Just when it seemed the world of volleyball rules couldn't be more confusing, yet another rules book looms on the horizon. But before players and coaches alike run from the courts and surrender to the frustration caused by keeping up with ever-changing playing rules, they should know one thing: this rules book will bring clarity and stability to NCAA women's volleyball.

That's the intended purpose anyway. So far, the concept has mixed reviews.

Brenda Weare, chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee, said the formation of a volleyball rules committee will give the NCAA a chance to bring much-needed consistency to the sport from a rules perspective.

"We're looking at it in terms of what's best for the entire sport. In making rules, it's necessary to determine two things: Do the players like it? Do the fans like it? Those are the priorities," Weare said.

As it stands now, three volleyball rules books exist. The National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) publishes a rules book for NCAA, NJCAA and NAIA women's volleyball, and USA Volleyball (USAV) produces a rules book for NCAA men's volleyball, and both the junior and senior national club levels. Additionally, the international governing body for the sport, the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), determines international playing rules and much of what is written in that book makes it into the USAV rules.

NAGWS models its rules book after the USAV book, but incorporates fewer new and experimental rules used on the international level.

The proposed NCAA rules book will eliminate the need for NAGWS rules. NAGWS has been writing the rules for almost as long as women's volleyball has been a NCAA sport. It is the only rules book they still produce.

With approximately 7,000 copies of the volleyball rules books sold each year for an estimated profit of $30,000, it also doubles as a leading source of revenue for NAGWS.

Instead of demonstrating resentment toward the NCAA for the change, NAGWS Executive Director MaryAnn Borysowicz said she hopes NAGWS and the NCAA collaborate on writing of NCAA rules book. "I want to do this as judiciously as possible. We understand the reason for it. It's the right thing to do," she said.

NAGWS will try to compensate for the loss by "shifting some things around and doing some different projects to fill the gap," she said.

No matter what body is writing the rules book, Borysowicz said the main focus for NAGWS is to promote and improve the status of girls and women in sport. "It'll be hard. It'll happen whether I like it or not, but the sports transcends all of us," she said.

Keeping up internationally

Marcia Alterman, NAGWS volleyball rules interpreter and executive director for the Professional Association of Volleyball Officials, said, "Certainly there are advantages to using one rules book; the book will bring cohesiveness across all divisions; standardization of the rules may improve and the book will have the resources of the NCAA behind it."

On the other hand, Alterman said, "NAGWS provides a voice and vote for NAIA, NJCAA, coaches and administrators, as well as officials. I'm a little concerned they'll lose that voice; they'll be following a rules book into which they have no input."

Alterman said she also is concerned about the potential loss of interaction with USAV representatives and that NCAA volleyball and its officials won't keep pace with what's taking place on the international level.

It's a sentiment shared by Tom Blue, former USAV rules interpreter and current chair of the International Referee Commission. "It's a big concern of ours that the committee have proper representation of officials," he said. "For USAV, they've proven to be the biggest technical contributors to the rules."

Blue said because college volleyball already is behind in the international rules scene, U.S. referees who officiate both college and international matches are at a disadvantage. They have to continually flip-flop between the two sets of rules.

In addition, Blue said, "We've got people who follow NCAA volleyball and then see how the game is played internationally, and they wonder why the NCAA isn't following the rules the same way the rest of the world is."

To prevent an even larger gap in the playing rules, he said, " I'd love to see a representative of the national governing body for volleyball on the NCAA committee to be sure the sport isn't getting too far away from the rest of the world. I'm hoping one way or another the NCAA will keep USAV involved."

The NCAA Volleyball Rules Committee is to have the following composition: five Division I representatives (one coach, one administrator, one Division I official, one member of the Division I Women's Volleyball Committee and one open position); two Division II representatives (one coach and one administrator); and two Division III representatives (one coach and one administrator). One of the nine positions is designated for a nonvoting secretary-rules editor. A working official or an officials coordinator could fill the officials position. That composition currently is under review in the Division I, II and III governance structures.

Alterman said she hopes a current working official is selected rather than a Division I officials coordinator. Overall, though, she said the committee would be a way to "improve the communication of rules changes to coaches and officials."

Boost for officiating programs

Several NCAA standing rules committees have established officiating programs aimed at teaching and communicating rules changes and issues to college officials through clinics, seminars and educational material. The establishment of a women's volleyball officiating program is possible, but the need for such a program and available resources will be determined after the rules committee is formed.

If the proposed committee composition is approved, the selection process will begin later this fall when the nine positions are advertised to the membership. After names are submitted through the various conference offices, the five Division I seats would be finalized sometime in February. The Divisions II and III seats will be finalized by April. The committee could then begin work on producing a manuscript.

The earliest the committee could meet is in August 2001, which means the rules book for the 2001 NCAA volleyball season will be the last rules book written by NAGWS. The NCAA rules book will debut for the 2002 season.

If that seems like a long time to wait, talk to representatives of the Pacific-10 Conference, the originators of the proposal to form a Women's Volleyball Rules Committee. The proposal was defeated on the Convention floor in the early 1990s.

Chris Hoyles, assistant commissioner for championships and administration for the Pac-10, said, "The impetus for that proposal was that our conference wanted a body of rules responsive to Division I programs and able to keep pace with changes in the game regarding attendance and audience interest."

Having assurance that a rules committee will soon be in place, she said, "At this point, we're very pleased the NCAA is going to write the rules and that the membership will have more access to information about rules changes. Also, it will highlight the need for officiating improvement."

With so many expectations set for a committee that doesn't exist, only time will tell what path women's college volleyball rules takes. Ultimately, Weare said the committee, once formed, will give the NCAA more control to shape the future of the sport.

"With the skills getting better, there's a need for change," she said.