The primary mandate of the Toronto Spartan Volleyball League (TSVL) is to provide an inclusive environment for individuals to play volleyball that is safe, enjoyable, and free of discrimination. The TSVL emphasizes good sportsmanship and safety during play and expects its members to be respectful of other individuals, as well as league facilities, both on and off the court. The essence of this mandate is to be upheld by all TSVL members at all league events, including regular play in both the recreational and competitive divisions, as well as league-organized tournaments and social events.

In the TSVL, fair play is the cornerstone of regular league play in all our divisions, as well as league-organized tournaments. This includes behaving respectfully and courteously in the spirit of fair play towards teammates, members of opposing teams, members of the officiating team, and spectators. General guidelines for appropriate behaviour include:

1. Knowing and abiding by the official rules of volleyball and the TSVL’s house rules.
2. Accepting rulings made by the officiating team with sportsmanlike conduct, with any needed clarifications being asked politely of the 1st referee by the identified court captain.
3. Refraining from actions or attitudes that are aimed at either influencing the decisions of the refereeing team, the outcome of the game, or covering up faults committed by one’s own team.
4. Refraining from the use of alcohol, tobacco, or illegal substances during regular league play, league-organized tournaments or events, whether inside a school/on school grounds or event venue.
5. Refraining from any inappropriate sexual conduct during regular league play, either inside the school/facility or on school grounds.

In adherence with its Mandate and Sportsmanship Policy, the TSVL has the following expectations of the captains of its recreational, competitive, and tournament teams:

Treat all members of the TSVL with care and respect both on and off the court
Embody and encourage good sportsmanship and safety above all else
Help settle any disputes in a calm and fair manner
Be available to guide and advise members on the rules and regulations of volleyball
Support and uphold policies and house rules put in place by the TSVL Executive
When necessary, direct any questions, ideas, or conflicts to the TSVL Executive

Identify & Attempt to Rectify:

If any captain identifies what they consider to be unsafe conditions to play volleyball (such as high humidity causing slippery floors), efforts should be made to rectify the unsafe conditions (including seeking help from the school caretakers). If play has already started, the captain may ask the referee to stop play in order to have the safety issue addressed.
Voting & Play Adjustments:

If in any captain’s opinion the unsafe conditions cannot be satisfactorily rectified, they may explain their concerns to everyone present and call for a vote among all the players present if they wish to continue playing or not.
If the majority vote in favour of discontinuing play, play shall stop and the night’s scoring will be treated in the same fashion as a surprise cancellation.
If the majority of players vote to continue playing, play shall resume but those players continue playing at their own risk. Other players may still choose not to play, but no special consideration will be extended to them. They will be considered absent when it comes to determining if their team defaults.
Any time lost should be deducted evenly from the remaining matches such that play ends by 9:50 pm at the latest. If this results in less than 20 minutes per match, the first set shall start at 7-7.)
Next Steps:

In all cases, the captain who called for the vote shall advise the Division Coordinator by email including photographs of the unsafe condition (even if players vote to continue playing).
The VP-Operations will follow up with the appropriate school board about the unsafe conditions.

The Toronto Spartan Volleyball League (TSVL) is Canada’s largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) sport organization in Canada. The volunteer-run adult volleyball league caters to Toronto’s LGBTQ and LGBTQ-friendly community.

The purpose of its Facebook group or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction is to foster connections amongst league members and to facilitate engagement between the board and the league. The TSVL code of conduct and policies apply to the use of this group. Any posts that do not adhere to the purpose of this Facebook group and/or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction and are in violation of the TSVL code of conduct will be removed. Please see below concerning specific posting guidelines. Note: the TSVL Board of Directors has discretion in the interpretation and application of this policy and will use the spirit of this policy and the league’s mandate to exercise this discretion.

We treat all social media postings on this wall or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction as public comments. Posts containing personal attacks, profanity, nudity, hate speech or illegal material are prohibited. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to remove any post or to revoke a user’s privilege to post to the TSVL Facebook page or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction if found to violate this policy.

Please be aware that the TSVL Board of Directors cannot immediately review every comment posted on the Facebook page or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction. Opinions expressed in non-official TSVL posts are not necessarily those of the TSVL Board of Directors and we cannot guarantee the accuracy of these posts.

Posts are to be used only for noncommercial purposes. Members of the TSVL Facebook group or other social media outlets under our jurisdiction may not solicit funds or promote commercial entities. No statements should be made that are misleading, false or likely to injure a person’s reputation, must not offend, intimidate, humiliate or bully another person, must not be misleading, and must not be false. No personal information about our members will be disclosed to maintain the privacy of members.

Specific Posting Guidelines Concerning Bullying and Harassment:

We allow you to speak freely on matters and people of public interest, but remove content that appears to purposefully target private individuals with the intention of degrading or shaming them, this includes entities such as the Board of Directors and the “TSVL” as a corporate organism. This content includes, but is not limited to:

Statements and threads that identify and shame individuals,
images altered to degrade individuals,
photos or videos of physical bullying posted to shame the victim,
sharing personal information to blackmail or harass people.

