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Frequently Asked Questions · What is the policy on outside food at the different venues? · Are personal chairs permitted/needed? · Will there be any church services at the tournament? · Are there directions to the sites? ·
How many teams are you
expecting at the 2012 Shamrock Festival? · What is the tournament format? · What can you tell me about the different playing sites? · What goes on Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center? ·
Will there be a Coaches’
Meeting on Friday night? ·
Are you having a Recruiting
Showcase again this year? · Will tournament shirts be sold at every site during the tournament? · Will officials be provided for all matches? · Will concessions be sold at every site? · Will trainers be provided at all locations? · What happens in the event of inclement weather? · What hotel should we stay in? · What time will play end on Sunday? · What is there to do in Roanoke? Q: What is the policy on outside
food at the different venues? A: There are to be no coolers brought into any facility throughout the tournament. Coolers and outside food and drink should be left oustide the buildings. Team "buffets" will have to be set up outside the buildings, in parking lots, etc. Players and coaches are allowed to bring water bottles and we simply ask that you help clean-up after yourselves along the way Q: Are personal chairs permitted/needed? A: You are allowed to bring your own chairs into most venues, however they will not always be needed as some sites will have bleachers available. Chairs will likely be permitted anywhere without bleacher seating. Q: Will
there be any church services at the tournament? A: Yes! Because We Care Ministries will be hosting multiple 30-minute church services during the tournament. There will likely be two services Saturday evening (times TBD) and one service Sunday morning (time TBD). Services will include praise & worship along with a brief message. All services will take place at the Roanoke Civic Center. Q: Are there directions to the sites? A: The website will post basic directions and addresses for each individual site. In addition, the tournament program has very detailed directions from each site to each site. Q: How many teams are you expecting at the 2012 Shamrock Festival? We will accept 90 teams in the 18’s division, 90 teams in the 16’s division, and 48 teams in the 14’s division. Teams are allowed to play up one age group, so 13’s can play 14’s, 15’s can play 16’s, and 17’s can play 18’s. To clarify, a 14’s team is not allowed to register as a 15’s team in order to play 16’s nor can a 16’s team register as a 17’s team in order to play 18’s. Q: What is the tournament format? A: The 18’s & 16’s divisions will each have 30 seeded three-team pools and wave through 3 rounds of pool play. The 18’s division pools will begin on Saturday at 8am, 2pm, & 8pm with playoffs starting no earlier than 11am on Sunday. The 16’s division pools will begin on Saturday at 11am & 5pm and at 8am on Sunday with playoffs starting no earlier than 12:00 noon on Sunday. The 14’s division will have 12 seeded four-team pools and wave through 2 rounds of pool play. Pool play will be from 8am-2pm and from 5pm-8pm on Saturday and from 8am to 11am on Sunday with playoffs starting no earlier than 12:00 noon on Sunday Q: What can you tell me about the different playing sites?
A: There will be numerous playing sites and all of them are within about 20 minutes of each other so there is no need to make specific hotel arrangements related to where your team will begin play. Initial court assignments and basic driving directions will be released online on Thursday before the tournament. Detailed driving directions to and from every site as well as detailed pool play assignments for the entire tournament will be printed in the tournament program which can be purchased on Friday evening and throughout the weekend. We have again secured the 13-court Roanoke Civic Center (primarily for 16’s & 18’s divisions) which will serve as the tournament headquarters. There will be plenty of free seating available here where matches will be played on sportcourt. The other playing sites will be local high schools, colleges, and other sports facilities. Q: What goes on Friday night at the A:In addition to team check-in and officials’ check-in, there will be vendors at the Roanoke Civic Center to sell volleyball apparel, tournament t-shirts, sweatshirts, programs, etc. This is the BEST time to purchase tournament shirts & sweatshirts as some colors and sizes run out quickly! We will also be hosting two Recruiting Showcases (see Showcase tab above), a Kids’ Instructional Clinic for 6-12 year olds, and we will have door prize drawings for a variety of gift certificates, iPods, and other goodies. A complete Friday night schedule will be available on the main page of the Shamrock Festival website in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
Q: Will
there be a Coaches’ Meeting on Friday night? A: No!
