The Dallas Tamil Manram (DTM) has been successfully conducting volleyball tournament for about 7 years during the Pongal festival in the month of December/January every year.

This sports event has been widely received by the local community in Dallas metro area for various reasons:

  • This event is highly focused on social and charity causes like Jallikattu awareness, Govt schools' facility aid, helping physically challenged kids, North Texas food banks etc.
  • This event has been highly promoting sports and fitness awareness among the Local communities in the DFW area
  • Players view this as a good platform for socializing and networking among other players in the area.
  • Exhibits the spirit of sportsmanship and motivates the players to be competitive.

Roughly about 30 volleyball teams in the Dallas metro area participate in this one day indoor tournament. Teams are categorized during the league matches and then play at three different levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.

Championship trophies are awarded to the winner/runner teams at the Pongal cultural day conducted by DTM in one of the following weekends. During the cultural day the participants rock the day with fun, music, food and culture.

Registration is closed.

Rules / FAQs


Note: In case the tournament is interrupted or cannot be continued for unforeseen reasons. The organizing committee will schedule the remaining games on future dates and will be communicated to the teams. The decision of the organizing committee is final.

Teams wishing to be registered should submit a registration form. Without a registration form and tournament fee team is not registered into the tournament.

Registering team must submit a waiver form.

Please be on time for every game as defined in the schedule.

Not making it to the game on time may lead to forfeit of that game.

Note: Please don’t trouble the organizers about forfeit games, it’s every team & individual player responsibility reaching tournament place on time. Most of the organizers have passion of conducting the tournaments and helping the community. Please respect the organizers and their valuable time.

Neutral umpires will adjudicate each game. The pool or group from non-playing teams will provide them.

They are the final authority during the game. Their decisions are final. They should remain impartial at all times on the field.

Any player showing unreasonable dissent in the opinion of the umpires shall be disqualified from further play in the tournament following due and fair warning from the said official/s.

Umpires are the final authority during the game. Their decisions are final. They will remain impartial at all times on the field. Until the Umpire whistle to stop the game, the game should be continued. If the team stop/hold the ball without Umpire whistle, the opponent team will get the point.

Each team should submit, a list of their nominated sin to eight players.

No team shall field a non-nominated player (without the prior agreement of the organizers)

Player nominated in one team may not play for any other team in the tournament.

A team needing a player because of injuries need to contact the organizers.

Injured player/s replaced recover to be fit enough to play again; his/their captain will request the organizers to reinstate the player/s. The originally approved replacement will, in such cases, step down.

One player from each team will act as Captain for the duration of the competition.

Captain should be conversant and proficient with the laws of volleyball.

Need to nominate four to six players for every game from the team.

Should control the behavior of all his team players.

Captains should toss-up before the conclusion of the game prior to their game and have players suitably attired to take the field as soon as the previous game is completed

Acting in the case of disputes, they should respect the umpire's opinions and decisions.

They will be responsible for going over the rules and regulations with their players.

The winner of the toss chooses:

  • The right to serve or to receive the service, OR the side of the court.
  • The loser takes the remaining choice.

Server must serve from behind the restraining line (end line) until after contact.

Ball must be tossed while serving (underhand or over the head)

Ball may be served underhand or overhand.

Ball must be clearly visible to opponents before serve.

Served ball may touch the net and drop to the other side for point.

Any player can send the served ball by under arm or upper arm in a single attempt. But, returning by spiking the service or blocking the service is not allowed.

Any player can directly send the ball in a single foot touch. This rules applies for both served and regular ball.

There will be court change when the first team reaching 11 points during preliminary games.

For Best of the three games, the courts will be switched after every game.

If the deciding 3rd game needs to be played, the court change will be at the time the first team reaching 8 points.

Time-out requests must be made by showing the corresponding hand signal, when the ball is out of play and before the whistle for service. 2 timeouts of 30 seconds are allowed per set.

Player should be substituted on same position.

A player of the starting line-up may leave the court for a substitute and should re-enter to his/her previous position in the line-up, which will be counted as two substitutions.

There will be a maximum of 3 substitutions per set.

There shall be 4 to 6 players each side.

When the receiving team has gained the right to serve, its players rotate one position clock-wise.

The team commits a positional fault, if any player is not in his/her correct position at the moment the ball is hit by the server. The play should not be stopped until the referee blow the whistle.

If referee found the position is fault, he can award a point to opposite team.

Switching positions is allowed among any zone players after the serve only.

Note: The back row player who is switching to front row should not hit/block the ball within the 10 feet distance from the net.

The ball is out of play at the moment of the fault which is whistled by the referees; in the absence of a fault, at the moment of the whistle.

The part of the ball which contacts the floor is completely outside the boundary lines

It touches an object outside the court, the side/back walls or a person out of play.

Ball hitting the Center roof of the courts within the playing team courtside is deemed continuation of the game.

In the event where the team hits the opposite court’s roof then it is a lost point.

It touches the antennae, posts or the net itself outside the antenna.

Note: After the ball is dead, the player can cross the center line or step into the opponent court. This is still valid.

The team is entitled to a maximum of three hits (in addition to blocking), for returning the ball.

The player may not hit the ball twice in succession (A block is not considered a hit).

When two (or three) team-mates touch the ball simultaneously, it is counted as two (or three) hits (with the exception of blocking). If they reach for the ball, but only one of them touches it, one hit is counted. A collision of players does not constitute a fault.

The ball may touch any part of the body and it will be considered as a hit. The play will continue even though the ball reaches the opponent court after the body touch.

More than one body touch is allowed. But consecutive body touch by the same player is not allowed.

