Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier Dates for 2009 April 17-19, 2009 Friday-Sunday 12 Club, 13 Club, 16 Club, 16 Open, 17 Club, 17 Open, 18 Club, 18 Open April 24-26, 2009 Friday-Sunday 14 Club, 14 Open, 15 Club, 15 Open

For Week 2 schedule information click here.

For questions about coolers and chairs, click here.

Do you have a great voice and want to sing the National Anthem at the Northern Lights Qualifier? If so, we want to talk with you. Please contact us via email at northernlights@midwestvolleyball.com . We will arrange for a time to give you a brief audition.

Admission Tickets may be purchased at the Convention Center starting on Thursday. For more information click here.

List of college coaches that have signed up. This list changes rapidly, many college coaches do not sign up until 1-2 days before the event.

List of college coaches that attended in 2008

This document contains a summary of the information you will need to know to enter the Northern Lights Qualifier. A complete set of rules and procedures governing all qualifiers are found on the USAV site in the Qualifier Manual. All coaches are responsible for the information contained in both this document and the Qualifier Manual.

Registration Process & Deadline

To enter the Northern Lights Qualifier:

1. Read this entire information page.
2. Go to the website signuptoplay.com and complete your online registration. (More specific details on how to do this are shown below in the section titled "On Line Registration".)
3. Either "Pay Online" or mail us the entry form and a check (see below for further details).
4. Register for your hotel rooms in an approved tournament hotel.
5. Submit your results for the seeding of the tournament using the directions found on our Submitting Competition Results page.

All registration will take place via the internet. The registration deadline for us receiving the Application for Entry, the entry fee, and meeting the Stay to Play requirement (see below) is February 19, 2009 by 3:00 PM CST for both weekends. All entries received after this date/time will be considered on a space available basis.

Northern Lights is using the Stay and Play Policy. Click here to view this policy.

Club and Open Divisions

All National Qualifying tournaments will have the same format again in 2009 for the Open and Club divisions. The Open Division is for those teams wishing to qualify for the Open Division at Nationals. The Club Division is for those teams wishing to qualify for the National and/or American Divisionat Nationals and for those teams not wishing to attend Nationals. Open is the higher and more competitive division. For further information on the National and American Divisions, read the Qualifier Manual or contact your Regional Commissioner.

Bid Allocations - Open Divisions

The number of bids to Nationals for any of the Open Divisions is dependent on the number of teams in that division. This year in the Open Division bids will trickle down as specified in the Qualifier Manual. The table below shows the bid allocations for each of the Open age divisions based on the number of teams entered in that division.

Bid Allocations - Club Divisions

The table below shows the bid allocations for each of the Club age divisions based on the number of teams entered in that division.

The total number of bids granted out of each club division, and how they trickle down is specified in the Qualifier Manual.

In general, Club Division bids will trickle down with the lowest possible finish able to accept a bid being the 4th place finisher. In the event that any team qualifies in more than one qualifier, the duplicate bid will be offered to the next highest finishing team. In the event that none of the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place teams accept the bid, it will revert to the at-large pool. The allocation of this at-large bid is given back to the Regions.

Penalty for Rejection of Bid

There are serious consequences for teams who reject an bid, these are specified in the Qualifier Manual. In general, if an Open team that wins a bid or a Club team that accepts a bid at a Qualifier does not participate in the JNC in the division in which it won the bid, that team, it's coaches, it's club director and all it's club's teams will be suspended from participation in all national qualifying events for the following season.

Format for age level Open Divisions

Two rounds of pool play followed by single elimination play-offs for all teams except those in the Gold Championship Bracket. Those teams in the "Gold" will play a third round of pool play with the top teams advancing to a final single elimination bracket. All matches will use the rally point scoring system consisting of two games to 25 points (win by two, no cap) and if required to determine a winner the third game is played to 15 points (win by two, no cap). Awards will be given to the top three teams in the Gold Championship brackets as specified in the Qualifier Manual. The maximum number of teams accepted into any age level Open Division will be 48.

