| Home | Events | Officiating | Forms | Online registration | Beach | Clinics and camps |
| News | Region information | Fees |
Gulf Coast Region of USA Volleyball
The Gulf Coast Region provides top-quality USA Volleyball sanctioned events and programs. See our Facebook page, which features lots of great pictures and news!
May 25 tourney info
Here is a page with current info about competitors in the various age divisions in the May 25 beach tournament in Pensacola:
Panama City June 8 tourney accommodations
Here is a PDF with accommodations info for the June 8 tourney in Panama City.
TV air times for college beach volleyball championships at Gulf Shores
Here are air times on the CBS Sports Network for the May 4-5 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships held on our beaches:
- AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships - Team - Tuesday, May 21 at 7 p.m. ET.
- AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships - Pairs - Tuesday, May 28 at 7 p.m. ET.
Gulf Coast Regional Championships - results are in!
Congratulations to the 2013 Gulf Coast Region champions! Here are the top finishers at our 16th annual Regional Championships:
- 18s - Deep South 18 Pink Panthers.
- 17s - Mobile Storm 17 Travel.
- 16s - Mobile Storm 16 Travel.
- 15s - Deep South 15 Commanders.
- 14s - Volleyball Pensacola 14 Black.
- 13s - Volleyball Pensacola 13 Black.
- 12s - Pensacola Beach 12 Blue.
NCAA highlights Gulf Coast sand nationals tourney in magazine
The NCAA's national magazine, Champion, features the Gulf Coast Region's highly successful sand nationals tournament in the fall 2012 issue. Take a look at this nice high-profile article, which includes plenty of photos.
Beach Series registration now available
2013 Beach Series schedule | Accommodations
The upcoming Beach Series brochures with registration forms are now available:
- Junior players Beach Series brochure + registration form.
- Adult players Beach Series brochure + registration form.
Registration also can be completed online for these events:
Gulf Shores hosts national May 5 Beach High Performance tryouts
The Gulf Coast Region of USA Volleyball is proud to host Beach High Performance (BHP) Tryouts for U.S. athletes striving to participate in the various USA Beach Junior National Team and High Performance programs. Tryouts are open to U.S. citizens ages 12 to 25 who were born between 1988 and 2001.
Each tryout will include 3-4 hours of beach time where athletes strive to be selected for the USA Junior Beach National Training Teams (Junior A1), USA High Performance Teams (Junior A2), USA High Performance Camps (Junior A3 and A4), or Senior A2 Teams.
General info about national beach HP tryouts | Register for May 5 beach HP tryouts in Gulf Shores | Flier (PDF) about May 5 beach HP tryouts in Gulf Shores
Gulf Coast Region to host NCAA women's sand nationals through 2015
The Gulf Coast Region of USA Volleyball is pleased to announce that the NCAA Women's Sand Volleyball National Championships will be returning to our scenic beach at Gulf Shores, Ala., for the next three years.
The event, featuring both a pairs and team championship, will take place on the first weekend in May in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The American Volleyball Coaches Association also announced that longtime sand volleyball television partner CBS Sports Network will again air portions of the championships.
"What a great validation this is for our region," said Philip Bryant, commissioner of the Gulf Coast Region Volleyball Association. "We are proud that CBS Sports and the top NCAA women's sand-volleyball teams will be returning to showcase our beautiful beaches and our outstanding competitive volleyball atmosphere.
"On behalf of all communities on the Northern Gulf Coast, we are both honored and excited to be selected for the second consecutive year to host the 2013 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championships," Bryant said. "Gulf Shores in May is a delightful location, always friendly, always warm and always a memorable destination location. We have a passion for the sport of sand volleyball and look forward to partnering with the AVCA and each university."
The agreement comes on the heels of the successful 2012 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships, which the Gulf Coast Region hosted in April of 2012. The nationally televised tourney featured a team championship victory by Pepperdine, which prevailed in a field that also featured Long Beach State University, Florida State University and the College of Charleston.
The pairs championship was won by the Pepperdine duo of Caitlin Racich and Summer Ross, who emerged from a field composed of 16 of the top doubles teams in the country.
"We are thrilled to welcome this outstanding group of female athletes and their families to our 32-mile sugar-white sand beach destination," said Beth Gendler, of the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Sports Commission. "Our area received significant positive national television exposure, which speaks to the phenomenal value of this continued partnership with the AVCA and CBS Sports Network."
Added Nina Matthies, chair of the AVCA Sand Volleyball Coaches Committee: "I couldn’t be more pleased. Besides a beautiful beach, Gulf Shores provided a championship atmosphere that was amazing. One thing is for sure: We’ll train like crazy to get back there, and so will every other team in the country!"
