From: Shawn Masesar
Subject: Volleyball Etiquette
Message Body:
Hello,
I am currently a MVOA official and a previous participant and champion of your men’s volleyball division. I have some concerns regarding the etiquette and behaviour of your participants in your volleyball league. I am a Canadian born Filipino and have played volleyball at an elite level for more than 15 years here in Winnipeg and unfortunately I am a little disappointed with how the Filipino volleyball community has been treating its MVOA officials and representing the game of volleyball this year in V-League Winnipeg.
My first concern is the lateness of your organizers and participants. If the game is scheduled for 9:00 am, those individuals that are in charge of organizing, scorekeeping, and are participating in the game should be at the venue no less that 30 minutes before the first game is scheduled. This has been the primary reason why a lot of the games have been behind schedule and the reason why more money is being spent booking gym times for longer durations.
My second concern is the lack of help from participants setting up and putting down the nets. In official senior men’s and women’s volleyball leagues in Winnipeg, the players are responsible for putting up and down nets and the officials are responsible for checking that the nets are set up properly. Instead in V-League, the players are sitting around and socializing and the referees are the ones running around getting the proper equipment in place. That is irresponsible of the participants and disrespectful to the officials.
My final concern is the disrespect officials receive when they are trying to keep the game on schedule. My colleagues have voiced to me that they receive attitude when they try to stick to the timeline and that players are purposely taking their time or delaying the game. Again this unprofessional and gives a bad look to Filipino volleyball players and/or leagues in Winnipeg.
My suggestion is that as a league, its organizers should reach out and inform their team captains, participants, coaches, and spectators of these expectations and concerns. If these things are not followed fines should be given out to teams otherwise sets will be cut and full 5 set games will not be completed. A game of volleyball should only take a maximum of 1.5 hours if it is taken to 5 sets, but lately its been taking 2-2.5 hours which is unacceptable. People have lives outside of volleyballs and following schedules and specific timelines are a part of real life. I believe that this would help give those coming to support V-League Winnipeg the knowledge they need to play and respect the game and its officials the proper way. I love the game of volleyball and I love that this organization has created V-League to provide an inclusive and competitive way of recognizing Filipino athletes. However, if we cannot follow rules and procedures professionally or in an elite manner, we cannot progress forward as a culturally enriched league the way we want to.
Please take my concerns with the utmost respect because I want this league to succeed. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your time.
Regards,
Shawn Masesar
B. Sc, B. Ed.
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