Parents

Why OVR Club Volleyball

There are many options and organizations for your child to play club volleyball, and the challenge can be sorting through all those options. Playing club volleyball in the OVR offers many advantages that other organizations cannot. Below is a list of some of the top reasons for playing club volleyball in the OVR.

Highest Level of Safety Measures: OVR, being a part of USA Volleyball, mandates rigorous background screenings for all personnel involved, ensuring the safety of players.
Secondary Accident Insurance: Players are covered by secondary accident insurance during OVR/USAV practices or events, offering additional protection in case of injuries.
Diverse Competition Levels: OVR offers three levels of play catering to beginners and seasoned players, ensuring that the competition matches the player’s skill level.
- National teams represent the highest level of play in the OVR and USAV, and these teams typically travel around the country playing in the highest level of tournaments offered. American teams represent a high level of play but do not usually travel around the country. Instead, they compete mainly in the OVR. Regional teams are more developmental and represent the largest number of OVR teams, which tend to compete locally.

Convenient Tournament Formats and Locations: Tournaments organized by OVR span from 1 to 3 days and are held across various locations within the region, allowing clubs to choose between local or larger OVR-sponsored events.
Affordable Admission Fees: OVR tournaments maintain a maximum admission fee of $10 for adults, with free entry for individuals aged 18 or under, offering affordable access to competitions. Competitor organizations charge admission fees up to $20/day and usually charge for children six and older.
Financial Support and Scholarships: OVR provides financial support with college scholarships, gifts, and other services, giving back to its members $100,000 annually.
Nation’s Largest Regional Championships: OVR hosts the nation’s largest regional championships each season in USA Volleyball.
National Qualifying Tournaments: OVR conducts national qualifying tournaments, offering top teams a chance to compete at the USAV National Championships.
High Standards of Professionalism: OVR upholds high standards of professionalism, ensuring that coaches, clubs, referees, and staff adhere to a strict code of conduct, particularly in their interactions with young athletes.

Club Contracts with a Player/Family

It’s important to understand the implications of signing a contract with a club in the OVR. Here are some key points to consider:

Binding Agreement: Signing a contract with a club creates a binding agreement between the family and the club. This agreement is not with the OVR but specifically with the club itself.
Non-Transferable: The contract is typically not specific to a particular team or coach within the club but rather for participation within that club as a whole.
Commitment: Once signed, the family is committed to the club for the duration of the season, and players cannot try out for or play for another club during that time.
Release from Contract: If a family wishes to leave the club before the end of the season, they must obtain a release from the club. This release is at the discretion of the club and is not guaranteed.
Seasonal Limitations: Even if a player is released from a club, if they have already participated in an OVR/USAV event with the original club, they cannot play for a new club during the current season.
Signing Deadlines: Families should familiarize themselves with the signing and tryout policy outlined by the OVR for the current season to ensure they understand their rights and responsibilities regarding contract signing.
No Immediate Obligation: Clubs cannot force families to sign a contract immediately, but be sure you understand OVR deadlines for accepting a contract, as contract offers can be pulled after the signing deadline. It’s essential for families to take the time to review the terms of the contract and ensure they are comfortable with the decision before signing.
Please see the 2024 OVR Girl’s Signing & Tryout Policy for deadlines and your contract signing rights.
Please see the 2024 OVR Boy’s Signing & Tryout Policy for deadlines and your contract signing rights.

Understanding these points can help families make informed decisions when considering signing a contract with a club in the OVR.

Lodging Information

When booking lodging for OVR-run events, it’s important to understand the different housing policies and how they apply:

Stay to Play Policy:

Requirement: Teams must stay in the predesignated hotel block provided for the event. Required by many USAV qualifiers, AAU, or JVA events.
Applicability: Only required in the OVR at events hosted by the Cedar Point Sports Facility.
Condition: Required for OVR teams more than 90 miles from Cedar Point while playing at Cedar Point.

Stay and Save Policy:

Encouragement: Teams are encouraged to stay in the hotels listed for the event.
Applicability: All OVR events that are held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Benefit: Guarantees the lowest booking cost for hotel rooms within the booking block for the event dates. Clubs, teams, and families save more money and benefit more from booking through the OVR-provided block than booking independently with hotels listed in the block.

The OVR partners with EventConnect to find the lowest hotel costs for our families to stay at when attending OVR events. EventConnect provides an easy-to-use accommodations portal and offers the best available group rates. Teams can instantly hold rooms with the lodging partner of their choice on EventConnect’s webpage. All room blocks and reservations are managed through EventConnect.

OVR Clubs and Parents:

The OVR needs to accurately account for the number of rooms nights utilized by your clubs and teams. This will enable us to secure dates with the Greater Columbus Convention Center further into the future. Currently we can sign a contract only one year in advance. This has caused us to be bumped from some of our preferred weekends in the past by other events.

Use the links below to reserve your rooms for these events. Once you have registered for the event, your Club Rep will receive an email from EventConnect with links to the hotels and to your Club Dashboard. Please do not call our hotel partners to book directly. If you have already booked directly, please call us to assist with moving your room block into the EventConnect system, where you will be able to easily make changes and adjustments to your reservations. Thank you for your help in this endeavor.

For any assistance with the accommodations process, please contact EventConnect Customer Success at 1-888-723-2064 or [email protected].

Helpful EventConnect Resources: