POLICIES

VOLLEY BOREAL MANDATE

Volley Boréal is an inclusive community organization founded and organized to provide and to promote the development and enjoyment of the sport of volleyball among the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community, its allies and supporters, as well as among the general populace. Volley Boréal’s mission is to improve the quality of life for its members by building community through the practice of volleyball. In doing so, Volley Boréal emphasizes good sportsmanship and safety during the practices and competitions and expects its members to respect its policies. Unsportsmanlike conduct, violence, harassment, including sexual harassment and sexual abuse, among other kinds of disruptive conduct and unlawful acts, can ruin this environment necessary for the League to achieve its objectives

Volley Boréal seeks to use volleyball competition to help bring people together, foster friendships, reinforce healthy lifestyles, and build community pride and participation. In order to achieve these goals, Volley Boréal officials and participants are entitled to a non-judgmental, competitive, safe, positive, encouraging, and fun environment.

The essence of this mandate is to be upheld by all volley Boréal members in all league events, including regular play in both the recreational, semi and competitive divisions, as well as league-organized tournaments and social events.

Therefore, Volley Boreal’s Administrative Board, establishes these policies to ensure a healthy and safe environment that all members and officials are entitled to.

LEAGUE POLICIES

I. SPORTSMANSHIP POLICY

In Volley Boréal, good sportsmanship is the cornerstone of regular league play in competitive, semi competitive and recreational divisions, as well as league-organized tournaments. This includes behaving respectfully and courteously in the spirit of fair play towards teammates, members of opposing teams, members of the officiating team, and spectators. General guidelines for appropriate behavior include the following circumstances:

1. In all Volley Boréal ’s events:

a. Volley Boréal expects its participants (including their guests and spectators) and officials to conduct volleyball competition in a competitive, respectful, and sportsmanlike way.

b. Volley Boréal prides itself on being an open and safe environment for all of its members. The conduct of members and participants in all Volley Boréal events should create a positive image regarding the community represented and served by Volley Boréal. Use of inappropriate language or comments that focus on someone’s age, race, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics that have nothing to do with their play in volleyball is prohibited.

c. Unsportsmanlike conducts including rude comments and verbal gestures, is prohibited by this policy and for the Volley Boréal Rules of Play.

d. Cheering for a team should be done in a positive way, without belittling or making inappropriate comments regarding the opposing team or its members.

e. There is no place in Volley Boréal for taunting, embarrassing, or humiliating an opponent or match official.

f. Members are expected to be respectful when dealing with contentious issues during Volley Boréal events. Members are not to speak in a rude or condescending manner to any other participant or league official. As discussed further below, no individual should,in any manner, threaten another individual.

g. During volleyball play, a Team Captain or Match Referee should allow time for an individual who has gotten angry to calm down before play resumes.

h. As provided in the FIVB Rules of Play, only Team Captains should address to a referee during a match or Volley Boréal -sanctioned tournaments. Whenever anyone addresses a referee, they should do it in a calm, polite, and professional manner. In no event may anyone make rude, obscene, or threatening remarks or gestures to a referee.

i. Referees and other Volley Boréal officials must treat all Volley Boréal members and participants with respect, even if the individual is acting inappropriately or if the official disagrees with the participant.

j. Guests and spectators at Volley Boréal events, by virtue of their presence at those events, are also expected to adhere to this policy. Members are also responsible to ensure appropriate conduct from their invited guests and spectators.

2. While all members of Volley Boréal are expected to conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner, the following individuals are leaders of Volley Boréal and they are also expected to be role models of sportsmanship:

a. Members of the Volley Boréal Administrative Board and Leadership Groups

b. Team Captains

c. Team Coaches

d. Match Referees

e. Tournament Directors

f. Any other Volley Boréal leadership roles (Coordinators, managers, etc)

g. Longtime participants in Volley Boréal activities.

3. Handling Instances of Poor Sportsmanship:

a. The most typical violations of this policy, arguments between members of Volley Boréal, or participants and officials, during tournaments play, should be handled in an informal manner designed to defuse the situation and minimize disruption to the event and/or volleyball play.

b. During volleyball events where there is official referees officiating, disputes between a participant in volleyball play and an official shall be handled under the FIVB Rules of Play, sanctions and penalties.

c. In league event where there is no official referees, If a participant acts inappropriately, the team Captain, if applicable, should remove the participant from the situation, if possible, and discuss the situation with him/her, and assess the participant’s ability to continue with the play in an appropriate way.

d. If the participant cannot continue to participate in an appropriate manner at that time, the participant may be removed from the event for an appropriate period of time, not to exceed the remaining length of the set, by the team captain or official in charge.