Each team has the option to register one player as "Libero" among the final list of 8 players for the whole tournament. The specific rules for a Libero player are as follows:

He/she is restricted to performing as a back row player and has no right at all to complete an attack hit when the ball is above the height of the top of the net.

The Libero may not serve, block or attempt to block.

Substitutions involving a Libero are not counted as regular and their number is unlimited. A Libero cannot take part in normal substitutions and may only enter or leave the game while the ball is out of play and before the whistle for service.

The designated replacement of a Libero will be limited to performing as a Libero for the rest of the match and the subsequent matches. Nevertheless, this player will be allowed to be registered again in the normal line-up of later matches once the initially registered Libero is officially re-instituted.

When reaching a ball coming from the opponent’s court, contacting the ball over the net is a violation if both:

  • Your opponent hasn’t used 3 contacts
  • They have a player there to make a play on the ball

Note: When attacking a ball coming from the opponents court, contacting the ball when reaching over the net is a violation if the ball hasn’t yet broken the vertical plane of the net.

To block/spike an opponent's service is forbidden

A player’s foot (feet) penetrates completely into the opponent's court.

Touches of the net with any part of the body while the ball is in play.

If the ball is driven into the net with such force that it causes the net to contact an opposing player, no foul will be called, and the ball shall continue to be in play.

Hitting the ball illegally (Carrying, Palming, Throwing, etc.).

Back row player attacking a ball inside the front zone (the area inside the 10 foot line), when at the moment of contact the ball is completely above the net (an illegal attack)

The ranking in preliminary games shall be determined by the rules below.

  • All games will be played with rally points.
  • The Preliminary games will be played for one set of 25 points.
  • A set is won by the team which first scores 25 points with a minimum lead of two points. In the case of a 25-25 tie, play is continued until a two-point lead is achieved (26-24; 27-25; …).
  • Based on no# of points.
  • On winning a game team will get 3 points.
  • If team restrict losing team under 11 points then winning team get a bonus point, otherwise losing team get a bonus point.
  • If there is a tie, then the difference between Total Points Made – Total Points Given shall be considered. The team with Highest Net points will be qualified for next level. To calculate the points, all points from all the winning and losing games will be counted.
  • If there is a tie on Total Points Made then it should be decided based on toss.

Any team is walking out from the tournament during the preliminary stage, the following rule will be applicable:

  • If the team plays less than 50% of the total games in that group, the games played will be cancelled and the points made by the opponent teams will also be cancelled.
  • If the team plays more than 50% of the total games in that group, the remaining teams with whom the walking away team is yet to play will be given full 25 points and forfeit team will get highest point while losing.

The quarters, semis and finals will be played for best of 3 sets with 21, 21 and 15 points.

A set (except the deciding 3rd set) is won by the team which first scores 21 points with a minimum lead of two points. In the case of a 21-21 tie, play is continued until a two-point lead is achieved (22-20; 23-21; …).

Quarters 1 Quarters 2 Quarters 3 Quarters 4
POOL A-Top1

X

POOL D–Top2

POOL B-Top1

X

POOL C–Top2

POOL C-Top1

X

POOL B–Top2

POOL D-Top1

X

POOL A–Top2

Semi Final 1 Semi Final 2
Quarters 1

X

Quarters 3

Quarters 2

X

Quarters 4

Finals
Semi Final 1

X

Semi Final 2

Any grievances and/or conflict resolution on a play/point has to be between the team captain and the chair umpire. Chair umpire’s decision on the play is final.

We encourage the participating teams to play in line with the laws and spirit of the game.

Incorrect conduct by a team member towards organizers, opponents, teammates or spectators will result in the disqualification of the individual or team from the tournament and same will be recommended to the upcoming tournament organizer.

The following categories are classified as misconduct and will lead to the disciplinary actions.

  • Unsportsmanlike conduct: arguing, intimidating, taking unfair or inappropriate advantage of player privileges, etc.
  • Rude conduct: acting contrary to good manners or moral principles, interfering with an opponent's ability to play, expressing contempt.
  • Offensive conduct: defamatory or insulting words or gestures.

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Event Details


Nanban Foundation and Dallas Tamil Manram (DTM) Volleyball Tournament: Fostering Unity, Sportsmanship, and Social Impact

On Saturday, December 17, 2022, the Dallas Tamil Manram (DTM) hosted its annual volleyball tournament in collaboration with the Nanban Foundation. For the past seven years, this highly anticipated event has taken place during the Pongal festival, attracting a diverse range of participants and spectators from the local Dallas metro area.

The DTM volleyball tournament stands out for its commitment to social and charitable causes. It serves as a platform to raise awareness about Jallikattu, support government schools, aid physically challenged children, and contribute to North Texas food banks. By combining the love for sports with the desire to make a positive impact, this event has garnered immense support from the community.

Beyond its philanthropic endeavors, the tournament has become the catalyst for promoting sports and fitness awareness among the local communities in the DFW area. Participants view it as an opportunity to engage in friendly competition while also fostering social connections and networking with fellow players in the region.

With approximately 30 volleyball teams from the Dallas metro area participating, the tournament showcased skill and camaraderie across three different levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. The league matches determined the teams’ categories, leading to intense and thrilling matches throughout the day.

The highlight of the tournament was the awarding of the championship trophies to the winning and runner-up teams. These accolades were presented during the Pongal cultural day, held on one of the following weekends, where participants came together to celebrate with joy, music, food, and cultural festivities.

The Nanban Foundation proudly collaborated with the Dallas Tamil Manaram, forging a partnership that strengthens the impact of this event. Together, they exemplify the spirit of unity, sportsmanship, and community engagement.

By fostering a sense of togetherness, promoting healthy competition, and supporting charitable causes, this event leaves a lasting impression on both participants and the community at large.

Event Photos


Event videos