Format for all age level Club Divisions

Two rounds of pool play followed by single elimination play-offs for all teams. All matches will use the rally point scoring system consisting of two games to 25 points (win by two, no cap) and if required to determine a winner the third game is played to 15 points (win by two, no cap). Awards will be given to the top three teams in the Gold Championship brackets as specified in the Qualifier Manual. The 18's, 17's, 16's, & 15's Club Divisions will accept at least 64 teams and at most a maximum of 128 teams dependent on space available. The 14's & 13's Club Divisions will accept at least 48 teams and at most a maximum of 128 teams dependent on space available.

Acceptance and Selection Criteria - New for 2009

In order to be accepted into the event, all teams which are not local teams, must use tournament approved hotels. Northern Lights has contracted with THS to manage reservations and approve all hotels being used for this event. This policy is called "Stay and Play".

In the event the number of entry applications in a division exceeds the space available, teams will be admitted into the tournament based on certain criteria after they have fullfilled the Stay and Play requirement.

Effective this year, both the Open and Club Divisions have the same entry selection criteria.

The entry selection criteria are:

1. Number of teams per club per division, with a maximum of two unless space is available.
2. Date of receipt of entry application.
3. Strength.
4. Entries from the host state where the Qualifier is held.
5. Entries from the states contiguous to the host state.

Note: This is basically a 1st come 1st serve criteria for the first two teams from a club in each age division. Once our capacity in a division is reached, that division will be closed. We will attempt to notify all teams of their acceptance status into a division within 48 business hours (excluding Holidays and Weekends) of the receipt of their completed entry form, entry fees, and verification that they have met the Stay and Play requirement (local teams are exempted).

You can check your entry status by logging into Signuptoplay.com and Clicking on "ENTER EVENTS." Select the Northern Lights Qualifier from the dropdown list and you will see your teams that have applied and three columns beside each team - DIV., PAID, and ACCEPTED. This will tell you what division you are entered into and whether you are "Paid and Accepted." As we receive your payment, verify your Stay and Play Status, and accept your team we will mark those columns as "YES".

Please note that Date of Receipt is now the key determining factor for both the Open and Club Divisions. The Date of Receipt which we use is the date/time stamp given to your entry if you pay online, or the date of receipt of your check if you pay via mail, or the date which you enter your teams data into signuptoplay.com or the date that you fulfill the Stay and Play requirement, whichever is LATER.

After the deadline date, additional teams may be admitted to the event in any division if space is available. Also after the deadline date, the Qualifier Director has the discretion to allow teams who may have been denied access to the Open Division, to move to the Club Division based on space available. Teams in the Club Division may be offered the opportunity to move to the Open Division in order to round out the field to create a preferred bracket (i.e. pools of 4). Top seeds in each pool of the Open & Club divisions may also be determined or verified by the national seeding committee.

Number of teams being Accepted

The below chart shows the number of teams we had participate in each age division last year, the number of teams who met the entry criteria that we turned away last year, and the minimum number of teams will accept in each division this year up until the entry deadline.

The final number of teams we will ultimately accept this year in each age division could exceed the number of teams listed, if some of the other divisions do not fill. We will not know the final numbers until after our entry deadline has passed. At that time we will reallocate unused slots to age divisions needing additional space. Please do not call or email and ask what your chances are of getting in. Just like you, we do not have a crystal ball that tells us how many teams will be entered in each age division on the deadline date. Without knowing the final number of teams in each age division, and thus the number of open slots, we cannot give you an answer.

The current number of teams entered and accepted is shown on signuptoplay.com. If an age division is currently oversubscribed it does not mean those teams will not get in. However if you are not registered and paid, you will definitely not get in. If you want to have a chance to play in the event you need to be registered and paid by the entry deadline. After the entry deadline, additional entries will be accepted on a space available basis.

Playing Times

Open Divisions will most likely start 8:00 am the first day. Some of the Club divisions may also start at 8:00 AM the first day. The remainder of the divisions will start at 3:00 PM on the first day. Here are the expected starting times, subject to change:

If a division is listed as "Not Known" it means that we do not know when that division will play. When we know, this information will be posted on the web site. Please do not call and ask when a particular division will start, we do not know and we will not know until after April 1st for 1st weekend and April 10th for the 2nd weekend. Most matches usually finish by 4:00 the last day. If you wish to be assured of not missing a match we recommend that you do not schedule any departing flights prior to 7:00 pm the last day.