e. Any Volley Boréal Coordinator or league official should warn a participant when he/she has violated this policy and explain how their conduct is inappropriate. No follow-up action need to be taken unless the violation was unusually serious, part of a repetitive violation of the League’s policy, and/or constitutes unlawful conduct.

f. In a situation where there are repetitive violations of this policy by an individual (including participants, guests, and spectators), the individual’s violation is unusually serious, and/or the violation is the result of unlawful conduct, the incident should be documented by a Volley Boréal Coordinator and brought to the attention of the Discipline Commitee who will oversee this case of poor sportsmanship. The Coordinator will present the case to the Discipline Committee. The Discipline Committee Officer will attempt to resolve the matter informally and, if that is not possible, the President, in consultation with the applicable Vice President(s) and the Discipline Committee Officer, will decide the actions to take that could go from a written warning letter, member suspension up to membership cancelation.

II. ANTI-VIOLENCE POLICY

1. Any form of violent behavior outside the rules of volleyball is strictly prohibited by Volley Boréal. -- Violence is defined as any verbal threats or abuse, physical contact with another with the intent to threaten or injure, initiation of a fight or scuffle, or encouraging others to engage in physical violence. All matters pertaining to incidents of violence, even when they occur during league sanctioned volleyball activity, are never considered volleyball rules disputes. Therefore, all review of these matters are heard, in the first instance, by Volley Boréal Discipline Committee.

2. Incidents of Violence– Any member or Volley Boréal official; any guest or spectator who attends Volley Boréal events, who engages in violence during any Volley Boréal event is immediately suspended from all Volley Boréal activities.

Any incident of violence should be immediately documented by a Volley Boréal’s officials. However, Volley Boréal may at any time, still pursue sanctions against an individual engaging in violence even if the incident is not immediately documented. Volley Boréal officials, which for the purposes of this section include Volley Boréal Coordinators/ Leaders, must document any complaints of behavior that violates this policy during league events, even if the incident is brought to the Volley Boréal official’s attention after the fact and/or the Volley Boréal official did not personally witness the incident.

a. Responsibilities of Volley Boréal – The Volley Boréal official who documents an incident of violence must deliver a report that is as detailed as possible to the Discipline Committee Officer and the Vice President who oversees the program at which the incident took place. The Volley Boréal official should also collect the names and contact information of any willing witnesses to the incident. If anyone is injured as a result of the act of violence, the Volley Boréal official should contact 911 to request an ambulance and, if appropriate, the police.

b. Responsibilities of the Suspended Member or Official – When an individual engaged in an act of violence is a member of Volley Boréal or a league official, the individual who has been suspended from the league under this provision must contact the Discipline Committée Officer within 48 hours following the act to discuss the incident. The Member or Official must attend all scheduled proceedings meeting regarding the incident. The League must make reasonable attempts to accommodate the schedule of the suspended member or official when scheduling such meetings.

c. Responsibilities of the Discipline Committee Officer – Once informed of a documented incident of violence by a member or league official , the Discipline Committee Officer must make himself be available to be contacted by the individual(s) who engaged in the violent activity. Once the Discipline Committee Officer discusses the incident with the individual(s), the Discipline Committee Officer, in consultation with the President and relevant Vice President(s) may either uphold the interim suspension or lift the interim suspension, subject to the review of the incident by the Volley Boréal Administrative Board. In either event, the Discipline Committee Officer must inform the Volley Boréal Administrative Board, schedule a meeting to review the incident and determine the appropriate sanction.

d. Violence by a Player during tournaments Play – In addition to this policy, acts of violence by a player during sanctioned volleyball activities shall be deal as described in the Volleyball Official Rules of Play from FIBV, including the guidelines of the assessment of a yellow or red card by the referee. If a referee assesses a red card during tournament play, the Division Representative must document the incident and the player could be automatically suspended from further play, subject to the procedures in this policy. Additionally, Volley Boréal may assess sanctions against the player pursuant to this policy even if no penalty or sanctions were assessed to the player during competition.

3. Other Incidents of Violence -- If any member or official of Volley Boréal engages in acts of violence during volleyball competition sponsored by other leagues or organizations, and that incident is brought to the attention of either the Presidency of Volley Boréal or any of the Administrative Board members or Officers. The Administrative Board of Volley Boréal with the consent of the President may pursue sanctions against that member, if appropriate, by bringing the incident to the attention of the Discipline Committee.

III. SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ABUSE POLICY

1. Unwelcome sexual advances, including continued flirting after someone asks you to stop or other unwelcome verbal conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment and is prohibited by this policy. Acts of sexual harassment shall be procedurally resolved in the same manner as sportsmanship violations set forth in Article III(3) of this policy.

