Rain Dates — If matches cannot be completed on the scheduled date, the rain date will be the next day (Wednesday). If Wednesday is rained out, then the rain date is that Thursday.
Any and all new players must be members of one of the eight member swim clubs to be eligible. All past participants that have played in the Growler in previous years are grandfathered in and therefore eligible whether they are currently members of the eight clubs at event start.
The rosters are coed and set before the tournament. No switching teams or additions to the roster. The only exception is if a team has less than 5 players or they do not have a female player present on a given night. They are allowed to slide one player from another team roster. The person substituting to a different team must only play for that team that night.
This is an adult tournament. The age limit is 18. Any exceptions will need approval from the Growler steering committee.
All players must complete registration, pay, and sign a liability waiver before they can play.
There is not a limit to the number of players on each team roster.
Games are played with five players. Teams may play with four players if they do not have five players present. If the team has fewer than four players, they will forfeit the game and the game is scored 25-0 F. The team is allowed five minutes from the start of the game before calling the forfeit.
Teams can rotate players within a game, however rotations must stay consistent per game (i.e., with six players, one rotates out at one position and with seven players, two rotate out at one or two positions). The rotation positions cannot change during the game. See the rotations diagram for proper rotation.
If teams have their entire roster present, they can elect to sit players out for specific games to limit the number of players that are rotating in the lineup for that game.
All teams must have at least one female on the roster and play each game. There will be a five point penalty assessed to a team that does not have a female in the game’s lineup rotation, and they must only play 4 players on the court. They are allowed to rotate in players at set locations like with five players.
The female doesn’t have to be on the court at all times if there are more than five players in the lineup for a game, as long as she is rotating regularly.
The team captain shall notify the other team captain of their team line-up at the beginning of the game. No substitutions during a game after the line-up for the game is set. The only exceptions may be for an injury or if a player on the roster is missing at the start of the game and the other team is notified that the player will be late before the game begins.
All games are rally scoring to 25 and must win by 2 points.
Each game is scheduled to last 30 minutes. However, there will not be a timer, so games can last longer or less than allotted time allowed.
The next game shall start immediately after the preceding game on that court. A warm-up period is not allowed. Teams should warm up on practice courts or open fields before their game time. Games can start before or after the printed schedule. The schedule is just a guideline of start times. Teams playing back to back games are allowed two minutes to be ready to play their second game.
Home teams will have choice of which side of the court to start on or who serves first. The other team will get the side or serve that is not chosen by the home team.
Teams will switch sides after the first team reaches 13 points.
Let serves are in play.
Any net contact is illegal and loses the point. The primary goal is to avoid any under the net contact (lower leg injuries). It is okay if you inadvertently step under the net, as long as you do not contact the net or interfere with the opposing team.
Interference under the net is a fault and side out.
Below waist hits (kicking) of the ball are legal.
Any open-handed underhand hit is considered a lift/carry. To avoid a violation, either bring your arms together and bump or close your fist if you are hitting one-handed. If your hand is open, it will be considered a lift/carry.
Players must play on the line they are currently on in the rotation. I.e., a backline player cannot switch to the frontline and vice versa. Furthermore, a backline player may not attack the ball at the net or attempt to block at the net. If they attack the ball from their correct position (defined as an overhand hit), they cannot leave their feet.
Stray balls hit from the other court can be called a let (dead ball) and replay the serve.
Balls hit on the poles, fence, or chairs outside the courts are considered to be out of bounds.
All teams must have a designated captain for any rules clarifications and disputes.
Any infraction that is not in the Spirit of the Growler can resort to dismemberment or banishment of said party, and the culprit may be penalized by playing beer maid for the opposing team.
Opening Night — Mulligans
Mulligan serves are for the first night only. Mulligan tickets are $5 each. They must be purchased at the registration table before the match (no cash at the court).
Teams must have someone posted at the mulligan bucket during the game. Tickets must be in hand and ready to placed in the bucket. If there is too much of a delay, serve will swap to the other team. No delay will be allowed to source additional tickets.
Each captain must communicate how many mulligans they have other prior to the start of the match, so the magical appearance of tickets doesn’t occur mid-game.
Per each side out, the first mulligan is one ticket. For any mulligans afterward during that side out, the number of tickets will progressively double (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, etc.).
A mulligan used for game point will start at two tickets and then start doubling from there (e.g., 2, 4, 8, etc.)
Growler Championship — Week 4
Seeding is determined by the GPI Points Ranking System from the first three week’s results. The GPI is derived from five criteria:
Division (Strength of Schedule)
Number of Wins
Overall Point Deferential (ranking)
Money Raised for St. Baldrick’s (ranking)
Volunteer Hours (ranking)
The Tuesday night Championship is a single elimination 32 team tournament. All teams from all divisions will have the opportunity to compete for the Growler Cup Championship.
The bottom eight teams in GPI points will compete on Monday night to play in to the 29-32 seeded spots of Tuesday night’s brackets.
Refer to the schedule/results spreadsheet for details on how criteria points are weighted.
There is no time limit for championship games. Games are played to 25 and must be won by two points with rally scoring.
Growler Rain Policy
“We’re the Growler — Get Grungy, Gritty, Soggy, Sopping, Soaking!” Have fun like when you were a kid and play through it. However, if there’s lightning, then seek shelter or the safety of your car until the weather cell has passed. Play will be suspended until it’s safe to play. Unless the courts are flooded or the lightning sets in for the night, we will complete the night’s schedule that night.
