2024 Tournament Information

The Omaha Metro Warriors are excited to announce that the 2024 Nationals Homeschool Volleyball Tournament (NHSVBT) will be hosted across the river from Omaha at the Iowa West Field House in Council Bluffs, IA.  This marks the 5th year in a row in which the tournament will be held in Council Bluffs and this will be the 26th annual National Homeschool Volleyball Tournament that the Warriors organization has hosted.   Iowa West Field House is a state-of-the-art facility with 12 volleyball courts. 

Dates

• October 30 – November 2,  2024
• Practices will be available on Wednesday starting at 3pm.

Location

Iowa West Field House
5 Arena Way
Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501 (map/directions)

Hotels

Hotel information is available for teams and spectators planning to make the trip.

Tournament Format

Coaches meeting, Athletic Director meeting and practice sessions will take place Wednesday evening and matches will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Junior Varsity boys, Varsity girls, Junior Varsity girls, and Junior High girls begin pool play on Thursday. Junior Varsity boys, Junior Varsity girls and Junior High girls bracket play and championships games will occur on Friday. Varsity boys will begin pool play on Friday while Varsity girls will have a second day of pool play on Friday. The final championship game for Varsity girls and Varsity boys will be on Saturday late afternoon with the closing ceremonies immediately following.

The format structure will closely follow previous formats. Adjustments are made each year to coincide with the number of teams registered to participate. Each team will participate in pool play and then tournament bracket play. 

At the Coaches’ meeting on Wednesday as we will go over the details and answer questions. 

We will again be asking athletes as well as family to help work games. Your team will be responsible to work only games that you are scheduled to play.  Each team will need to provide a scorekeeper, scoreboard operator, libero tracker, and line judges for all pool play. In tournament play, refs will be provided as court workers for later games in the Gold bracket.

As in past years we do not allow dual rostering. Players are not allowed to play for multiple teams on the same day. If a player is injured we would consider allowing an exception. For example, if player A (Varsity player) gets hurt, player B (Junior Varsity player) could play for player A. Once committed to the new team, player B cannot go back and play for initial team.

Daily Prayer/National Anthem/Closing Ceremonies

We will begin each day of our tournament with prayer and the National Anthem. Let us know if your organization has someone that would like to perform the National Anthem.

We will have award ceremonies for each division throughout the tournament after the Gold bracket championship for that division has been played.

Varsity Closing Ceremonies will begin immediately following the Gold bracket championship game on late afternoon Saturday. Top finishing teams in each division will be awarded individual medals as well as second place finishers in Gold, Silver and Bronze brackets. Third place finishers will also be recognized only in Gold bracket. MVPs and ATPs from each division will be awarded. The Sherry Dick Sportsmanship award is determined by the referees and is given to one qualifying team in each division. All seniors will be recognized at the closing ceremony.

Referees

Sue Mailhot will again be our Head Referee. She is nationally known, organizing many large tournaments throughout the country. She will work closely with us during tournament action to keep play on schedule. Always be prepared for a court reassignment sometime during the tournament. Please be flexible and help us out in this regard so the tournament can run according to schedule.

Practice Schedule

Wednesday practice slots will be limited but we plan to have some practice slots available as early as 3pm. Please indicate on the registration form if you would like to take advantage of this opportunity. If you request a practice time, you will have the opportunity to select an afternoon or evening practice time.

Who May Participate

This tournament is open to girls and boys on home school teams who have not turned 19 yrs of age prior to September 1 of the current school year. Athletes must be at least registered as a homeschooler in their state of residence and passing all their parent directed home education courses.

Parent directed home education includes the following:

1. Dual-credit college courses where the college institution admits the student as a high school student.
2. Courses that are taught in the home/studio of the athlete’s parent(s), grandparent(s), sibling (age 18 or older), legal guardian, or another home school parent or tutor, provided the instruction by a non-parent is done under the direction and supervision of the child’s parent(s).
3. Courses that are taught at a central location (e.g. homeschool support group “co-op” classes, such as chemistry, speech, or calculus) by a parent or tutor. A newer form of homeschooling called University Model Schools would fall under this definition provided:
   • The particular school in question does not itself provide athletics.
   • Not more than 50% of your team is made up of girls from the same University Model School.
4. Correspondence/virtual/distance learning courses provided by a PRIVATE kindergarten through grade 12 program or school.

Once an athlete has completed high school coursework, or participated in high school graduation ceremonies, he or she is ineligible to participate in the NHSVBT tournament.

If you have any questions or have an exception request, please contact the tournament leadership team, leadership@nhsvbt.org , prior to attending the tournament.

Junior Varsity guidelines

Junior Varsity teams will need to have an average age of 16 years or less.  For example, a team of 7 with the following ages: 14, 14, 15, 15, 15, 16, and 18 would have an average age of 15.  We are striving to have teams with athletes that are similar in age and experience. We understand that there might be some older athletes with less experience that typically play JV during the regular season and there can be exceptions made on a case by case basis.

If you have any questions or have an exception request, please contact the tournament leadership team, leadership@nhsvbt.org , prior to attending the tournament.

Junior High guidelines

Athletes playing on junior high teams cannot turn age 15 before September 1 of the current school year.

If you have any questions or have an exception request, please contact the tournament leadership team, leadership@nhsvbt.org , prior to attending the tournament.

Dress Code

Our goal is MODESTY:

1. Shorts – no spandex allowed as outerwear.  We do not allow the “booty shorts” so common in other volleyball events.  We have removed the 4 inch inseam requirement that we have had in the past, but our expectations are that the shorts will be modest and not tight.  Please send me a picture if you have questions about your team’s shorts. 
2. Tops must fit so that sports bras are not revealed. Racerbacks are allowed, but not encouraged, and midriffs should not be exposed while standing.
3. All uniforms must be worn properly at all times.

Please don’t disrupt this event by making other coaches or parents uncomfortable enough to bring your team to the attention of the directorship.

Hospitality Room

A hospitality room will be provided for coaches and referees. There will be a designated area for you to sit and relax during the busy weekend. We look forward to visiting with many of you and giving you a taste of Warrior hospitality!

Scholarship

This year we will continue to offer a $750 scholarship to one homeschool senior participant in our tournament. It is our aim to bless the homeschooling community by giving back to the athletes for their continued success in the future. Coaches and parents, please encourage your senior student-athletes to apply. The deadline for the application is October 14, 2024.

Buddy Teams

We offer teams the opportunity to build friendships with other participating teams. In the past, teams have brought small mementos from their part of the country or plan to have a meal or snack together during the tournament. Let us know if you are interested and we can assign your team to one from another state. You will be able to communicate with each other prior to the tourney and cheer each other on during the tournament.

Souvenirs

Each year we sell T-shirts / Hoodies designed especially for the National Tournament. The shirt design is posted on the website before the tourney and pre-orders are encouraged. Limited quantities are available during the tourney. Pre-orders will be delivered to coaches at the Coaches’ meeting. Give us a second contact person on your registration form, as the contact for ordering t-shirts.

Things to Do and Visit

• Dining Out
• Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge
• Bayliss Park and Veterans Plaza
• Lewis and Clark Monument and Scenic Overlook of the Bluffs

Weather

Average daytime temperatures in late October are in the mid 50’s; nighttime temperatures in the mid 30’s.

Contact Information

Leadership Team – leadership@nhsvbt.org

• Gregg Mattox – Omaha Metro Warriors
• Jessica Howell – Omaha Metro Warriors Treasurer
• Cory Eikmeier – Omaha Metro Warriors Volunteer