National Qualifiers

Teams wanting to compete at the USA Volleyball Girl's Junior National Championships (GJNC) have the opportunity to qualify two different ways.  They can attend one of the National Qualifiers, or they can earn a bid at the Iowa Junior Regional Tournament.

For 2013, the GJNC is adding the Patriot division.  This division does not require teams to earn a bid, but is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

National Qualifiers

The 2012-13 Qualifiers Schedule is available on the USA Volleyball website.  CLICK HERE for more information.

• Note: at the Northern Lights Qualifier in Minneapolis there is NOT a separate divisions for teams not trying to earn a bid to GJNC.  This means that all players must meet age qualifications, and Iowa Region waivers will not be accepted (unless the team plays in an older division).

Iowa Junior Regionals Bids

The number of bids available at the Iowa Junior Regionals is based on 2011/12 membership data, which will be finalized at the end of September.  Bid information should be released in October of 2012.

Bid Reallocation Information

Please follow THIS LINK for more information on Bid Reallocation.   

2013 Nationals Bids

Stay & Play

Most Qualifiers and National Events have a Stay & Play Policy per a contract between USA Volleyball and THS.  Teams competing in the events must follow the Stay & Play guidelines for hotels.

• Information about THS Stay & Play Housing for Qualifiers & Nationals (PDF)
• Stay & Play FAQ (PDF)
• Colorado Crossroads Loyal Customer Reward Program for Hotels (PDF)

National Tournament Information

 Division and Team Registration schedules are available for the 2013 Girl's JNC.  Click Here for more information

Dates have been announced for the 2013 and 2014 National Championships!

Girls National Championships:

2013 Dallas, TX, June 28 - July 5
2014 Minneapolis, MN, June 25 - July 2 

Boys National Championships:

2013 Reno, NV, June 28 - July 5
2014 Houston, TX, June 28 - July 5 

Fun Facts about the Junior National Championships

Stay & Play FAQ

Girl's Junior National Championships

For more information and access to the GJNC Tournament Manual, CLICK HERE to go to the USA Volleyball National Tournament pages.

USA Volleyball has added new divisions for the 2013 Girl's Junior National Championships (GJNC), expanding the number of teams able to compete and increasing the excitement and competitiveness of the event.

The overview of the Championship Divisions:

• OPEN – no change from 2012 – 32 teams; all from National Qualifiers (NQ). Generally regarded as the most competitive teams from a geographic area that tend to travel outside of their area of the country.
• NATIONAL – Still 48 teams, but all 48 bids will be awarded to Regions based on 2012 registration numbers. There will be no National Division at the NQs. Generally considered the top teams in the Region that don’t obtain an Open bid.
• USA (formerly the National Division at NQs) – This is a new Championship in 2013 and will be a 24-team field with all 24 bids being awarded at NQs. Generally targeted for teams striving to become amongst the top teams nationally and regionally.
• AMERICAN – no change from 2012 (48 teams from Regions and NQs). Generally targeted for teams that are competitive Regionally and typically don’t travel far from their geographic area of the country.
• PATRIOT – This is a new Championship and will field between 24 and 48 teams per age group in 2013. Access to this Championship will be strictly based on date of entry. Teams do not need to qualify to participate in this Championship. Should a team entered in this Championship later qualifier for a higher tournament, their entry and fee will be transferred to the higher tournament. This tournament will only be offered in 17s-14s and 11s in 2013. Generally targeted for teams looking to finish their season at the GJNC without waiting to see if they will obtain a bid in the higher Divisions.

Unaccepted bids will be subject to the same sanction as in the past, as specified in the Championship Manual.

All Championships within an age group (ie. Open, National, USA, American, and Patriot where applicable) will be contested on the same days all at the Dallas Convention Center. This will allow teams to plan in advance to play during that time frame and in that city before the club season begins. They simply won’t know the exact Championship Division for which they may qualify.

11-&-UNDER Championship

Per the recommendation of the Junior Assembly, USAV will be adding a 24-team Patriot Division Championship for an 11-and-under age group to the 2013 GJNC in Dallas. This will be a 3-day Championship.

Stay to Play

While all National Championship and Divisions will again be subject to USAV’s Stay to Play policy, THS and USAV will be meeting to work on refining the process. An update on any changes to procedures will be communicated in October, if not sooner.

The Qualification Process

• OPEN – 32 teams with all bids being awarded at NQs or through the At-Large process. The difference this year is that a new Open Qualifier has been added – The Disney Volleyball Showcase. This will be an Invitational Event for only 16 teams per division based on ’12 performance. Invites are expected to be sent no later than September 15. A team winning an Open bid must accept that bid over any other level of GJNC bid. Any unallocated Open Bids will again be awarded through the At-Large process.
• NATIONAL – 48 teams with all bids being awarded through the Regions. Each Region will receive at least 1 National bid, regardless of previous year’s registration. Additional bids will be allocated to Regions based on the previous year’s registration. Should a team winning a National bid have previously or later win or be awarded an Open bid, it must accept the Open bid. The National bid returns to the Region for re-distribution.
• USA – 24 teams with all bids being awarded through the NQs (except Disney Volleyball Showcase in 2013). Each NQ will receive at least 1 USA bid, provided it has at least 8 teams entered in the tournament. All 24 teams will be awarded at NQs through direct award or trickle down; or through an At-Large process. Should a team winning an USA bid have previously or later win or be awarded an Open or National bid, it must accept the bid to the highest Championship. If the team had previously won a USA bid or higher, the USA bid will trickle down at that NQ. If the team later wins or is awarded an Open or National bid, the USA bid will revert back to the NQ where it was obtained for reallocation to a level no lower than the trickle down would allow. If the USA bid can’t be reallocated through this trickle down process, it will go to the team’s home Region for distribution.
• AMERICAN – 48 teams with bids being awarded to the Regions based on the same system of allocation and re-allocation as in the past, and at NQs, except Disney Volleyball Showcase in 2013. One American bid will be available with a minimum of 8 teams entered in the tournament.
• PATRIOT – All spots in these tournaments will be available on a date-of-entry basis. No bids will be awarded at either NQs or Regions and, therefore, will not require acceptance.

More specific descriptions of the GJNC Divisions and the Qualification process can be found in the 2013 Championship Manual that will be posted to the USAV website in the upcoming weeks.