Tournament Information

Registration

All administration of this event (registration, payment, seeding and schedules) will be on the our registration website.

Registration will open on Saturday, October 2, 2023 at 9:00am Central Time.

To enter the Northern Lights January Thaw:

1. Go to the our registration system and complete your online registration.  This event is listed under the heading “Northern Lights Qualifier/January Thaw.”
2. Payment must be made online through the registration system.  Currently, we only take credit cards for payment due to issues we’ve had in the past with checks.  Immediate payment will be required when registering.
3. We will automatically collect any results your teams have from the big two scheduling sites:  Advanced Event Systems (AES) and SportsWrench.

All registration is to be completed online.  The registration deadline for us receiving the registration and payment is December 15, 2023.  All entries received after this date will be considered on a space available basis.  Registration may close early for a division that has reached capacity.

Refund Policy

Please read our non-negotiable Refund Policy carefully.

October 2, 2023 – November 30, 2023 (11:59 pm central time):  Any team which has registered and made payment to the tournament will be entitled to a full refund minus a $50 per team cancellation fee upon written request (requests must be emailed to northernlights@midwestvolleyball.com).

December 1, 2023 (12:00 am central time) – December 14, 2023 (11:59pm central time):  Any team which has registered and made payment to the tournament will be entitled to a 50% refund upon written request (requests must be emailed to northernlights@midwestvolleyball.com).

If a team which is not on a wait list decides to drop out for any reason as of December 15, 2023 (12:00am central time), the team will forfeit the entire entry fee regardless of whether the drop happens before or after the official entry deadline date and regardless of your hotel status with THS.  This includes all drops that may pertain to acts or threats of war, acts or threats of terrorism, a health risk alert, or weather conditions.

Denied Entry/Wait Lists

If a team is denied entry into the Northern Lights January Thaw, the team may:

• Elect to cancel its application and receive a full refund of its entry fee or
• Elect to go onto a wait list.  To be put on a wait list, the entry requirements of registration, payment and hotel requirements must have been met.

A team on a wait list may drop out and obtain a full refund of its entry fee as long as we have not yet accepted the team into the tournament from the wait list.  To do this, a team on a wait list must have notified us in writing (in other words, an e-mail) of their desire to drop before they receive notification of being accepted from the wait list.

Stay and Play Compliance

A team that previously met the Stay and Play requirements and was accepted, but then fell out of compliance with the Stay and Play housing requirements and was  removed from the event will not be eligible for any refund even if they subsequently met the Stay and Play housing requirements but were not re-accepted due to the event or division being full.  In general, any attempt to bypass or use the Stay and Play housing requirements and/or wait list to obtain a refund will not be honored.

Tournament Cancellation

If the tournament is cancelled or interrupted due to weather, acts or threats of war, acts or threats of terrorism or a health risk alert, event entry refunds will be made to individuals or teams on a prorated basis once all Northern Lights out-of-pocket expenditures for the cancelled or interrupted event have been settled from such a fee.

Entry fees are non-transferable to another team, even from the same club.

Wave Schedule

Here are the expected starting times for Friday, January 27.  These times are not definite until the official schedule is published.  All out-of-town teams should travel to play at the earliest published time regardless of the table below.

We will attempt to publish the entire schedule on Monday January 22nd, but it could be as late as Wednesday evening January 24th.

Streaming

Please click here for information about streaming at the Northern Lights Qualifier / January Thaw.

Hotels

Hotel reservations should be made through The THS Company.  To make reservations, please go to the Northern Lights Qualifier Stay and Play page where you can obtain more details on contacting THS.  The Northern Lights Qualifier for 15’s, 17’s & 18’s is taking place the same weekend as the January Thaw.

Rosters

Rosters are required for this event.  They can be entered directly into our registration site or imported from SportsEngine.

Follow this link to the Northern Lights Qualifier information page.  Scroll down until you find the section Roster Requirements.  Follow these steps to enter or import your roster for January Thaw.

Team Check-In Location & Times

Clubs that have teams participating in the Northern Lights Qualifier can also check their January Thaw teams in at the same time.

Information about check-in for the Northern Lights Qualifier can be found here.

Additional information will be sent via email to January Thaw teams regarding a supplemental check-in as the tournament dates gets closer.

Officials

This information will be available later in October, please check back then.   Registration will open on our registration system on October 31, 2023.

Recruiting

Championship Combines

Junior Girls who are participating in the 14 Club age division and older who wish to participate in a Recruiting Combine should click here.  This link will take you to the home page of the Northern Lights Qualifier.  Scroll down for information about Championship Combines and how to register.

CaptainU

CaptainU will provide player profile books for college coaches and free access to their online software to help all attending athletes maximize their exposure at the upcoming event to college coaches.  Click on the links below to get set-up for the event.

January Thaw – January 26-28, 2024

Warm-Up Balls

Each team should plan to bring their own set of warm-up balls.  The event will have no warm-up balls available to rent or borrow.

Practice times

Teams may practice on Thursday evening.  Please refer to this page from the Northern Lights Qualifier for more information

Due to the starting times of the event, there are no practice times available on Friday at the Convention Center.

Athletic Trainers

Athletic Trainers provided by Allina Health Orthopedics will be on duty at the Convention Center starting 45 minutes prior to the first match. Look for the large “Medical” flag to locate them in the court area.

Spectator Admission

Spectators will be permitted.  All information regarding ticketing and wristbands can be found by clicking here.

College Coaches

The information for and about college coaches at this event can be found on our Northern Lights Qualifier College Coaches webpage.  Please go to click here for full details.

Venue Information

For more extensive information from the Minneapolis Convention Center (including helpful info about the skyway), please follow this link. (This link will become active once this year’s information is available).

Follow this link to find a full list of restaurants in the City of Minneapolis (last updated 2022).

Code of Conduct/Prohibited Items

Click here to see a list of prohibited items.

Click here to view our code of conduct.