Specific team/division schedules will be posted on our real time results website when they are done, most likely 3 days before the event. At that time a link to the schedules will be posted at the top of this page.

This year bids in the Open Divisions will trickle down. This means that there might be additional playoff games in an Open Division that will run late on Sunday. If you forfeit that match you not only will forfeit a bid into JO's, but you also will be in violation of the YJOV rules regarding intentional forfeits which could result in your club being banned from future YJOV competition. (See the USAV Qualifier manual for further details.) We advise all Open teams not to schedule any flights home prior to 7:00 pm.

Playing Sites

The 2009 Northern Lights Qualifier main site will be the Minneapolis Convention Center. Our total Convention Center capacity for the two weekends exceeds last year's requirements. We hope to be able to handle most of the tournament at the convention center however all teams should still be prepared to travel to an outside site if needed.

No Cooler/Chair Policy - New for 2009

Spectator chairs are provided at all playing sites. No outside portable folding chairs are permitted at any site due to Fire Marshall restrictions.

No coolers are permitted inside any part of the Convention Center. This new "No Cooler Policy" is being implemented by the Minneapolis Convention Center, not Northern Lights. Any questions or comments about this policy should be directed to the Minneapolis Convention Center staff.

Entry Fees - please read carefully

For 2009 our entry fee remains at $760.

This year we are also offering paperless registration with online payment…at no additional costs, and with no "convenience fees"!

The entry fee is $760 per team for all teams in all divisions. The entry deadline is Thursday February 19, 2009 3:00 PM CST. Entries/fees received after that date/time will be considered on a space available basis only.

If you submit your entry fee via the on-line payment method on signuptoplay.com, there is no need for you to mail any entry forms to us. The date of entry will be recorded as the time your payment is made on-line. If you are having problems using the PayPal on-line payment feature, you can click here for some troubleshooting tips.

If you are paying by a check, which you are mailing to us, you must send your Application for Entry form which is printed from the signuptoplay.com website. If you are paying by check, please submit only one check per club (not one per team.) The date of entry for mailed checks will be recorded as the date your payment is received in our office.

Teams which are non local teams are required to use tournament approved hotels and will need to have made reservations at one of those hotels before they will be accepted into the tournament. You may click here to view information about the tournament approved hotels.

Non-negotiable Refund Policy:

If a team is denied entry into because the field is filled, the team may elect to cancel its application and receive a full refund of its entry fee, OR the team may elect to go on a waiting list.

If a team decides to drop out after being accepted (either originally or accepted from the waiting list), the team will forfeit the entire entry fee, regardless whether the drop happens before or after February 19th.

A team on a waiting list may drop out and obtain a full refund of its entry fee as long as we have not yet accepted the team into the tournament from the waiting list. To qualify for this, a team on a waiting list must have notified us in writing of their desire to drop before they receive notification of being accepted from the waiting list.

Entry fees are non-transferable to another team, even from the same club.

On Line Registration

The Northern Lights Qualifier, Colorado Crossroads Qualifier, Tampa Bay Qualifier, & Omaha Presidents Day Classic, will all be using an internet based registration system. The website being used is Signuptoplay.com. The general process for entry is:

1. Go to Signuptoplay.com.
2. Create a login & password if you are a first time user.
3. Once you have logged in, start by entering your staff members by clicking on "Staff".
4. Enter your players by clicking on "Players" (see * below for more info)
5. Create your teams by clicking on "Teams"
6. Enter your team(s) into the tournament by clicking on "Enter Events"
7. After you enter your team into the event you may either pay online, or pay via mail with a check.

   If you are going to pay via mail with a check, you must print out a copy of the entry form and mail it to us along with your check. This form must be mailed to arrive in our office within 7 days of your web registration, but no later than the entry deadline. A check for the entire entry fee must accompany this form. Please send one check per club (not per team), and make the check payable to Northern Lights Jr Volleyball. Our address is 14050 Judicial Road, Burnsville MN 55337.

   If you are paying online, there is no need for you to mail anything to us. Simply click the Pay Online button and follow the instructions. If you are having problems with PayPal, please view the PayPal Problems page.

