If you’re an athlete or a coaching staff member who displays bad behavior on the court, we all know the referee can either give you a yellow card or a red card (this is the card you must avoid!).
With the sport growing in popularity, we can’t avoid loud and rude spectators. This is why the Arizona Region Of USA Volleyball has officially declared that parents and spectators who display bad behavior during a match may now get a “Purple Card”.
Purple Card Policy to be effective with Boys #1 – Sept 23
In response to tournament officials and site personnal complaints of parent and spectator increasingly bad behavior the Arizona Region Board of Directors approved the use of the Purple Card. This policy was adopted in August 2017 and will be in use for the 2018 season and beyond.
The official volleyball rules allow for an official to give point sanctions to players and coaches for bad behavior during a match (Yellow Card = Warning, Red Card = Penalty). The Purple Card has been added to the officials tools of the Yellow and Red cards but will be used to address spectator behavior during a match.
The 1st issuance of the Purple card will be displayed in one hand together with a Yellow card. The captains will be called over and the offending spectator will be identified with a team or club. The TEAM will then be issued a warning regarding spectators.
The 2nd issuance of the Purple card during the same match to a spectator from the same team (it does not have to be the SAME spectator that was issued the purple card the 1st time) will result in a Penalty and will be displayed in one hand together with a Red card. This will cause the TEAM to be penalized. They will lose the serve and a point will be gives their opponent.
The 3rd issuance of the Purple card during the same match to a spectator from the same team will result in an ejection of the offending spectator from the tournament facility. The Purple card will be displayed with the Red card but held up in separate hands of the offical. The official will come off the stand, the site director and lead official will be called to the court and the offending spectator will be removed from the tournament site for the remainder of the day.
In the event of aggressive behavior, defiant behavior, fighting or any other behavior directed towards anyone or deemed unsafe toward others, the spectator will be BANNED from futher Arizona Region tournaments for the rest of the season. The spectator will have to appeal to the Region Ethics and Compliance Officer to be reinstated and allowed to return to any Arizona Region events.
This Policy replaces the Penalty Point Sanction Policy. Before and after matches, the spectator behavior will be governed by the Parent/Spectator Code of Conduct. Being a spectator at an event is a priviledge – it is not a right. NO ONE paid enough for club volleyball to disregard the rules of the facility or behave badly at an event.
The Arizona Region would like to have parents/spectators and club personnel encourage and cheer for their teams/players in a positive manner rather than have to deal with negative attacks toward our officials, tournament personnel and members of the opposing teams. Unfortunately we must be prepared for the worst.
To read the policy in full – Purple Card Policy.
We actually like this “Purple Card” but we’re not sure how effective this can be in matches held in arenas or stadiums. For matches in smaller venues, this is PERFECT! This new policy will hopefully encourage those annoying volleyball parents and fans to try to be in their best behavior.
Thoughts?
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