Premier Volleyball League - Your Questions Answered
Hunter Volleyball is trialling a Premier League model this Winter, in order to test our the viability of a local, high-level League.
It is envisaged this League sits above A Grade social competition and below the Senior Representative Program, and provides another step in the developing Player Pathways.
Check out the Trial Model overview here
I like playing with my A Grade friends, does PVL replace A Grade? Do I have to choose?
No, the competitions are separate and will continue to be in the future. PVL will be an additional competition you can choose to play.
For the highest level players who may be in A/B teams competing in games from Round 12 (23 April) onwards, there is a way to play your team matches and then attend PVL Training.
What is the Season?
The maximum court capacity we have created in our venues to host Teams training + Single Round Robin matches is shown below.
NB: Not all players will be at all training sessions listed below. The specific schedule will be confirmed following the Player Draft when participating players / teams are confirmed.
Training: Available courts Tue 23 April, Thur 2, 7, 9, 14, 21, 28 May
Season Schedule: Tue 4, 11, 18 June, Men's Finals Tue 25 June, tbc Women's Finals Wed 26 June
Who can nominate to play?
Any experienced player can nominate themselves to be a part of the selection process.
Who selects the captains?
As part of the player nomination process, you’ll be asked to provide your 1st and 2nd preferred playing positions, and to advise if you wish to be considered as a team captain. Team captains will be a strategic and inclusive player who will play a role in building a positive team culture (in a short amount of time), but also be able to lead on the court also.
What are the responsibilities of the team captain?
Captains will be asked to lead their team:
- alongside other captains, participate in the player selection process
- consider training needs for their team, identify skill / offence or defence/ other areas requiring coaching assistance
- liaise with HV coaches about coaching support at sessions, or running a training session tailored to their team
- lead teams with communicating training and game schedules
- conduct usual in-match responsibilities.
Will every team get a coach? How can we organise ourselves to train and be competitive?
It is unlikely that every team will be allocated a volunteer coach for the Trial season. We are still developing the pool of coaching personnel in the region.
The Captains who nominate to lead their teams will have access to senior coaches during the designated sessions to work on specific areas of their game, in preparation for the Round games and Finals.
What is the selection process for players, and what will prevent stacked teams being selected?
In 2024 we will coordinate a Player Draft, in which all players who are interested in playing, nominate themselves for selection. They must advise 2 playing positions, and then all players will be ranked against their positions before captains select teams based on available positions. Captains will select players sequentially and alternate between higher and lower ranked positions to ensure the teams are evenly distributed. This same model will be used in the Junior Volleyball League over the past 2 years and has worked really well in developing strong team competition and individual player experiences.
In our post-season review of the Trial PVL, we will gain feedback about the value of conducting a Player Draft annually, or determine an alternate method for the launch and team selections in 2025.
Does PVL replace the senior Rep program?
No, see our website for the statement about our proposed Senior Rep Program.
Will there be trials for the senior Rep program?
HV strongly encourages all senior, experienced players who are considering representing the region to participate in the PVL. Coaches will conduct a preliminary selection of their Men’s and Women’s team at the end of the PVL season. Scrimmage matches will be held in July/August for coaches to view any additional players seeking selection in the senior HV team in 2024.
Can women compete in the men’s PVL competition?
HV wants to build a strong and competitive women’s PVL model so all senior women will be prioritised to compete in the Women’s league during this Trial model.
For the women’s League, will there be concessions for player movement between teams in key positions?
We want to make sure that the handful of matches being played in the women’s League results in high level engagement and competition. If there is a shortfall in players in any particular position, we have to be flexible to alow them to play in multiple teams to ensure all matches are of the highest quality possible for all players in the team.
Can Juniors be selected for PVL?
Parents of Junior players can nominate them for selection in the League, and will be judged on their merits based on prior competition experience including JVL or senior competitions on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, in the competitive selection process for the 4 men’s or 3 women’s teams.
Is PVL always going to be on a Tuesday night? Won’t that reduce the number of games for the usual A, B, C Grade competitions?
The reduction of the 2024 Tuesday night competition to fit the Trial Model training sessions and games is just a one-off consequence of HV wanting to try this model, and having a guaranteed venue available to do so.
During the 2024 trial season we will consult with players about the future scheduling of PVL. Does it go to Friday nights (like Canberra Leagues), or Saturdays and Sundays like Sydney Volleyball League. The driving factor will be venue availability in 2025 and the timing of the season to make the most ‘sense’ in terms of player pathways, for those seeking high level competition which then leads to the next higher level competition (like the HV Rep program).
What are we playing for? What do we win?
In our 2024 Trial season, we are keeping the program costs down as low as possible so the objective is to provide a small reward at the end of the PVL Season for those who play and then budget and provide memorable prizes for our first season in 2025.
As part of the 2025 League developing (along the same way our Junior Volleyball League has been over the past 2 years) we will be seeking League sponsors who can contribute funds or goods to the League to assist with keeping costs down for players and this can be in the form of training shirts, prizes, vouchers, medals, perpetual shields etc etc.
The 2025 League will continue on for decades to come, if we get it right in these early years.
How much does it cost?
We’re trying to keep this Trial season’s cost down as low as possible for all participants, and hope to keep this as low as $125pp based on 4 men’s and 3 women’s teams (approx 60 players). Exact costs to be confirmed upon selection.
Why should I play PVL?
The PVL concept is a strategic program development decision that HV is trialling in 2024, to consider launching in 2025. We encourage the most experienced players to come together for a short season to visualise what a high-level, local League season can look like in the future.
12/2/24