2. Unwanted sexual contact, using a position of trust or authority at Volley Boréal League to obtain sexual favors, and all unwanted physical touching of a sexual nature is considered sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is an act of Violence within the meaning of Article II of this policy.

3. This policy does not prohibit behavior of a sexual nature that arises from a relationship of mutual consent. A hug between friends, mutual flirtation, and a compliment on physical appearance between teammates and/or members of the Volley Boréal community are not consider harassment. Members who believe an act, that would otherwise be prohibited, would be the result of mutual consent have the burden of demonstrating they successfully sought the consent of the other member or that consent was directly affirmed by the other member.

4. Referees, Coaches (whether paid or volunteer), Captains, and all other Volley Boréal Leaders and officials must always strive to exemplify these guidelines. Individuals in those positions should also be mindful that at all time they are serving in those capacities, as a representative of Volley Boréal. Those individuals must also be mindful that their roles may create a dynamic that gives them power in front of other members and, in those circumstances, that power may undermine what otherwise appears to be “mutual consent.” Failure to adhere to these guidelines constitutes grounds for termination of employment, termination of contract and/or removal cause from that leadership position.

5. This section shall be construed in a manner as to promote Volley Boréal’s mission of building community, including the formation of healthy relationships between its members, including intimate relationships built on the concept of mutual consent between adults, as well as the promotion of a safe environment for all members.

Sanctions – Any sanction issued pursuant to this policy shall be determined by the Volley Boréal Discipline Committee in accordance with the procedure outlined in FIBV Rules of Play, and these policies.

a. Sanctions must reflect the severity of the conduct at issue but shall be assessed at the discretion of the Discipline Committee.

b. Sanctions may include a verbal warning and/or formal warning addressed to the member.

c. Sanctions may also include suspension of the individual from any or all Volley Boréal sanctioned competition and/or Volley Boréal events for any length of time, up to, and including, an indefinite suspension. If a member is suspended, no additional sanctions may be assessed. The length of time shall be determined at the discretion of the Discipline Committee

d. When a sanction includes suspension from any portion of league or tournament play for which the individual has already paid dues or fees, No refund will be authorized to the individual.

e. Under exceptional circumstances, any intentional act of violence that results in physical injury to another individual will result in that member being suspended indefinitely from all Volley Boréal events and activities, including non-competitive events.

f. Any individual who is assessed a lifetime suspension must be provided with the ability to petition the League to lift the suspension no less than two years from the date of the suspension.. If such a request is made and rejected, the individual must be allowed to renew the request at least once every subsequent year of competition.

g. Any decision on sanctions may be appealed to Volley Boréal Administrative Board. In the event of an appeal, Volley Boréal Administraive Board with a specific approval from the President shall have the power to modify or overturn any sanction and their decision will be final.

IV CAPTAINS POLICY

In adherence with its Mandate and Sportsmanship Policy, Volley Boréal has the following expectations from a Team Captain who takes part of all recreational, semi competitive, competitive, Open Tournaments and other league event:

· Treat all Volley Boréal members with care and respect both on and off the court

· Embody and encourage good sportsmanship and safety above all else

· Help settle any disputes in a calm and fair manner

· Be available to guide and advise members on the rules and regulations of volleyball

· Support and uphold policies and house rules put in place by Volley Boréal Administrative Board

· When necessary, direct any questions, ideas, or conflicts to Volley Boréal Administrative Board

V SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

The present social media Policy applies to to all individuals who are involved with VOLLEY-BORÉAL activities, whether they are in a paid or unpaid/voluntary capacity and including:

· Members, including life members of Volley-Boréal.

· persons appointed or elected to Volley- Boréal Administrative Boards committees and sub-committees;

· employees of Volley- Boréal;

· members of the Volley-Boréal Executive committee, if is the case;

· support personnel, including managers, physiotherapists, psychologists, masseurs, sport trainers and others;

· coaches and assistant coaches;

· athletes;

· referees and other officials;

· member associations

· All Volley-Boréal associated organisations, sponsors, visitors, spectators,etc.

Scope

· This social media policy applies to platforms including, but not limited to:

· Social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Yammer, etc)

· Video and photo sharing websites or apps (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Flickr, Vine, etc)

· Blogs and micro-blogging platforms (e.g. Tumblr, Wordpress, Blogger, etc)

· Live broadcasting apps (e.g. Periscope, Meerkat, Facebook Mentions, etc)

· Podcasting (e.g. iTunes, Stitcher, Sound cloud, etc)

· Instant messaging (e.g. SMS, Skype, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Viber, etc)

· Online voting or polls

· Public and private online forums and discussion boards

· Any other online technologies that allow individual users to upload and share content.