Beach coaching accreditation program is set for May 1-3
The Gulf Coast Region is Hosting a Beach Coaching Accreditation Program Seminar on May 1-3 (Wednesday through Friday), in conjunction with the 2013 AVCA Collegiate Sand National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. You can register online for this rare beach-coaching accreditation opportunity.
Sand camps at FSU in Tallahassee
Aloha Ball Club and the coaches at Florida State University are offering a series of sand camps at FSU in Tallahassee.
The camps are taught by FSU coaching staff at the on-campus sand courts. These camps are designed for the advanced player who is interested in pursuing collegiate participation and wishing to establish a solid foundation of fundamentals and skill in a well-organized, competitive environment.
2013 schedules
The Gulf Coast Region indoor schedule for the 2013 season is now published. Also: 2013 Beach Series schedule
Commissioner's notes for the 2013 season
(Nov. 28, 2012) - The following notes from Philip Bryant, commissioner of the Gulf Coast Region of USA Volleyball, give guidance to club directors and others who are getting ready for the upcoming season:
Hello all 2013 junior and adult directors:
As we near closer to the start of the 2013 Club Tournament Schedule that kicks off Jan. 12 and 13 with the Hall of Fame Classic in Pensacola on the campus of UWF, the region would like to extend a high level of appreciation for the dedicated service that each of you extends to the families of your community.
I want to encourage you to make all time frames. This is necessary to develop the online contacts for all regions to use to contact our clubs.
Thanks to the clubs that have conducted tryouts and have emailed the region office the players that were not selected and their family information.
Our membership goal in 2013 is 2,100 members. Grow the game in your community!
Officiating clinics. Below are three documents that identify each club's responsibility to schedule and provide an officials clinic for each member.
- 2013 officials clinic club review info - Provides club directors with guidance and points of contact for scheduling and conducting your officials clinic.
- 2013 officials clinic protocol - Shows the sequence of time frames necessary for your players when your club host/attends its 2013 officials clinic.
- 2013 officials clinic director/clinician contact info - Lists the clinicians assigned to conduct your club's officials clinic, as well as a list of the sister clubs that will be partnered with you for the clinic. It is the responsibility of those clubs to contact each other and determine a date for the clinic and which club will host. That date should be coordinated with the lead clinician's schedule. The lead clinician is first clinician listed. Remember, they have pending responsibilities as they prepare for their 2013 season. Communicate with them early, as well as with your sister club.
Nationals. The 2013 nationals will be here before we know it:
- Adults - Louisville, KY.
- Junior girls - Dallas, TX. (See 2013 team registration and age division schedule - girls nationals in Dallas.)
- Junior boys - Salt Lake City, UT.
Lets play a lot of quality volleyball between now and then and have teams participating in the GOLD MEDAL division at this year's respective nationals. Here is the USAV qualifier manual.
Registration basics. We are in the process of disseminating 2013 information. Get an early start and secure the necessary online information to start your club's registration processes. Contact the region office if necessary! ALL membership categories will be paid online with a credit card, as was the case last year.
Your 2012 membership is valid through Oct. 31, 2012. Registration for the 2013 season began on Sept. 5.
A member registering online will sign their 2013 membership registration form online. For juniors, the parent will sign online and verify their signature via their driver's license number. Also for juniors, once the membership information is submitted, the site is designed to generate the 2013 medical release form (as in prior years). This medical release form must be signed, notarized and retained by coaches at all club activities. Also generated when a member is paid in full is the member's USA Volleyball membership card, which must be carried to all club events. The online system is set up and ready for registration. Go to the online registration page to get started!
Fees. All membership fees are NON-REFUNDABLE. This MUST be clearly stated in all literature dispersed to tryout attendees and club membership. You will have some parents, if their child is not selected, want their membership registration fees refunded. Therefore, with prior knowledge of policy and procedures, heated recourse by a few parents, as in prior years, will be minimized.
Tryouts. Also there is NO one-event registration at this time. Tryouts are considered sanctioned events, and ALL of those participating MUST be a full member. This includes all club staff and all junior members participating. All team fees must be presented to the region office no later than Jan. 10 for clubs playing in the Hall of Fame and no later than Jan. 18 for all remaining clubs.
If your club conducts tryouts and there is a chance you will not select an attendee to be in your club, they still must register online prior to your tryouts. Instruct them to put "undecided" for the club. If they make your club, they can go online and change the info. You as a director must send to the region your rosters and proper team fees as registration occurs. For tryout attendees not selected, list them on a separate page.
Club activities and the high school season. Each year, more inquiries are received by the region from those who wish to begin as soon as the schools seasons conclude. The region applauds that dedicated effort. Be reminded, however, that NO club can hold organized tryouts or training sessions until the school season has concluded for those players. The conclusion of the school season is noted as the last possible match avaialble to be played by that school. This would include any selected small-number session with the intent of forming a team at a later date with specially selected players.
