New for the Juniors this year is on-line tournament registration. Last year we initiated the use of the web for information on upcoming tournaments and tournament seeding. This year we are taking it a step further. A click of a button is all it takes to register for a tournament (once your roster is in the system). Checks will still have to be mailed to the appropriate Age Group Coordinator to complete the registration, but everything else can be done electronically. For those of us who are still electronically challenged, the old paperwork system is still in effect and Tournament Contracts can be mailed the old fashioned way.

     Skip Slawson prepared a number of handouts that detailed registering for tournaments and how tournaments are seeded. Ask your Club Representative for copies. They are also posted on the Juniors Web Page.  Many thanks to Charles Ezigbo for the design and programming of the new system. Also, thanks to the Age Group Coordinators who have used the system for the past few months in an effort to locate any bugs.

     We welcomed at the meeting, six new clubs (or individuals thinking of starting clubs). These are welcome additions to the region and bode well for the continued growth of the sport. Many of these clubs represented areas of the region where club volleyball is under represented. We are working with the individuals, through our new club-mentoring program, to help them anticipate problems and provide them with proven solutions.

     Details of this season’s Power League were discussed.  Entry into the league, this year, will be through play-in tournaments in January. The top 12 teams from these tournaments will be accepted into the league. Plans this year include a 16 & under Power League and an 18 & under Power League. Teams participating in the Power League will only be allowed to participate in the Open Regionals in April.

     The Coaching Symposium will return this year. The first symposium held last May was very well received.  Attendees unanimously requested that it be repeated this year. Our plans are to hold it early in the season so we can immediately make use of the information presented. Jerry Hulla will once again be coordinating this effort.

     The region hopes to be able to host a Regional High Performance Camp this summer for 14’s, 16’s and 18’s.  Fashioned after the National High Performance program, this will be for Chesapeake Region players and will be held locally. Participation in this program will be by tryout. Keep an eye on the Juniors Web Page for more information.

     Rally scoring will be on everyone’s mind this season.  Referee and scorekeepers clinics are a must this year as we attempt to train everyone in this major rule change for the 2000 season. Reports from those who competed in all rally scoring tournaments last year were favorable.  Scorekeepers will bear the blunt of the change as the scoresheet will change dramatically from the one we are all used to using.

     Please keep checking the Junior Web Page for up to date information. http://www.chrvajuniors.com/index.cfm