The goal of social media use at Volley Boréal is to foster interactive contact amongst league members, fans, supporters and potential new members. It also aims to promote sportive and social events activities in order to maintain a dynamic communication platform; for that so, Volley Boréal reserves it’s right to post in all social media and its own website photos, videos or other images related to Volleyball practices, tournaments and social event activities as long as they do not contravene our social media and privacy policies detailed above and here under.

We treat all social media postings on our wall or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction as public comments. Posts containing personal attacks, profanity, nudity, hate speech or illegal material are prohibited. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to remove any post or to revoke a user’s privilege to post to Volley-Boréal Facebook page or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction if found to violate this policy.

When using social media, the lines between public and private, personal and professional, may be blurred. Remember, you are an ambassador for Volley-Boréal, be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy and as well of others people’s privacy.

Note: the Volley Boréal Administrative Board Committee has discretion in the interpretation and application of this policy and will use the spirit of this policy and the league’s mandate to exercise this discretion.

Please be aware that the Volley Boréal Board Committee members cannot immediately review every comment posted on the Facebook page or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction. Opinions expressed in non-official Volley Boréal posts are not necessarily those of the Volley Boréal Board Committee members and we cannot guarantee the accuracy of those posts.

Posts are to be used only for noncommercial purposes. Members of Volley Boréal Facebook group or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction may not solicit funds or promote commercial entities. No statements should be made that are misleading, false or likely to injure a person’s reputation, must not offend, intimidate, humiliate or bully another person, must not be misleading, and must not be false. No personal information about our members will be disclosed to maintain the privacy of members.

Specific Posting Guidelines Concerning Bullying and Harassment:

We allow you to speak freely on matters related to volleyball, our league and people of public interest, but we will remove content that appears to purposefully target private individuals with the intention of degrading or shaming them, this includes entities such as the Administration Board Committee and “Volley Boréal” as a corporate organism. This content includes, but is not limited to:

· Statements and comments that identify and shame individuals,

· Images altered to degrade individuals,

· Photos or videos of physical bullying posted to shame the victim,

· sharing personal information to blackmail or harass people.

VI. PRIVACY POLICY

Volley Boréal respects and protects the privacy of all of its members. To that end, we will not disclose, sell, or trade any personal information derived from membership and/or event registration to a third party, except as required by law or in the case of imminent harm to a member. When Volley Boréal hires agents, contractors or companies to perform services on its behalf, Volley Boréal will also direct those agents, contractors or companies to protect this personal information. Volley Boréal may aggregate personal information, to be disclosed in a non-personally identifiable manner, to a third party for promotional purposes sponsorship and/or to negotiate member benefits.

Personal information derived from membership and/or event registration may be used for any of the following:

· Establish and maintain communication with members.

· Inform the membership of volleyball games, volleyball practices, volleyball tournaments, or social events organized for Volley Boréal membership.

· Assist Volley Boréal in complying with legal and regulatory requirements.

· Collect unpaid fees or dues from members.

VII MEMBERSHIP AND PLAYER CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY

Volley Boreal RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CANCEL ANY LEAGUE, EVENT, TOURNAMENT, CLINIC, OR TRAINING SESION DUE TO A LACK OF ENROLLMEN, A FULL REFUND WILL BE PROVIDED. OTHER REFUNDS WILL BE PROVIDED AS PER OUR BELOW REFUND POLICIES

Volley Boreal does its best to be fair and understands unplanned circumstances when cancelling a registration to our league membership, programs or event participation. Please be mindful, though, that putting a league/program together requires months of planning by Volley Boréal such as renting volleyball courts, hiring referees, coaches and staff for the events. Last minute cancellation not only gets in the way of our planning but it also takes away the opportunity from another athlete or team to participate.

Open Tournaments

An open tournament is the one that allows registration of local, regional, provincial and international teams. At present Volley Boréal organizes only one Open yearly tournament called Odyssée that takes place on Easter weekend.

For all Open tournaments, once the registration process is completed the event is Non-Refundable. Teams will be allowed to modify their player’s lineups by adding, removing and replacing player up to opening or welcoming tournament night.

Recreational League

· 100% Full Refund Less 20% of administration fee will be authorized if the cancellation is communicated 4 weeks before the league starting day.

