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 about gotham
general information
Gotham Volleyball is the largest gay sports organization in New York City. Our members are primarily gay and lesbian but we also welcome individuals who are bisexual, transgender, and straight. The mission of Gotham Volleyball is to improve the quality of life for GLBTQ individuals by building community through the sport of volleyball. In pursuit of that mission, we are a sports organization that encourages volleyball training and competition in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. Several times a year we hold fundraising tournaments in which we donate proceeds to various organizations in our community as part of our organization's community focus.
Gotham Volleyball's home base is the Bayard Rustin Educational Campus in Chelsea, 351 W 18th St. The Campus is located on West 18th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. The gym is on the 7th Floor. The nearest subway stations are: 14th Street on the A/E/C trains; 18th Street on the #1 train. View map. Gotham Volleyball also has some activities in the O. Henry Learning Center, also in Chelsea, on West 17th Street between Eight and Ninth Avenues, on the next street over from the Rustin Campus. The gym at O. Henry is on the first floor. Though most games and classes, and all tryouts, are held at the Rustin Campus, so only go to the O. Henry Center if you are specifically told that is where your activity will be. Gotham offers League Play and Volleyball Classes (Power Classes) at all levels. League Play information is below. Click here for information on our Power Classes. Registration for both League Play and Power is through our online registration system. League PlayLeague Play: Organized league play is scheduled during the Fall and Spring seasons, on Wednesday and Thursday nights, as well as Saturday afternoons. Dues for each season are $135 per person, due on Week 1 (the first week of play). Payment is made online by PayPal. You can also pay by cash or check, but there is a $5 surcharge. We welcome players at ALL levels, from novice to advanced, including those totally new to volleyball. Gotham League Play is all co-ed and played using men's height nets.All Gotham Teams are formed through a draft system, where captains select teams at each of our levels. The captains are elected by their teammates from the previous season. The way the tryouts run vary by level. We keep the tryouts laid back and fun, especially at the lower level. Basically, don't be nervous! Just show up and play! Players who have never played in our league before MUST ATTEND tryouts so their skill level can be evaluated. (Our team captains are not allowed select a player they haven't seen tryout before.) Unfortunately, the dates below are the only dates of tryouts. We do not offer make up dates, but if you can't make a date, contact us to see if you might want to try out for a different division on a different date. If you are new to our league and have questions about what levels to try out for, read our guide below. Attention Returning members: You MUST ATTEND tryouts if you want to move up to a higher division. Those who wish to return to their previous division or lower will be considered without attending tryouts, but must register. Given the increased interest the League has been getting during our tryouts each season, we encourage our returners to be open minded and sign up for as many divisions as they reasonably feel comfortable playing in and recommend that you register, at least, for the division you played in last season. TO FIND OUT WHAT NIGHTS EACH LEVEL PLAYS, AND THE SCHEDULE FOR THE FALL 2010 TRYOUTS, CLICK HERE. TryoutsHOW DO TRYOUTS WORK?
Most important, you should register in advance (at least 24 hours) through our online registration system. While you can still try out, it will take us a while to check you in at tryouts if you do not register in advance. For all levels except for the novice level, tryouts run where you are put on a court and play quick 6-on-6 scrimmages, which each player serving twice. YOU ONLY TRY OUT ONCE FOR EACH GROUP OF TRYOUTS. (So, for example, even if you are trying out for Divisions 7, 8, and 9, you would only try out once on September 11. If you were trying out for Division 5, 6, and 7, you'd try out once on September 2 and once on September 11.) For Gotham's Advanced, High Intermediate (Wednesday Night), and Intermediate (Wednesday Night and Saturday Afternoon) levels, the scrimmage is run with players using a 6-2 offensive formation, and players should indicate their preference of position (outside hitter, middle blocker, or setter). Gotham does not use substitutions and, therefore, does not use the libero. To try out for these levels, you are expected to know the different positions and systems of play. For Low Intermediate levels, the scrimmage is run with players using an International 4-2 offensive formation and players should indicate their preference of position (outside hitter, middle blocker, setter, or opposite). If you are not familiar with positions or the system, you should try out as an outside hitter. For the Basic level, the scrimmage is run using a basic offensive formation, with a "setter" in the front middle position. Players will be asked to try out as a hitter or setter. The "setter" is the player who passes the second ball to a hitter so that a hitter can attack it, and tries to get every second ball. If you don't know the positions because you are new to the game, you should try out as a hitter. For novice levels, there are no "tryouts" but, instead, we will take you through some volleyball drills to help introduce you to the game and get a feel for your level. Captains will pick teams based on observing you during the drills. Gotham LevelsHELP! I'M NEW TO GOTHAM! WHAT LEVEL SHOULD I TRY OUT FOR?
