Division Notes

  • Teams/Groups/Individuals are expected to read the division descriptions and place themselves in the most appropriate division. If players are unsure of which division to register for, they are welcome to contact the office for further clarification or advice.
  • The ESSC Division offerings are based on the experience and skill level of a team - not on a team's competitive behaviour. All ESSC players and teams are expected to play with a ‘fun-first, winning-second’ attitude regardless of their division.
  • The ESSC reserves the right to move any team up or down a division (regardless of where they registered) based on a team's past results. The ESSC gathers statistics on all registered teams each season, and strives to align the divisions as fairly as possible.
  • The ESSC reserves the right to move any team up or down a division (regardless of where they registered) based on total registration numbers. The ESSC rarely runs odd numbered divisions, or divisions with a low number of teams, so in these cases division realignment is necessary.
  • If the ESSC feels that a division has a clear skill discrepancy during the regular season, teams may be moved up or down a division mid-season, or in some cases a division will be split come playoff time to allow for multiple Championships.
  • For certain sports, when possible, the ESSC incorporates a seeding round as part of the regular season schedule. In these cases, divisions will be re-aligned and standings reset after the completion of the seeding round. For 16 Week Leagues that incorporate a seeding round, standings will not always be reset after the completion of the seeding round, but division realignment will still occur.

Recreational

This division will feature teams that may have a skilled player, but also many inexperienced players. Teams in this division must have a “fun first” approach to every game and generally enjoy the sunshine and atmosphere as much as they do the game itself. If a few of the players are hard hitting and competitive in nature, the team should move up to a higher level. An average game will feature some bumping, passing and hitting, but the focus is often on just getting the ball over the net. The Recreational division prohibits hard hitting, jump serves and back row attacks.

Recreational Plus

This division will feature players that are slightly more skilled than the Recreational Division, but some teams will still have players that lack experience and/or are learning the skills of volleyball. This is the ideal league for teams with a mix of semi-experienced and beginner volleyball players, or for teams that have had success in the Recreational Division in the past. Teams in this league should abide by the "fun-first" mentality. 

Intermediate

This division is for teams that are looking for more of a challenge than the Recreational level. Most players on the team have some experience playing Volleyball and are solid in the fundamentals. An average game will feature 3 hits on most plays and some good blocks, but the hitting is not overly hard, the passes are not always crisp, and teams generally do not have organized attacks. Harder hitting is permitted in the Intermediate division, but players should be conscious of where they are hitting the ball and to whom. Jump serves and back row attacks are not permitted in this division.

Intermediate Plus

This division is for teams that have more experience than the average team in Intermediate division. Players in the Intermediate Plus division are looking for a good challenge each night and want sustained rallies as part of the game. All players can hit, pass and serve with accuracy and each team will usually have a few heavier hitters. An average game will feature crisp blocking and passing, some organized plays and some harder hitting. There are no rule restrictions on serving and hitting like there are in the lower divisions.