First, welcome to the Ohio Valley Region! As the largest regional association of USA Volleyball with 1,563 girls' teams and 42 boys' teams registered last season (2010‑2011), there's a place for junior players of all ages and abilities. The OVR offers numerous resources to benefit both players and clubs, increasing opportunities to participate, to improve, and to compete at all levels.

Benefits
The following are just a few examples of the benefits to playing volleyball in the Ohio Valley Region of USA Volleyball:
Playing opportunities	The OVR is the largest Regional Volleyball Association of USA Volleyball, offering an incredible spectrum of juniors' programs ranging from Grassroots through High Performance. Three levels of competition in most age groups – National, American, and Regional – and a huge number of tournaments (839 during the 2010-2011 season) provide exceptional opportunities for even competition, development, and fun.
Regionals	The Ohio Valley Region–Kaepa USA® Girls' Volleyball Championships, which are held in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, offer an exciting venue for each girls' team to finish its OVR season in a world-class facility. Numerous brackets allow all teams the most even competition possible as they compete for Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals.
Nationals	The OVR will host the prestigious 2012 USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships, providing the Regions's strongest teams a chance to compete for the National Championships in their own back yard.
Qualified staffing	All adults working with juniors are background screened, all coaches are IMPACT or CAP certified, all club directors are ASEP accredited, and all OVR juniors' tournaments (excepting reduced-cost "Grassroots" tournaments) are refereed by professional officials.
Insurance	USA Volleyball provides secondary sport accident insurance that covers all USAV members but not limited to athletes, coaches, trainers, volunteers, committee members, and officials while functioning on behalf of or while participating in a USAV-sanctioned event.
Finding and Selecting a Juniors' Club in the Ohio Valley Region
Juniors' clubs	Juniors' Clubs and Teams in the Ohio Valley Region provides a comprehensive listing of clubs registered for the current season. Early in the season this includes clubs' names, locations, and club directors' contact information. Later, as club directors register their teams, those teams appear with their clubs' listings. Juniors' Clubs and Teams in the Ohio Valley Region includes links to clubs' sanctioned tryouts, rosters, and to their own websites.
	Past record	Complementing the current season's list, the OVR Archives retain complete information about clubs registered last year. Use the Archives if the club for which you're looking is not yet registered or if you want to see the team ages and divisions registered by each club. This is most useful from approximately September through December. By early March, the current season's list of registered teams should be nearly complete. If you'd like to see how teams fared last season, that information is available in our archived juniors' team seeding and juniors' tournament results. Also available are results from the Ohio Valley Region-Kaepa® USA 2011 Girls' Volleyball Championships, 2011 USAV Girls' Junior National Championships, and 2011 USAV Boys' Junior National Championships.
	Business standing	Each club is an independent business. The OVR publishes lists of contacts, sanctioned tryouts, etc., as indicated above, but beyond these, OVR staff do not have information on clubs' fees, practice schedules, plans, or related issues. Contact clubs individually to determine their particular arrangements.
	Player's contract	The "player's contract" is a legally binding agreement between the club and the parent(s)/guardian(s) of a junior player. Read and understand what you are signing.
	Commitment	A player's commitment to a club lasts from the date of the signed player's contract to July 15.
	Selection	View each club's offerings as a product: shop for what you and your family want, understanding that commitment to a club lasts for the whole season (i.e. though August 31). USA Volleyball prohibits player transfers from club to club, which is necessary to protect players, their teammates, and their clubs. In choosing a club, carefully consider your goals and potential clubs' emphasis on elite teams versus development, teams offered, cost, practice quantity and quality, number coaches and their qualifications, distance to tournaments, length of season, playing time, participation in the OVR Girls' Championships at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, and possible participation in post-season tournaments.
Ages & divisions	The Juniors' Divisions page defines date of birth cutoffs for each age group and also provides information on grade-level teams and the distinction between National, American, and Regional divisions.
Tryouts & invitations	Clubs can select players based on tryouts or by invitation. The OVR has policies to protect both players and clubs throughout this process, as summarized below.
	Tryouts	Tryouts in Ohio and Pennsylvania begin on the last weekend in October for 8th grade and under, and after the State High School Championships (Ohio) for 9th grade and older. Those dates, reflecting conclusion of state high school and middle school volleyball programs, are set to protect athletes' scholastic eligibility. Sanctioned tryouts, including dates, times, sites with links to directions, and fees are listed on the Juniors' Tryouts page.
	Offers / invitations	The Athletes' Bill of Rights and Athletes' Bill of Rights for the Girls' Early Signing Period document OVR policies that protect both players and clubs during tryouts and as as offers (invitations) are extended and accepted.
	Recruiting & eligibility	The OVR honors state high school athletic associations' rules to protect players' scholastic eligibility, for example through setting the start of tryouts to be after state volleyball championships and through honoring "no-contact" periods in the OVR recruiting policy. Specific details are available in the following documents: OVR Girls' Recruiting Policy, OVR Boys' Recruiting Policy, and Protecting Juniors' Scholastic Eligibility.
Logistics	Issues regarding cost, dates, travel, etc. are as follows:
	Cost	Prices for the season vary widely, generally starting at several hundred dollars per season for Regional teams and higher for American and National teams. Some clubs may offer fundraisers to help defray costs. Fees cover OVR/USAV membership with secondary insurance ($60), tournament entry fees, uniforms, other materials (e.g. balls), practice facility rental, coaches' and staff stipends and expenses, etc.
	Travel	The amount of travel varies by club and type of team. Typically Regional teams play relatively locally, while National teams travel much more (e.g. to National Qualifiers).
	Season	Occasionally, the OVR receives inquiries about "winter" and "spring" seasons. USA Volleyball and the Ohio Valley Region itself do not have separate seasons: the girls' season runs from through tryouts in October-November through the Ohio Valley Region-Kaepa USA Girls' Volleyball Championships in April-May (and for elite teams, through the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships). Certain clubs offer teams which participate for only part of the OVR season, ending early or beginning late. Each club has its own schedule, so check with clubs individually to determine their particular arrangements.
	Registration	In the OVR, club directors (or their delegates) register the club's junior players.
Other Training Opportunities
Camps & clinics	Juniors' Camps and Clinics are typically offered in the fall and summer, although some clubs offer training as part of their tryouts.
High Performance	The OVR High Performance Program give the OVR's top athletes an opportunity to train at a high level under the direction of outstanding college and club coaches and to compete nationally against the top players from other regions.
Officiating	The Junior Officials' Development Program provides training and certification for junior officials to serve as second referees and scorers.
For Additional Information
OVR website	The OVR website is the best resource to learn about activities and opportunities in the Ohio Valley Region.
Juniors' Program Directors	The OVR Girls' and Boys' Program Directors can answer any other questions you may have about participating.
	Girls' Director	Bill Zehler (zehler@ovr.org, 513-726-6739)
	Boys' Director	Glenn Freed (freed@ovr.org, 724-251-9646)