WHEN IN DOUBT, TRY OUT FOR AS MANY DIVISIONS AS POSSIBLE -- THE MORE DIVISIONS YOU ARE WILLING TO PLAY IN, THE MORE LIKELY IT IS YOU WILL BE SELECTED. SOME PEOPLE GET PICKED LOWER THEIR FIRST SEASON AND THEN MOVE UP -- ITS BETTER TO JOIN AND PLAY A SEASON AND THEN BE ADJUSTED TO A BETTER DIVISION THAN NOT TO PLAY AT ALL!
Here are our suggestions on where you will fit in best, generally: Guide to those New to the Game: Divisions 9 and 10 (info below) are the divisions that take most new members who have little to no volleyball experience. Sometimes, those new to the game are selected for Division 8 and rarely, but occasionally, for Division 7. We strongly encourage those new to the game not to try out for any division more advanced than Division 7. You may consider Division 7 and/or 8 depending on your comfort level, and encourage you to try out for BOTH Divisions 9 and 10. If you are NAGVA or USAV rated, or know where you'd fit in their rating system: follow the guidelines above. NAGVA rates everyone as at least Level B player. If you are a B-rated player, but have just done NAGVA for fun in the past and are not really competitive in B-level tournaments, you should start out trying for Division 6/7 or lower. If you have previous volleyball experience playing at a college level (NCAA and NCVF): you should try out for Division 1 and 2. If you have played very competitive intramural volleyball or high levels of other adult amateur leagues: You should consider Division 4 or above, depending on the level of competition in your other volleyball experience. For example, if you play in other local adult recreational leagues and play in a Men or Women's Only Level 1 or 2, you will fit somewhere in Divisions 1 through 3. If you play in Men/Women's 3 or 4, you will fit in Divisions 3 through 5. If you have played intramural volleyball or middle to low co-ed levels in other local adult amateur leagues: You should consider Divisions 5 through 10. If you played at lower levels in other leagues, or just for fun intramural volleyball, you should try out for Division 7 or lower. If you played at intermediate levels, you should consider Divisions 5 through 7. These are not hard and fast rules, just guidelines. Feel free to try out for whatever divisions you are comfortable with, with one exception, only try out above Division 5 if you have previous volleyball experience where you know what you are doing. If you have any questions, please contact info@gothamvolleyball.org. CLICK HERE FOR THE TRYOUT SCHEDULE FOR FALL 2010.Power Classes - Volleyball ClinicPower Classes: Want to improve your individual volleyball skills? Gotham Power is for you! These weekly, coached, 3 hour sessions are run on Saturdays and Sundays during the Spring and Fall seasons. The fee is $205 per season. There will be an evaluation session in the beginning of each season to place players in one of six workshops:
Please note:Trying out does not guarantee a spot in Power. In an effort to provide students the maximum opportunity to improve individual and team skills while working with the same coaches and classmates, placement in Gotham's Power program is now a year placement. The program is also now designed as a year's curriculum with the Spring season building on the skills learned and honed during the Fall. Everyone is placed in a class in the Fall. We also hold Spring tryouts, but placement in Spring season classes will only be made where there are openings from those not returning from the Fall season, space permitting. (Please note that coaches may also adjust a student's Power class placement during the season or ask them to be re-evaluated prior to the Spring season). All interested in Power, must attend tryouts. If you cannot attend tryouts, please contact Power@gothamvolleyball.org. Team Power Program: More about team power? Do you have a team that you regularly enter in volleyball tournaments or other leagues? Learn how to play better as a team. Gotham Volleyball is proud to introduce its Team Power program. The Fall season of this program is a 12-week class scheduled around NAGVA (North American Gay Volleyball Association) tournaments to improve volleyball play as a team in tournaments. It can also help teams that play together in other local leagues at an intermediate or advanced level. (Currently, there is no beginner level for Team Power.) The program costs $1,200 per team per season (12 weeks at a time). Classes are held on Monday nights from 7:15 PM until 10:15 PM. Classes are based on the NAGVA Rating System, so teams are divided into a BB (Advanced) class and a B (Intermediate) class. There is a limit of 4 teams for each class. For your $1,200, your team gets more play time than you would playing as a team in any other adult amateur league in New York City, plus you get the expert instruction of Gotham's paid coaches! Tryouts for the 2010-2011 Team Power Classes will be held on September 20, 2010 at 7:15 PM. Captains of all teams who wish to try out for Team Power should e-mail your roster of no more than 10 people (no more than 7 regulars, and no more than 3 alternates) to TeamPower@gothamvolleyball.org. Rosters must be e-mailed in at least 24 hours prior to tryouts. It is expected that only your regular team members will attend class regularly. Alternates are there if you need to substitute someone on a particular week. |