Based on feedback from coaches in years past and on our own
experiences at other tournaments, there will not be a mandatory Coaches’
Meeting on Friday night. All important
information will be provided prior to the tournament and/or in the tournament
program. Q: Are
you having a Recruiting Showcase again this year? A: Yes! We are holding a Recruiting Showcase on Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center again this year for any players interested in showing their individual skills to all the college coaches in attendance. Details on the Recruiting Showcase will be posted on the Shamrock Festival website under the Showcase tab after tournament registration opens. The format will include lots of game-like drills and limited scrimmage time as our goal is to let the athletes show their skills while minimizing the risk of injuries. There will be an athletic trainer available during the Showcase just in case. Q: Will tournament
shirts be sold at every site during the tournament? A: Tournament apparel will be
sold at many sites throughout the weekend but many individual playing sites
will have limited sizes, colors, etc.
Tournament shirts, programs, and other apparel will be sold at the Q: Will officials be
provided for all matches? A: Paid up-officials will be provided for all
matches. The work team must provide a
certified down ref, scorekeeper, libero tracker, and 2 line judges for all
matches. In the finals for all playoff
divisions, paid officials will be provided as both up and down refs. Q: Will concessions be
sold at every site? A: Concessions will be sold at many sites but
are not guaranteed to be sold everywhere.
Each facility has its own policies on outside food and drinks so
please plan accordingly. At most
sites, concessions will be run by the host school. Some of the items to be offered may include
soda, sports drinks, water, bagels, fruit, candy, coffee, bags of chips,
pizza, donuts, biscuits, granola bars, etc.
Please abide by all posted signs regarding food and drink or we run
the risk of losing the privilege to utilize certain playing sites in the
future (and your team runs the risk of not being invited back). Q: Will trainers be
provided at all locations? A: Athletic trainers will be available at the Roanoke
Civic Center and at limited other playing locations from approximately 7:30am - 7:30pm on
Saturday and from 7:30am until the end of play on Sunday. You must provide your own supplies or you
may be asked to pay a nominal fee for supplies when getting ankles taped,
etc. In the event of more serious
injuries requiring additional medical attention, please go to the nearest
emergency room. Q: What happens in the
event of inclement weather? A: The Shamrock Festival will make every
effort to continue regardless of weather.
In the unlikely event that the tournament is canceled due to bad
weather, refunds will be issued to all registered teams net of all non-refundable
tournament expenses (deposits for sites and equipment, etc.). Q: What hotel should
we stay in? A: A detailed description of hotel procedures
is posted under the HOTEL INFO link but
generally speaking, each hotel listed on the website is in close proximity to
the playing venues. You have 3 hours
of rest time between waves so travel to the sites is rarely an issue. Please note that we have done our best to
negotiate reasonable group rates to be used by the teams. Please have coaches and parents staying
alone block King rooms to save double rooms and rooms with pullouts for the
teams. Q: What time will
play end on Sunday? A: Should you make it to the final match of
the day, you will be scheduled to start that match by 5pm. However, as with any tournament, we may be
slightly ahead or slightly behind schedule.
In an effort to keep things on schedule again this year, we will
continue to start all 25-point games at a score of 4-4. Q: What is there to
do in Roanoke? A: Valley View Mall is the largest mall in the Roanoke Valley. There are numerous restaurants on the property and stores in the mall include Old Navy, Hollister, Abercrombie, Gap, etc. Out-parcels include Target, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Etc. In addition, “The Market” is located in downtown Roanoke. This is a unique “touristy” attraction where lots of jewelry, craft, and food vendors from local producers set-up on the weekends. There is also Tanglewood Mall on the southwest side of town and finally the Roanoke Star. Located on top of Mill Mountain off the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Roanoke Star is the world's largest freestanding illuminated man-made star. It is located about 5 minutes from downtown Roanoke and from the Roanoke Star, you can enjoy the scenic view of the entire Roanoke Valley. For more information about Roanoke, click HERE.
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