Individual Ratings

All players participating in IVB.hk will be rated for their individual skill level, in a range from A+ (highest) to D (lowest).

An individual's overall rating evaluates their ability relative to other players in Hong Kong in each of the basic skills of the game: serving, passing, setting, hitting, blocking, and defense.

Initially, new members will rate themselves when filling out their IVB.hk profile.  The following guidelines should be applied when rating individuals.

It can be difficult for a new IVB.hk member to rate his own skills, e.g., to know whether his passing is worth a 3 (C), 4 (C+), or some other rating. Another way for a new IVB.hk member to select a rating is to find a current IVB.hk member with similar skills and select a rating close to his/her. As a general rule of thumb, a beginning player without much skill and only rudimentary knowledge of offense, defense, and strategy is a D. As this player gains more understanding of what is expected, but still without much skill, he will move up to C- and then to C. A C+ can generally play two positions well but is not necessarily consistent at all positions. Players at the B- through B+ levels are consistent at every position and have good court sense, with B+ being more skillful and smarter than B-. Players that play at the A- to A+ level are at the level of strong college level players. 

Players will be assessed on their player competency of their basic skills.  The criterions used to more precisely breakdown individual player ratings are as follows:

Hitting:

  1. Player will hit the ball over the net, but will rarely use any force. He is just as likely to hit the ball into the net or out of bounds as he is to hit it into a playable area.
  2. Player will hit the ball over the net and in play more than he will hit it out of bounds. He will occasionally hit the ball with some force, but it is not overpowering.
  3. Player will usually hit the ball over the net and in play. He can hit the ball with force, but is generally not overpowering.
  4. Player rarely hits the ball out of play. He hits the ball with force, and is occasionally overpowering.
  5. Player hits the ball in bounds and with force. He is generally overpowering, and can hit the ball to open locations over blocks.
  6. Player hits the ball in bounds and with overpowering force. Blocking has little effect on him.

Blocking:

  1. Player will rarely get their hands on the ball, and will not set blocks effectively.
  2. Player will get their hands on the ball, and is starting to learn how to set blocks effectively.
  3. Player will often get their hands on the ball, and will occasionally block effectively. He generally sets blocks effectively.
  4. Player generally gets his hands on the ball, and will usually block effectively. He usually sets the block effectively.
  5. Player almost always gets his hands on the ball, and generally blocks effectively. They set the block effectively, and can make up for bad positioning by reaching and still occasionally block the ball after doing so.
  6. Player forms a wall, and rarely misses getting his hands on the ball. Their blocks are very effective, and their blocks are set very effectively. When caught out of position, they generally can still reach and block the ball.

Setting:

  1. Player can occasionally bump set the ball. Most open hand sets attempted are usually called for a carry or a double hit.
  2. Player can set with open hands, and generally not be called for carries. They do not run an offense well, generally making the easiest set available to them.
  3. Player sets with open hands, and is generally not called for doubles or carries. With good passing, this player can set some basic quick sets, such as 11s to the middle or shoots to the outside, but does not do that with regularity. The setter is easy to read by the opponent.
  4. Player sets with open hands, and is rarely called for doubles or carries. This player sets quick sets, and is starting to run the offense. With good or bad passes, he gets a good set up, but with a bad pass, it`s generally a basic set. This setter is not always readable by the opposition.
  5. Player sets quick sets from good or bad passes. He runs the offense, and is calling complex plays on good sets. With bad passes, basic quick sets can be set. This setter is difficult to read by the opposition. He can occasionally jump set.
  6. Player sets quick sets from good or bad passes, and is little effected by the pass. This setter runs complex offenses as a rule, and is all but impossible to read by the opposition. He can both jump set and set from the ground.

Passing:

  1. Player is not able to pass balls hit with force. For balls hit without force they are as likely to keep the ball over their own court as they are not. Quick offenses are difficult to run from the passing.
  2. Player will generally keep the ball over their own court on balls hit without force. About half of those are passed to the right side of the court. Occasionally they will get balls up over their own court when the ball is hit with force.
  3. Player will almost always keep the ball over their own court on balls hit without force. Most of those are passed to the right side of the court in between the net and the attack line. They will regularly get balls up that are hit with force.
  4. Player keeps the ball over their own court, and almost always gets the ball to the right side of the court, somewhere between the net and the attack line. About half of those are directly to the setter. Balls hit with force are generally bumped up over their own court, and most are passed to the right side of the court.
  5. Player almost always gets the ball to the setter when the balls are hit without force. Almost all balls hit with force are passed to the right side of the court and land between the attack line and the net. About half of these are to the setter.
  6. Player passes balls hit without force to the setter with ease. Balls hit with force are generally passed to the setter, and all are passed to the right side of the court between the attack line and the net.

Defense:

  1. Player is completely lost. He may know the basics of a 4-2, but has to be walked through the other defensive systems. He is almost always out of position to play balls.
  2. Player is starting to learn the 6-2 and 5-1 defensive systems. They are quite often out of position to play the ball, and don`t make up for lost ground.
  3. Player is comfortable playing the 6-2 or 5-1 defensive systems. They are generally in position to play the ball, but may not transition well. If caught out of position, they sometimes can make up for lost ground.
  4. Player has the positioning down for the defenses, and transitions well. If caught out of position, they will usually make up for lost ground. These players are starting to read the defensive gaps and are filling them.
  5. Player also has the position down for the defenses, and transitions very well. If caught out of position, the make up for lost ground and get the ball up. They generally read the defensive gaps and fill them up.
  6. Player knows a multitude of defensive systems, and plays most of them very well. When they are rarely caught out of position, they make up for lost ground and get the ball up. They read the defensive gaps, and fill them up.

Serving:

  1. Player has a non-threatening serve. It is often underhand, and is as likely to land outside of the court as it is to land inside the court.
  2. Player is generally overhand serves, but does not serve with a great deal of force or float. The ball is quite often in, but is not always. Passing the service is generally not a problem for the receiving team.
  3. Player generally keeps the ball in, and is developing a serve which he can occasionally ace with. He generally has only one specialty serve (float, topspin, roundhouse.) and is starting to move the ball around the court. Passing the ball can prove to be difficult.
  4. Player almost always keeps the ball in, and has a serve he can ace with part of the time. He generally has one very solid specialty serve, and is working on another. He can move the ball around the court, but may not be effective doing so. Passing the ball is generally difficult.
  5. Player keeps the balls in all the time with his easy serve, and generally keeps it in with his tough serve. He has two or more solid specialty serves and is effective moving the ball around the court. Either of the serves he can ace with from time to time. Passing the ball is almost always difficult.
  6. Player keeps the ball in all the time with his easy serve, and almost always keeps it in with his tough serve. He has two or more solid specialty serves, and moves the ball around the court with will. About half of his serves are aces. Passing these serves is difficult.          

If you have been nationally rated, please provide your country’s rating. At the discretion of the event organizer, its encouraged that individuals not play in IVB.hk games that are more than three levels below their individual rating (e.g., "A-" players may play in a "B-" game, but not in a "C+" game) because of safety reasons.

For all intent and purposes, women playing on a mens net (235cm, 240cm or 243cm) is calculated as one tick lower whether in regular, league or tournament play (e.g. "B-" players will be calculated as "C+").

Any IVB.hk member can request a ratings change for himself/herself or recommend a ratings change for other members. The Ratings Committee or Administrator will evaluate all requested or recommended ratings changes. If a ratings change is warranted the Ratings Chairpersons will notify the member in writing by email.

Updated June 2014