2013 Rules to be taken in account organising EVS

Central organisation

1. EVS is an initiative of Statistics Netherlands Voorburg. The first EVS took place in 1990 in Voorburg.

2. Statistics Netherlands will stay “EVS headquarters” (EVS-HQ). Its task is to find an organiser for the successive years and it keeps record of the list of EVS contact persons. Each country is requested to keep EVS-HQ informed about changes in this list.

3. EVS-HQ delivers the official EVS flag.

4. At the opening ceremony on Friday of every EVS, EVS-HQ will present the EVS flags to the organising committee, thus opening the tournament. After each tournament, during the evaluation meeting on Sunday, the EVS flags will be returned to EVS-HQ to safeguard it till next year, thus closing the tournament for that year.

5. In the EVS tournament matches will be played according to the rules of the FIVB (Fédération International de Volley Ball), however:

   1. the libero player if used can be a different player in each different set;

   2. the organising committee is allowed to make changes to the FIVB rules only concerning:

      1. the number of sets;

      2. the maximum length of the sets and/or matches (in points or in time);

      3. changing players during the game (e.g. rotation) with due respect to article 3.4.c.;

      4. a tie break in points in case teams finish a match with equal points in a group;

      5. departing the rally point system if the setting of the tournament requires so at any stage;

      6. The height of the net in mixed category group A wil be 2.43 m; in group B and C the height will be 2,35 m.

6. The EVS challenge cups for the male, female and mixed tournaments are temporary cups and the winner must return it the next year. Only if a country has won a specific cup three times in a row, EVS-HQ will deliver a replica of the cup, which is allowed to be kept.

Local organisation

1. Each organising committee will invite as many as possible European statistical offices to their EVS. That includes countries that did not participate so far.

2. EVS organisers must use the original EVS logo, originated in 1990, in their posters, letters, documents, etc. Additional specifics for each organising country or institution may be added.

3. In order to avoid financial hazards for the organisers, all participants will pay their entry fee before a date fixed by the organisers. (Often this fixed date will relate to the date that hotels can still be cancelled). Unless the organisers have made special arrangements with participating countries, lack of payment will mean that teams will not be registered and cannot participate.

4. After the tournament every organising committee disseminates a list of results, so that every team can see which place they achieved.

The tournament

1. Male, female, mixed categories:

   1. Each organiser should organise an EVS tournament with in principle a male, a female and a mixed category, taking into account, that each category will only take place with a minimum of 5 teams.

   2. If less than 5 teams have registered in any category, the tournament will be executed according to article 3.2.

   3. If in any category too many teams have registered to execute the tournament effectively, the organiser will divide such a category into groups applying the articles as described in 3.3.

2. Less than 5 registrations in any category:

   1. If a tournament only consists of a male and/or a female category, the male teams play with 6 men and the female teams play with 6 women.

   2. If a tournament lacks a male and/or a female category but has a mixed category, every mixed team must play with a minimum of two women.

   3. Remaining teams from the male category, switching to the mixed category, must change into a mixed team according to its definition, considering that a male team in a mixed category is likely to deliver unequal matches.

   4. Remaining teams from the female category, switching to the mixed category, are free to adapt the team to the mixed definition or not.

3. Grouping and ranking:

   1. In principle, the tournament consists of three groups: A, B and C.

   2. It is the responsibility of the delegations themselves to register in a “stronger” (A), “average” (B), or “recreational” (C) group of a category, baring in mind the sportsmanship of the EVS family. However…

   3. If group B or C have less than 6 teams each, both groups will be joined together into one B-group.

   4. The organiser is responsible to have at least 10 teams - or with less than a total of 20, half of the number of the registered teams - in the stronger A-group.

      1. To reach this minimum the organiser can force high ranked teams of the previous years in the less strong B-group to register in the strong A-group.

      2. The organiser will inform all delegations in time about this division, so that the delegations will have the possibility to adjust the team(s) and/or to indicate their strength.

   5. If a further division of “stronger”, “average”, or “recreational” groups into subgroups is necessary in order to execute such a group effectively, this division will be done by the organiser taking into account as much as relevant information from the previous years as possible in order to avoid that teams with expectedly equal strength will meet in preliminary rounds and to give all teams a more equal chance to obtain a high place in the final ranking.

      1. To achieve this, as many high ranked teams as there are subgroups must be divided over these subgroups each team being the leader of a subgroup. Any additional drawing lots into these subgroups on ‘the Friday welcoming party’ remains possible.

      2. The organiser must take into account that the number of teams in subgroups of the same category must essentially be the same with almost no exceptions.

4. The teams:

   1. In any situation described above, a mixed team should always play with a minimum of two women.

   2. Male, mixed or female teams with less then 6 players can register, requesting the organiser to combine them with other countries with the same insufficiency, thus forming a so-called “Euroteam”.

   3. Teams in every category (male, female, mixed) must keep their members during the entire tournament and therefore cannot switch players with any other team from any category. In emergency situations, exceptions on this rule can only be arranged between the two competing teams involved and the tournament organiser.

5. Finishing ex aequo:

   1. In case of teams finishing ex aequo by set-points in (sub)group-rounds, their place will be decided by the following order:

      1. the score balance (points by which all sets were won or lost);

      2. the result of their mutual match;

      3. one extra set in rallypoint system up to a limited amount of points.

Finally

1. Each organising committee will try to make great effort organising EVS at reasonable costs for the participants, because many participants have to pay the bill themselves.

2. The goal of EVS is to provide a sportive meeting for employees of European Statistical Offices; participants should consider this forming their team(s).