When individuals and/or teams do not follow the mandate and guidelines provided by the TSVL, they will be subject to sanctions during play and/or supplementary discipline by the TSVL Executive Board. Inappropriate and sanctionable offences are based on, but not restricted to, those described in the 2013-2016 Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) ‘Rules of the Game’ handbook and are as follows:

Minor Misconducts

Carries no immediate consequences, but is used by the 1st referee to communicate to a team, via its court captain, that a behaviour is approaching inappropriate levels.
Used as a warning in order to prevent escalation of inappropriate conduct that could result in sanctionable offences.
Sanctionable Offences

Carry immediate penalties in game based on the severity of the offence, and are to be reported to the TSVL Executive Board at the end of the night of play.
Classified into three categories according on the seriousness of the offense:
1) ‘Rude Conduct’ is an action expressing contempt, or contrary to good manners and/or moral principles. A yellow card is issued to the penalized individual, with a point and service awarded to the opposing team.

2) ‘Offensive Conduct’ consists of defamatory or insulting words and/or gestures. A red card is issued to the penalized individual, who shall not play for the remainder of the set. A red card is also issued to an individual that receives two yellow cards in the same match.

3) ‘Aggression’ is a physical attack, or aggressive/threatening behaviour. A disqualification is issued to the penalized individual, who must leave the playing area for the remainder of the match. A disqualification is also issued to an individual that receives two red cards or three yellow cards in the same match.

All sanctionable offences as outlined above are to be reported to and documented by the associated Division Coordinator, who find out whether an appropriate resolution has been achieved. If not, the Conflict Resolution Process (CRP) will be invoked to achieve resolution and determine whether supplementary discipline should be applied.

Supplementary discipline may be applied based on the severity of the offence, as well as the past history of the individual and/or team in the TSVL, and could include a formal warning, suspension, or expulsion from the league. Individuals who are suspended or expelled from the league are not subject to a refund of their membership fees.

The TSVL respects and protects the privacy of all of its members. To that end, the TSVL will not disclose, sell, or trade any personal information derived from membership and/or event registration to a third party, except as required by law or in the case of imminent harm to a member. When the TSVL hires agents, contractors or companies to perform services on its behalf, the TSVL will also direct those agents, contractors or companies to protect this personal information. The TSVL may aggregate personal information, to be disclosed in a non-personally identifiable manner, to a third party for promotional purposes and/or to negotiate member benefits.

Personal information derived from membership and/or event registration may be used for any of the following:

Establish and maintain communication with members.
Inform the membership of volleyball games, volleyball practices, volleyball tournaments, or social events organized for the TSVL membership.
Assist the TSVL in complying with legal and regulatory requirements.
Collect unpaid fees or dues from members.

All associated food and non-alcoholic beverages are reimbursed for Executive, Committee & Sub-Committee Meetings.
During a Board of Directors member’s active term, their registration fees will be waived for:
Fall & Winter divisional playing fees;
Tournaments; and
Annual General Meeting & Banquets.
Time-limited advanced registration window for:
Fall & Winter playing divisions; and
2-day Tournaments.
Expense reimbursement:
All out-of-pocket expenses incurred by a Board of Directors member for the facilitation, administration, and/or execution of League events, tournaments, or general operations are reimbursed.
Professional-related expenses for networking, promotion of the TSVL, and development, only with Board of Directors’ approval prior to creation of the expense.
Other discretionary expenses may be reimbursed, only with Board of Directors’ approval prior to creation of the expense.

Access to www.tsvl.org, operated by the TSVL, is subject to the following Terms of Use, as well as all applicable laws. By using or visiting this website, an individual agrees to be bound by these Terms of Use.

The information and material posted on www.tsvl.org is produced by the TSVL with the intent of being readily available for its current and prospective members. This information and material may be used and/or reproduced for non-commercial means without charge or further permission from the TSVL. However, use or reproduction of the information or material on www.tsvl.org for the purposes of commercial redistribution is prohibited except with written permission from the TSVL.

No trademarks, logos or images contained on www.tsvl.org may be used or reproduced without the express written permission of the TSVL. Any unauthorized use of these trademarks, logos or images may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations and statutes.

While the TSVL uses reasonable efforts to include accurate and current information on its website, it makes no warranties or representations as to such accuracy. The TSVL assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content of www.tsvl.org. Further, the TSVL does not warrant or represent that the information contained will be uninterrupted or free of errors and/or viruses. Any individual visiting www.tsvl.org specifically acknowledges that the TSVL is not liable for the defamatory, offensive or illegal conduct of other users of www.tsvl.org. Individuals use the website at their sole discretion, and are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws.

In no event shall the TSVL, its players, captains, officials, coaches, volunteers or executive members be liable for any direct, indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages that arise out of or in connection with any failure of performance, errors, inaccuracies, omissions, defects, timeliness, interruption, deletion, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of record, or authenticity of any content on www.tsvl.org, or the use or inability to use www.tsvl.org or any content therein. This exclusion of liability applies whether or not any such damages or losses arise because of the negligence of the TSVL, its players, captains, officials, coaches, volunteers or executive members.

Please direct any comments or questions concerning any of these policies to operations@tsvl.org