Sports

New policies implemented for the 2006 NIRSA Volleyball Championships will continue

Increased security and Team Liaison program prove effective

The NIRSA Services Corporation (NSC) Board of Directors agreed in November 2005 to implement a number of new policies at the 2006 NIRSA Collegiate Volleyball Sport Club Championships. Concern had grown regarding the antisocial behavior of some attendees. Much of the antisocial behavior involved alcohol abuse and underage drinking, vandalism, and lewd behavior. This unacceptable behavior had inflicted damage to persons and property, and increased tournament expenses for additional security and compensation for property damage.

To mitigate the recurring vandalism and alcohol-related incidents at the NIRSA Volleyball Championships, the NSC Board implemented the following recommendations for the 2006 championships:

• Increased security during the Championships event at the convention center. Security was increased for the event finals and throughout the championships. As has been the practice since 2004, there is a restricted entrance to the final arena, and security conducts bag checks of all spectators. Security staff did not allow spectators to bring in beverage containers that were not purchased through the convention center concessions, and denied entrance to anyone who was visibly intoxicated.
• Approved University Team Liaison. Each university’s Recreational Sports Director had to approve the liaison. The liaison had to sign the Standards of Conduct form, and attend a meeting laying out expectations.
• NIRSA volunteer security staff assigned to hotels. Staff toured all the hotels prior to the tournament and met with each hotel’s security staff. Each hotel was provided with the cell phone number of all the NIRSA security staff, and a list of who was assigned to each hotel. NIRSA security staff, provided with a bright yellow tournament staff t-shirt, bright orange staff jacket, nametag, cell phone, and a notepad, were on duty roaming the halls of their assigned hotel, often with the hotel security, from 8 p.m.-3 a.m. each night. The security staff felt they were effective in demonstrating NIRSA’s willingness to address the behavioral problems seen in the hotels in the past. Sanctions leveled as a result of this effort ranged from written letters of reprimand to suspension from the tournament, but the majority of participants were respectful and helpful in containing alcohol to the rooms, keeping noise down, and respecting property.

The NIRSA Services Corporation, Sport Club Championships Committee and National Campus Championships Series committee all recommend that these policies continue in the future. The NIRSA Collegiate Volleyball Sport Club Championships is a marquis event with over 225 men’s and women’s teams attending from all over the country. The opportunity for students to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime college experience, coupled with the involvement by the NIRSA membership, make this a National Campus Championship Series event that gets better every year.