Once the eligible season concludes for your players and tryouts are conducted, all players who attend tryouts MUST be registered as a regular junior player. As a director, you must be specific in your dispersed literature that this is a requirement.
Remember that the Gulf Coast Region and all clubs in the Gulf Coast Region have as part of our mission committed ourselves to being an asset to all schools of our communities by enhancing student enjoyment of extracurricular activities at their respective schools.
All club events must be sanctioned. All club events (meetings, tryouts, practices, tournaments attending or hosting, fundraisers, etc.) must be sanctioned by the region. This new policy is dictated by USA Volleyball's insurance carrier. Each club MUST send prior to their club events the following:
- Event.
- Event location.
- Date.
- Time of day.
- Leadership present.
While this could be a laborious task, especially with rotating practice schedules due to gym space, it can be streamlined by blocking information and event schedules. This is for the benefit of ALL members and creates an additional layer of protection for club directors.
Background screens. The online system will track the background screening for your coaches, chaperones and club staff as they register. If they are new or were screened two years ago, the system will request the information necessary to begin the screening process. This year, the full background screen will be $25. If a coach, chaperone and staff member was screened last year, a supplemental screen ($10) will take place. We have worked with SSCI and USA Volleyball to establish this updated screen as a supplemental screen at the lower cost of $10. The off-year supplemental screen became necessary when Florida passed a new law that required ALL adults working with minors to have yearly screens. Remember, each team must have a chaperone who has concluded registration and a background screen prior to practice participation.
Directors, do not conduct any club activities until your coaches have registered online and cleared their background screening.
Medical release form and USAV card. Also, all junior players must be registered with a medical release form, as well as USA Volleyball membership card in your club's file prior to club events, practice or tryouts.
Insurance. 2013 certificates of insurance are now available. If an additional certificate of insurance is needed, email the region office to make request. The format is as follows:
- Facility.
- Contact person(s) - boards, president, directors, etc.
- Facility address.
- Contact phone number.
- Contact email address.
If a certificate was requested last year and you will request the same this year, you still must use the above format.
Tournament and clinic scheduling. If you have a tournament or officiating clinic date in mind, email it to the region ASAP. Please include divisions, location, times, etc. All directors who plan to host tournaments in 2013 are encouraged to present your sanction forms and sanction fees to the region office. Only those tournaments with dates secured by aforementioned requirements can be posted and recognized by the region.
Coaching certification. The region is planning four IMPACT coaching certification courses this year. The first will be in conjunction with the December directors meetings. Announced schedule will be posted Nov. 10. All coaches must be at least IMPACT-certified prior to the regional championships.
Director/club information form. Remember to send in your director/club information form, which verifies your intent to participate as a club this 2012-2013 season.
- 2013 director/club information form (clubs must return this form to verify participation for the 2013 season).
Parent/spectator behavior form. This year the region will continue the Parent Behavior form. In our 14-year history we have had very few incidents of poor spectator/parent behavior. This form has been recommended by USAV for all regions. The club will keep a copy, and a signed original will be forwarded to the region. This creates one extra duty; however, it is a necessary task.
Tournaments fill up quickly! Please be reminded that region tournaments have limited entry divisions and fill up quickly. If you see a tournament date that you would like your teams to play on, contact the host to reserve a spot. They in turn will indicate how you may register your team(s) for that event. Only a completed registration form with proper fees secures your team’s spot in the event. Below is the 2013 Gulf Coast Region junior tournament entry form. (Several tournaments have online registration; again, check with host.)
Libero serving rule. Here is the 2013 rule that allows the libero to serve. Finally! Approved!
Grassroots membership includes free T-shirt and free volleyball!
(Nov. 28, 2012) - Remember that 8-and-under membership is free, and 9s and 10s youth membership is $15. Everyone should consider grassroots volleyball for your club. The region will again host several tournaments over the season specifically for the grassroots programs. As an incentive for membership, the region will provide a volleyball and a Gulf Coast Region logo T-shirt for every grassroots player in your club for free - yes, free -as a way to say thanks for the effort you have established in your community to provide playing opportunities for younger players. You will have to commit to a consistent training schedule that has a term of at least 60 days to receive these perks. We would like to see at least 16 to 20 training sessions and two tournaments participated in.
Last year, 285 grassroots players and families enjoyed the season, including Claire, who was our youngest member at 5 years old, playing for Mobile Storm; great job, Coach Keshock. Give grassroots strong consideration. View the Grassroots program description (updated Nov. 6, 2012).
Region office
Philip Bryant - Commissioner
Tournament Seeding Chair
P. O. Box 1985
Orange Beach, AL 36561
251-979-4287 cell
251-981-4746 office
251-981-7526 - fax
e-mail: worldbb@gulftel.com
© 2004-2013 Gulf Coast Regional Volleyball Association Inc. All rights reserved.