NAGVA rates each member's volleyball skills in order to place each member in appropriate division for competition. A new members is considered "Unrated" and will receive the first rating in his/her next NAGVA tournament.
Here is how the process works and what you (and your captain) can do at each step (in bold) to ensure a smooth rating process. This applies to new members and members that are Unrated for other reasons (e.g., medical re-rate, inactivity).
As an Unrated player, you and your team rep (captain) are responsible for registering for the appropriate division. You can contact the Tournament Director or help@nagva.org if you need assistance determining which division to play as an Unrated player. Note that intentionally playing a division that is too low for your skills ("sandbagging") can lead to serious sanctions.
When you play a tournament as an Unrated player, the NAGVA Regional Commissioner (RC) is automatically notified that you need to receive a rating. You don't need to take any action to ensure that you are rated.
The RC will assign 2 raters (possibly including himself/herself) to observe you play. Typically, you will not be informed that you're being observed.
The raters will identify you based on your team's schedule and your jersey number. Your captain must fill out the line-up sheet with every player's jersey number before the team's first match. Also, any changes in jersey numbers need to be reflected immediately in the line-up sheet.
The raters observe your skills based on the NAGVA Skills Assessment Questionnaire, scoring each skill and determining your letter rating (B, BB, A, AA).
If the two raters do not agree on your letter rating, the RC will assign a third rater (possibly himself/herself), whose evaluation will, typically, determine your rating.
The raters continue to observe you and may update your rating at anytime through the end of the tournament.
If, at anytime, you are rated above the division you are playing in, the RC will communicate the rating to you and inform you that you cannot continue playing in that division. He/she will also let you know what options you and your team have (see details below).
At the end of the tournament, the RC finalizes the rating by completing the rating sheet.
The RC will communicate the rating to you either in person or by email (after the tournament). Feel free to ask the RC any questions and/or to request a copy of your rating sheet.
The rating will be updated on your profile on nagva.org in 1-2 weeks.
What happens if an Unrated player is rated above the division he/she is playing?
The options given to the player (and team) depend on timing and can also vary at the discretion of the RC and Tournament Director.
If the player is removed during pool play, the team is typically given the option to either a) remove the player from the roster and continue in the same division or b) keep the player on the roster and play a higher division, if a higher division is offered. If the player is removed from the roster, he/she may be added to another team's roster before the end of pool play.
If the player is removed during tournament play, the team must remove him/her from the roster and continue playing in the same division.