Roster Verification - New for 2009

USA Volleyball is requiring that all rosters for all Qualifiers be verified by your USAV Region Office. Verification will be done by the Region on signuptoplay.com. No teams will be allowed to participate without having their roster verified by their Region office on signuptoplay.com. Please read the Check-in & Coaches meeting page for a complete explanation of this.

Parents we advise you to double check with your coach/club director to make sure your team has a verified roster before leaving for the tournament.

Spectator Admission & Entry Procedures

For this year's event admission is required for all spectators over the age of 6. You may purchase either a tournament weekend pass for $15, or single day tickets for $6. Tickets may be purchased in the lobby of the Minneapolis Convention Center at the event. You may purchase tickets starting on the Thursday before the event at the Convention Center. To save everyone money from having to pay the online service fess, we have discontinued online ticket sales.

• Group purchases: Starting on Thursday evening, April 16 & 23, we will have a special Group Ticket Sale booth. To use this special express line, you must be purchasing a minimum of 6 weekend passes and you must be paying with cash only. No credit cards will be accepted at the Group window. The Group window will only sell weekend passes and only accept cash. Parents may want to consider getting together and sending someone to the Convention Center on Thursday evening to buy passes for everyone. This will eliminate having to wait in long lines on Friday morning. No checks will be accepted. The Group window will also be open on Friday morning each weekend.
• Regular Ticket purchases at the event (non group sales): You may purchase a daily ticket or a weekend pass at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Payment forms which will be accepted are cash or credit card. No checks will be accepted.
• Ticket Sale Hours:
  • Thursday 4:00 - 8:00 pm
  • Friday 7:00 am - Closing
  • Saturday 7:00 am - Closing
  • Sunday 7:00 am - Closing
• Coaches & Players: At team check in each team will be given wristbands for rostered players. Unique rostered coaching staff, up to a maximum of 3 per team, will be given wristbands. In addition we will give each team one more wristband to use for a chaperone, or whoever they wish.
  
  Players will need to wear/show their wristbands to gain entrance to the court area. Coaches and all other spectators should wear their wristbands at all times in the court area to prevent the roving security from questioning them.

Results Verification Statement

By submitting an entry into this tournament, all teams are verifying that they have submitted complete, accurate, and timely results, per the YJOV motion passed in August 2004.

Coaching Certification

All coaches listed on a team's roster must have successfully passed the USAV Impact Clinic or the CAP Level 1 course. This must appear on your signuptoplay.com roster and be verified by your Region Office. There are no Impact clinics offered at this qualifier.

Awards

Awards will be given to the Gold Division 1st, 2nd & 3rd place teams. The entire team must report to the awards area to pickup the awards and have a team picture taken. Teams not complying with this will not be given their awards. No awards are given to any Silver, Bronze, or Flight Division winners.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our team has not yet been formed, can I enter the tournament without submitting the players names? Yes, however you must have entered all players into Signuptoplay.com by the time you arrive at checkin.

Can I enter the tournament without using the website registration process? No, all entries must be done using Signuptoplay.com.

Can I import my staff and player data to the website? Yes. Instructions on the file format are found on the signuptoplay.com website.

What is the information I entered being used for? The information you enter is being used for general administration of the tournament, creating a tournament program and creating a Player Information Recruiting Guide for college coaches (16's-18's). Any player who does not wish to have their information published in the Player Information Recruiting Guide needs to submit in writing a request to not publish their information. This request must be received by March 30th. (All players names will be used in the regular tournament program regardless of their inclusion/exclusion from the Player Information Recruiting Guide.)

When must I send my entry fee to you? Once you have completed registering your team on the Signuptoplay.com website you must send your entry fee to arrive at our office within 7 days or by the entry deadline, whichever is sooner. For example if you register your team on January 10th you must get your check to us by January 17th, however if you wait until February to register you may have less than 7 days to get the entry fee to us. The postmark date/date of receipt of this entry form/check is what will be used for determining date of entry. (The exception to this is someone who sends a check without entering on the website, in this case the date you enter on the website will be used as the official postmark date.)

Is there a Tryout for the USA High Performance Program? Yes, tryouts will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Thursday April 16th and Thursday April 23rd from 4pm to 8:00pm. All questions concerning the tryout should be directed to the USAV National office. The website for the USA High Performance Program is http://www.usavolleyball.org/.