008 Northern Lights Power League

Greetings from Northern Lights Juniors!

We hope that you will join us for the 20th Northern Lights Power League!

Power League registration is closed, however, you can still register to play in our Northern Lights Mini League! This is a very low-cost flexible alternative for your teams. More information is available here.

The Power League will again be held in the state-of-the-art Midwest Volleyball Warehouse facility!

• 8 Courts - each in 50' bays. More space than any other facility in the Midwest!
• Full Floating Sport Court floor. Built on Neo-Shok performance pads, this floor has a high degree of rebound and cushion. Players will see reduced injury from repetitive jumping and training on this floor.
• A 5000 sq ft Strength and Conditioning room.
• Separate Athletic Training room.
• 30' wide Mezzanine, 50% larger than the old mezzanine.
• Expanded concession area with dual serving windows for faster service.
• Special TV room for Power League parents with internet access.
• Retail store 4 times larger than the old Midwest VB store.
• Located just 1000' North of the old building at the intersection of County 42 & Judicial Road.
• 450+ parking spaces.

The league will again be sanctioned USAV, however we have worked with North Country Region and there will now be a special "league only" membership available to teams who only will be playing in the power league. The cost for USAV registration under this special membership will drop from about $460 a team to about $135 a team. This is a huge savings for those teams only playing in the league. We are pleased that NCR has agreed to implement it. Further information about this special membership can be found on the North Country Region website ncrusav.org. (Teams who plan to play in any other USAV events will need to register with NCR under the full membership option.)

All regular dates will operate on both Saturdays and Sundays. Each Saturday and Sunday is split into two shifts:

The Power League is structured such that teams registered as either 11's or 12's are placed into the 12's division, teams registered as either 13's or 14's are placed in the 14's division, teams registered as either 15's or 16's are placed in the 16's division, and teams registered as either 17's or 18's are placed in the 18's division.

The age divisions will be grouped such that the 11's/12's, 15's/16's all play on one weekend and 13's/14's, 17's/18's will all play on another.

For example, the first regular league date is scheduled for January 12 & 13 and January 26 & 27. On the 12th & 13th the 11's/12's, 15's/16's will play. On the 26th & 27th the 13's/14's and 17's/18's will play.

At this point it is not possible to determine if you will play on either Saturday or Sunday but you can expect to alternate between Saturday and Sunday for each of the different league dates. Your actual play date will be determined by your position in the pools.

Before registering your team for the Power League you should be sure that your team would be able to attend all league dates regardless of AM or PM, Saturday or Sunday shift.

We are not able to accept any special requests for specific shifts due to the nature of the schedule. You MUST be able to field a team for either a morning or afternoon shift on either Saturday or Sunday for the date that you play. See below for cancellation policy.

Please note:  In the table below 14's & 18's will compete back-to-back weekends for their 3rd and 4th play dates, 12's & 16's will compete back-to-back weekends for their 4th and 5th play dates.  This was done to accomodate teams traveling to the Colorado Crossroads National Qualifier.

This year's format is very similar to the popular format we have used the last few years. The difference is that we are allowing more teams to move up or down each date!  This will allow teams to more quickly find the level of play that best suits the team.

Initial Seeding: For the first Power League date, teams will be seeded according to their overall power league, regional finishes last year and input from the coaches. That first round of play will then be used to "confirm" or adjust the seeding for the second playday. If your team is seeded in the bottom half it does not mean that you cannot get into the top half during the season.

Team Movement: Each week, teams will move depending on their finish.  For the dates showing "2 teams move", two teams from the pool or bracket will move up and two teams will move down.  This will allow teams to move from pool to pool more quickly.  For the dates showing "1 team moves", only one team will move up and one team will move down.  Teams will not be moved after their final play date - where they finish in their pool will determine their final finish in the league.

Snake Seed: On date 1 the pools will be snake seeded from top to bottom split into an upper division and lower division. This seeding process will spread out all of the teams based on rank. i.e.- Team ranked #1 will team #1 in pool #1, Team ranked #2 will be team #1 in pool # 2 and so on. Each team will play 3 matches. Each match will consist of two 25 point rally games and one 15 point rally game. All three games will be played regardless of the outcome of the first two games.

Power Pools: On Dates 3, 4 and 6, the pools will be set up as power pools, i.e. - the top 4 teams will be in pool #1, teams ranked 5-8 will be in pool #2, and so on. Power pools allow teams of similar ability to compete against each other. Each team will play 3 matches. Each match will consist of two 25 point rally games and one 15 point rally game. All three games will be played regardless of the outcome of the first two games.

Tournament Play: On dates 2 and 5 teams will be set up in an eight team bracket format. This will allow a team the opportunity to move as many as 8 positions in one day. This will be done by placing two pools together, seeding them 1-8, and then playing a special tournament format which will rank all teams 1-8 and give each team 3 matches (best 2 of 3 on these dates) during their 6 hour shift. On these dates we will play with games 1 & 2 being 25 point rally games and the third game if needed to decide a match winner will be one 15 point rally game.

Teams that participate in the optional date will have this added opportunity to demonstrate their level of play. This will help us more correctly seed these teams. January 5th is open for 11's/12's, 15's & 16's. January 6th is open for 13's/14's & 17's/18's. A minimum number of 4 teams in an age division is required for a pool. Participation in the optional pre-seeding date is on a first come first serve basis. 

A second optional date for ages 14's/18's has been added on January 13th.

