1. Player eligibility: * All new players must be residents of the City of Toronto or working full time at a place of employment with a City of Toronto address. * The following criteria must be met to enter a new team: A) 75% of each team must be full time City of Toronto residents B) 25% of each team may be full time employees of a business/company/agency from the City of Toronto Grandfather Clause: any player(s) not meeting the above criteria, but who appear and are eligible on a previous year team roster are eligible to play in the ETMVL. All players qualifying under this clause are exempt from being included in the above ratios. 2. Team rosters are limited to 20 players per team - a minimum of 12 players is required to enter a team ( including at least 5 women and 5 men ). Rosters must include name, address, postal code and phone number of each player listed. A player will not be considered eligible until all of this information is provided on the team’s roster. The League will only accept completed rosters that have all the required information for each player. Team rosters must be submitted by the end of the first month of the start of each season. 3. Players must be 18 years of age or older as of September 1 to be eligible to play in the ETMVL. 4. After registration, roster changes, additions and deletions, may be made up to 12:00 am of the date set by the Executive each season. Extension of this deadline is subject to approval by the Executive Committee or 3 Table Officers one of which must be the President. Orphan teams may add and/or delete players all season. 5. A competitor can only register to play on one team and in one division in the ETMVL. In addition, a competitor may move from one team to another in any division only once in the season. Violation of this rule may result in forfeiture of the match and expulsion of that player from the league. 6. Teams must add or delete players before the start of the match in which they are to play. Additions or deletions can be made on the back of the score sheet. Please note that complete information including name, address, and postal code and phone number will be considered as a properly added player. Email address, if available, is optional but welcomed by the League for communications with players. 7. The use of ineligible players, players not meeting the above criteria and/or not listed, or players not added or deleted from a team roster, will result in forfeiture of all matches involving the use of that player and could result in the expulsion of the player and team from the ETMVL. 8. Teams will be provided with a 10-minute warm-up period on court before their matches. Please do not warm-up on the sidelines while another match is in progress. The 10-minute warm-up period will also serve as the default time for the match. Teams not having the required number of players to start the match at the end of the 10-minute warm-up period will be subject to the following: A) a set default by the referee B) a full match default will be awarded by the referee after 20 minutes from the start time of the match if the required number of players is not on court. 9. A) A maximum of 3 men is allowed on court. Teams may play with 5 players with a maximum of 3 men. In A and B Divisions, the Ghost Rule will apply to teams playing with 5 players. B) Players must play a minimum of 3 matches to qualify for relegation playoffs and 5 matches to qualify for the championship tournament. 10. Teams are permitted to substitute only into the number 6 position (back row, centre position of the court) on a side-out unless an injury necessitates a substitution into another position. The player quotas on court will still apply. Late arriving players will be permitted to join the rotation on a side-out and must assume the number 1 (serving) spot. Where the Ghost Rule is being used, that player must assume the position designated as the Ghost. 11 Teams will rotate after a server has served 5 consecutive points. 12. All OVA Rules apply except those rules specific to the ETMVL stated in this document. 13. Teams are permitted two 30 second timeouts per game. 14. Matches will be as follows: A Division: Marshall McLuhan: 2 sets against 2 different opponents; 4 sets against one opponent with final set capped at 21 points at John Innes. B Division: 4 sets against one opponent with final set capped at 21 points. C Divison: 2 sets against 2 different opponents. 15. Teams will be awarded 1 point for winning each set. 16. The ETMVL will enforce the following time limits to play final sets during regular season: A, B and C Divisions *20 minutes remaining - full set *less than 20 minutes – 15 points *less than 10 minutes - a tie 17. Teams incurring three match defaults in the course of a season will be expelled from the ETMVL. Teams incurring 9 game defaults in the course of a season will be expelled from the ETMVL. A forfeited match will count as a default. The executive may allow the expelled team to remain to finish their schedule under special provisions provided that the team has paid its league registration fee in full. 18. Players who violate acceptable court behaviour will be given one team warning after which any player(s) may be ejected from the match and the facility. Players ejected from a match will be given five minutes to leave the facility. Players who are ejected and who refuse to leave the match and facility will have a forfeiture of the match assessed against their team. 19. Players who wilfully whip the net with their hands, or wilfully pull the net down, will receive one warning. If the offence is committed again by any member of the team assessed the warning, the offending player will be ejected from the match and the facility. 20. Players who cross the centre line to protest an official's ruling or to challenge an opposing player will be assessed an ejection from the match and the facility. 21. Players who throw a punch at an official, an opposing player, a spectator or a member of the staff of the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation or Board of Education will be ejected from the league for the remainder of that season and a period of time specified by the Executive Committee. 22. A player incurring two match ejections will be suspended for the remainder of the season and a period of time specified by the Executive Committee. 23. An ejection will cost the team affected a loss of serve, a loss of the point and an automatic point for the opposing team. 24. All ejections can be appealed to the Executive Committee utilizing the guidelines and fee for the protest procedure. 25. Protest Guidelines and Procedures: A protest based on the incorrect application or enforcement of ETMVL or OVA rules will be considered by the Executive. Verbal notification of intention to protest must be given to the opposing Team Captain and the Referee at the time of the protest. Protests after the match will not be considered unless it involves an incident/dispute occurring at the end of or after the completion of the match. The ETMVL executive committee Secretary must receive a written protest and a $50 fee within 72 hours after the match has been completed. The President of the ETMVL in consultation with the Table Officers of the ETMVL Executive Committee will convene a Protest Committee, consisting of 3 members, to adjudicate the protest. The Protest Committee may not include the President and any member who plays in the same division as the team filing the protest. The decision of the Protest Committee can be appealed to the Appeal Committee if the appellant convinces a committee of Table Officers including the President, Vice-President and Treasurer that there are sufficient grounds to review the decision of the Protest Committee. If the Vice-President and/or the Treasurer participated on the Protest Committee, they will be excluded from considering the appellant’s request for appealing to the Appeal Committee. In this case, the President will select one or two other Table Officers including the Secretary, VP Communication, VP Social, and VP Fundraising. The President may include Director(s) if the required number of Table Officers is not available. The Appeal Committee, consisting of 3 members, will be convened by the President of the ETMVL in consultation with the Table Officers of the Executive Committee. No member who participated in the Protest Committee or consideration of appeal may participate in the consultation to form the Appeal Committee. No one playing in the same division as the appellant, or who served on the Protest Committee, will be permitted on the Appeal Committee. The $50 fee will be returned to the protesting team if the protest is upheld. If the protest is denied, the fee will be placed in league funds. The ETMVL Executive Committee will be responsible for the administration of the League in all the facilities and any area not covered in these rules.