1. General League Rules and Information

• A team must have a minimum of 6 people on the roster (Less than 6 could result in placement of free agent on team!)
• In case of severe weather, official word about cancellation will be emailed/texted to everyone between 4:00 pm & 5:00 pm
• Teams must use the designated balls provided by OSSO

2. Pregame

• At least 4 players must be present to begin a match including 1 female, unless agreed upon by both captains. (Please notify the lifeguard if this is the case!)
  • If a team is short players during the regular season, substitutes are allowed as long as the team has the required minimum of 6 players registered and there are 2 rostered players present 
    • Substitute(s) must be registered in the current session
• If a team is more than 8 minutes late, that team will forfeit the first set in the match. If a team is more than 15 minutes late, that team will forfeit the entire match
• Captains or designated players of each team will rock/paper/scissors to decide which team serves first
• All players must be wearing their designated OSSO team shirts/tank tops, or have them present during game time

3. Scoring and Match rules

• Each match will be the best of 3 sets 
• All games are self-reffed, and scores will be kept by competing teams. Teams will report their scores to a lifeguard or lifeguard assistant
• Rally scoring system. (A point is earned each time the ball touches the ground)
• The first 2 sets will go to 21 and the 3rd set will go to 15, all must be won by 2 
• The scores for each set will be capped at 25, 25, and 19

4. Game Play Rules

• HAVE FUN!!!
• Each team must have 1 female on the court at all times, otherwise the team without the female forfeits
• No more than 3 hits before returning
• When it’s 2 hits or less and over, any combination of players my hit the ball
  • In any 3 hit combination, both genders are required to be at least one of those touches or a point is awarded to the other team
• Blocking or attacking the serve is not allowed
  • Attacking the serve is when, on the first contact from a serve, a players feet leave the ground and they use one or two hands above their shoulders to hit the ball at a downward driven angle back over the net
• Breaking the plane of the net is not allowed unless blocking
  • Breaking the plane of the net is interfering with the opponents second or third contact of the ball before the player has had the chance to touch/return the ball
• Open handed tips and swipes are not allowed
  • You can dink the ball with your knuckles or poke it using your fingertips with your hand extended
• Lifts are NOT allowed
  • A lift is when the ball sits in your hands for too long, almost as if you caught it
  • When setting, your elbows must only extend once the ball makes contact with your hands
    • Do not allow the ball to sink toward your face or get low toward your chest after contact has been made
• Excessive doubles are not allowed on the second or third contact in a play
  • An excessive double is when there is a double contact on the ball and it over rotates after a player hand sets it
  • Any longer than one and a half seconds during a single rotation of the ball will be called
• If the ball is intentionally set into the opponents side of the court, the player must contact the ball above his/her shoulders and must direct the ball perpendicular to the direction his/her shoulders are facing 
• A player may not touch the ball 2 consecutive times unless directly after an opposing team member blocked their original touch
  • A block does not count as a touch
• If the ball touches the out of bounds line it is considered in
• When the ball is returned, it must stay between the ends of the net (antennas)
• NO Net Touches Allowed
• Teams must rotate servers. All players on the court must serve in rotation
  • Teams will change servers after they have scored on an opponent's serve
• Interfering with players under the net is not allowed. If you land under the net without interfering with another player it is okay
• Teams will rotate thier players in and out of the game in a set order as each player must serve and get equal playing time
  • During rotation, one player exits the court as one player enters
• Throughout the course of the match should any disagreements regarding a play arise, teams will agree to replay the point

5. Playoffs

• ONLY rostered players may play in playoffs. We are aware that EVERYONE thinks their team's roster situation deserves an exception just this one time. Don't do it. You will get caught, you'll forfeit, you'll be mad & it ruins the night for your team & your opponents.  Play your match for fun & may the best team of legally rostered players win the Championship.
• Teams must have at least 4 players on the court at all times in the playoffs, including 1 female. Teams may play for fun, but the non-forfeiting team will move on in playoffs.