Teams will be assigned officiating and scorekeeping tasks in the same manner as in a normal tournament. All teams must have an adult that supervises the officials by doing either the up or down officiating. We would like to encourage the players to be the up referee and the adult be the down referee.

Please note: North Country Region officiating policy requires the following:

• All 11's - 12's teams must have an adult as the up referee.
• All 13's - 18's teams must have an adult as either the up or down referee.

Note to all coaches, per North Country Region Rules:

The head coach, assistant coach or a registered adult must be either the FIRST or SECOND referee who is registered with North Country Region USA Volleyball and has been to an official's clinic.

Standing next to the referee stand does not count as being a first or second official.

Teams will be excused from a league date for attending one of the 9 USAV National Qualifiers. These teams will be placed back into the league at the same position they were when they left, however the other teams may have moved in relation to them.

Teams will also be excused from the league on April 5th & 6th if they are participating in the North Country Region Junior National Qualifying tournament.

Other than these "approved" absences, teams are not permitted to "miss" a league date. If your team misses a league date or does not show up for their scheduled play time due to conflict, their team will be removed from the Power League.

We will be posting the schedule for each weekend on the internet at www.midwestvolleyball.com. League schedules will generally be posted on the internet 7-10 days in advance of your playing dates. There will be no postal mailings made after the league has started.

Winter Weather

Power Leagues will run as scheduled regardless of winter weather. It is extremely unlikely that we would ever cancel a Power League. If we were to cancel Power League due to 12+ inches of snow, we would post the information on the website in place of that day's schedule. In the unlikely event of a weather cancellation there will be no rescheduled dates and no refunds, teams will simply advance to the next date in their same respective positions.

The cost to participate in the league for the regular 6 dates is $440 per team. If you wish to play also in the optional seeding date the cost is an additional $70.

This year there is space for 256 teams! But don't delay getting your entry ASAP - entry is based on a first come first serve basis. Every year we turn teams away because the league fills before they get registered. Teams who were in the league previously do not have an automatic place. Last year we had 220 so get your registration in early!

All entry fees are non-refundable, non-transferable. Do not enter a team unless you plan to fill that place or lose your entry fee.

Northern Lights is proud to continue its tradition of providing an athletic trainer at it's power league dates. The trainer will be able to provide taping services, ice, and emergency injury evaluation. This has always been great benefit to the players and one which is becoming more important as the athletes play at higher levels.

All matches will be played in the state-of-the-art Midwest Volleyball Warehouse Facility. This facility is the finest 8 court facility in the Midwest!

• 8 Courts - each in 50' bays. More space than any other facility in the Midwest!
• Full Floating Sport Court floor. Built on Neo-Shok performance pads, this floor has a high degree of rebound and cushion. Players will see reduced injury from repetitive jumping and training on this floor.
• A 5000 sq ft Strength and Conditioning room.
• Separate Athletic Training room.
• 30' wide Mezzanine, 50% larger than the old mezzanine.
• Expanded concession area with dual serving windows for faster service.
• Special TV room for Power League parents with internet access.
• Full service deli.
• More the double the number of women's bathroom stalls than before!
• Retail store 4 times larger than the old Midwest VB store.
• Located just 1000' North of the old building at the intersection of County 42 & Judicial Road.
• 450+ parking spaces.

The facility is located in Burnsville 1.3 miles west of Burnsville Center at the intersection of County Rd 42 and Judicial Road.

Northern Lights is proud to announce that we will once again be using the Signuptoplay.com web based registration system. This is the best volleyball registration system available on the web..

You can now have your players log into Signuptoplay.com individually, create or update their own personal information, and assign themselves to your club! All the club director has to do is assign them to one of the club teams and enter that team into the Power League. For more information on this check out the Signuptoplay.com website.

Once your players have entered their data and you have put together your teams in the Signuptoplay.com registration database, you will be able to enter any other tournament which uses the system with just a simple click of the mouse! Other tournaments using the system will be the Northern Lights Qualifier, Colorado Crossroads Qualifier, Tampa Bay Qualifier, National Junior Classic, Peach Tree Classic, and all Northern Lights May events.

After you have submitted a team on line, print out the entry form and send a check for the entry fee to Northern Lights Junior Volleyball. Please include the name of your club on your check. The address is:

Northern Lights Junior Volleyball
14050 Judicial Road
Burnsville MN 55337

Remember the entry fee is $440 per team for the league and $70 for the optional playday. We must receive your check within 5 days of you submitting a team in the "on-line" registration. If we do not receive your check within 5 days of your submission, your team will be deleted from the database and you will no longer be registered in the league. Please send one check all teams in your club, not one check per team.

The registration website is located at http://www.signuptoplay.com. When registering for the power league you will need to input your club information, your team information, and your player roster. You will start by creating a log-in or by using your login from last year to create your club. Have your players go online, "look up" their login/password (or create one for a new player), review/input their personal information, and assign themselves to your club. As club director you can assign them and staff to specific age level teams, and submit the team into the Power League. It is very easy to do, just point your mouse, click and type. The online registration program will allow you to enter the Power League without a team roster, however you must return to the site by December 16th and submit a complete roster for each team.

If you are entering in the optional play date be sure to submit your teams to that "on-line" also.

Please do not send us any checks until after you have registered in the Signuptoplay.com system.

All teams must be USAV registered by the first day they play (contact Judy at North Country Region 952-831-9150 ext 10 for further information).