· 50% refund will be authorized if cancellation is communicated up to the second day of the open door event

· Once the second Open door day is over (10.00pm); no refund will be authorized

Exceptionally for special circumstances, even if the league has started, players might be considered for a refund if one of the following circumstances arises:

1. If severe illness or injury prevents a player from participating in our programs. Participant should provide documentation from a medical professional for our records.

2. Unforeseeable life change event that prevents the player from participating in our programs (i.e. unexpected move out of the city).

Under the above, Individual full refund minus 20% Adm. Fees will apply if the circumstances arise before the league starting day or once the league has started; pro-rated refund should be applied as well as 20% Adm. fees cost.

Semi/ Competitive League

Semi and/or Competitive league works by team registration, where the team captain is the only responsible for collecting and paying his/her team season fees and is the only responsible for dealing with the team’s needs and claims. Additionally he is the only team representative toward the league.

Volley Boreal does not offer any direct refunds to athletes; all individual refund claims must be addressed to their team captain. Captains are allowed to manage their team’s needs, player’s selection, player’s continuation and team finances in a fair, democratic and discretional way; but they are requested to communicate to the league all-important modifications to the team’s structure or changes. Communication must be addressed to the league responsible before the league-starting day; there is no extra fees for player’s substitution during the season or player replacements; but to be able to play the finals the subs player must have played at least 2 regular days during the season.

Refunds for team cancellation will apply only in the following way:

· 100% Full Refund Less 20% Admin Fee will be authorized if the team cancellation is communicated 2 months before the league starting day.

· 50% refund will be authorized if the cancellation is communicated up to One month before league starting day

· No team refund will be authorized outside of the above parameters

Year End Tournaments and other social events

Due to the lower cost of year-end tournaments and to the obligations Volley Boreal made to organize it; No Refund will be authorized once the registration is completed.

Skills Clinics

Due to lower price of our clinics and time invested in preparing these clinics, No Refund will be authorized once the registration is completed.

VIII President, Administrative Board, Leaders, Committees or Directors Privileges Policy

1. All associated food and non-alcoholic beverages are reimbursed for Administrative Board, Executive, Committee & Sub-Committee Meetings.

2. During an Administrative Board member’s active term, their registration fees will be waived for:

· Fall & Winter divisional playing fees;

· Tournaments; and

· Annual General Meeting & Banquets.

3. Time-limited advanced registration window for:

· Fall & Winter playing divisions; and

· all Volley Boréal Tournaments.

4. Expense reimbursement:

· All out-of-pocket expenses incurred by an Administrative Board member for the facilitation, administration, and/or execution of League events, tournaments, or general operations are reimbursed.

· Professional-related expenses for networking, promotion of Volley Boréal, and development, only with Administrative Board’s approval prior to creation of the expense.

· Other discretionary expenses may be reimbursed, only with Administrative Board’s’ approval prior to creation of the expense.

IX Terms of Use Policy

Access to www.volley-Boréal.net, operated by the Volley Boréal, is subject to the following Terms of Use, as well as all applicable laws. By using or visiting this website, an individual agrees to be bound by these Terms of Use.

The information and material posted on www.volley-Boréal.net. is produced by Volley Boréal with the intent of being readily available for its current and prospective members. This information and material may be used and/or reproduced for non-commercial means without charge or further permission from Volley Boréal. However, use or reproduction of the information or material on www.volley-Boréal.net for the purposes of commercial redistribution is prohibited except with written permission from Volley Boréal.

No trademarks, logos or images contained on www.volley-Boréal.net may be used or reproduced without the express written permission from Volley Boreal . Any unauthorized use of these trademarks, logos or images may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations and statutes.

While Volley Boréal uses reasonable efforts to include accurate and current information on its website, it makes no warranties or representations as to such accuracy. Volley Boréal assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content of www.volley-Boréal.net. Furthermore, Volley Boréal does not warrant or represent that the information contained will be uninterrupted or free of errors and/or viruses. Any individual visiting www.volley-Boréal.net specifically acknowledges that Volley Boréal is not liable for the defamatory, offensive or illegal conduct of other users of www.volley-Boréal.net. Individuals use the website at their sole discretion, and are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws.

In no event shall Volley Boréal, its players, captains, officials, coaches, volunteers or executive members be liable for any direct, indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages that arise out of or in connection with any failure of performance, errors, inaccuracies, omissions, defects, timeliness, interruption, deletion, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of record, or authenticity of any content on www.volley-boreal.net, or the use or inability to use www.volley-boreal.net or any content therein. This exclusion of liability applies whether or not any such damages or losses arise because of the negligence of Volley Boréal, its players, captains, officials, coaches, volunteers or executive members.

Please direct any comments or questions concerning any of these policies to info@volley-boréal.net