Plymouth’s most successful volleyball club in recent years, Plymouth Marjon Volleyball Club, has announced that it has undergone a change in name as well as announcing a new junior development program for the forthcoming season.
As agreed at their AGM, from 1st August 2014 they will be formally known as Plymouth Mayflower Volleyball Club and have moved the hub of their activity from UCP Marjon to Plymstock School.
Club Founder, Andrew Potter, stated some of the reasons behind the change: “PMVC has grown exponentially over the years and in many ways such as:
– Our membership (50 members were registered in 2013/14 season),
– Our range of delivery (Indoor, Outdoor, Beach and Sitting programmes and 5 teams were entered into regional competitions)
– and our reputation (our committee is often approached by Councils and Sports partnerships and individual schools to host or run volleyball competitions and events).
Our committee have recognised the need to facilitate that growth for the forthcoming seasons”
“When we started the club in 2009, participation in volleyball was in decline. Our aim was to put volleyball back on the map whilst also making grass-roots volleyball available to the Plymouth community again. We feel we have been successful in that aim but it is now time for the next chapter in that journey.”
“Our new name “Mayflower” was chosen in respect of our city’s maritime roots and also to Plymouth’s volleyball roots as the Mayflower Centre (now Life Centre) was host to a lot of volleyball activity in the 80s and 90’s.”
“The main reason for the change though is that it is non-specific towards any particular local organisation, so it should allow us to broaden appeal to the entire Plymouth community (Our previous name gave the impression of a focus towards volleyball aimed exclusively at those in higher education. We were also often mistaken for Marjon University’s student led volleyball club and vice versa.)”
The committee has also negotiated a change of venue for the club – From the 2014-15 season, PMVC’s squad training, matches and competitions will be held at Plymstock School Sport Centre. This coincides with the launch of a new Saturday Morning Club to be held at Plymstock School during Term time which will be starting on 6th September.
The Saturday Morning Club will run from 9am-10am and will be focussed at Junior Boys and Girls aged 6-16 years old (Y3-11). Potter who is also the Junior Development Officer added “We have assembled a team of coaches and Young Sports Leaders to deliver this new programme to encourage young people to enjoy volleyball in a friendly and fun environment”
“Volleyball is not offered on the curriculum at many schools but we are working in partnership with schools in the Plymouth area running CPD sessions to help the teachers to add to their curriculum or at the least to introduce the sport as a taster session. The Saturday Morning Club will allow us to give children an exit route from the schools and give them the opportunity to improve their skills towards playing in competitions suitable to their age group and skill level. However we also accommodate absolute beginners and introduce them to the skills, fitness, tactics and social buzz that make volleyball such a fun and unique sport.”
We have already helped establish a greater volleyball presence in our partnership schools Plymstock School and Ivybridge Community College. There are also further opportunities with other local schools such as Tor Bridge (who have recently added volleyball to their curriculum) and Eggbuckland CC who have a proven record of nurturing junior volleyball talent).As volleyball is widely regarded as a sport that generates a lot of interest from those who haven’t tried it before, we are keen to promote it as widely as possible across the city and beyond.”
PMVC’s New Chair, Kate Wilkins said of the changes “Our future success is heavily linked to the success of our Junior Development. Currently reaping the benefits of a strong Junior link is our Senior Ladies team having won the SW League for the 2nd successive season with half of the squad 16 years old or under. All of them are Junior National Champions and one is representing England U19’s both indoor and on the beach. We have shown we can provide a great environment for nurturing talent and providing them with the launch pad to take it as far as they want to”
“This change is a great opportunity for us to look at other partnerships too, not just with schools but also local businesses who may want to sponsor one of our regional teams or other elements of our club like our Junior Development or Local League competitions. We are also open to looking at bespoke business partnerships considering what we can do to help those businesses in return. “
“For many of our members, the main change they will see is the change in venue. Our new location is more central and easier to access for those travelling from both within and outside the city. In many ways we don’t want to change too much too soon for the existing membership but behind the scenes, things are progressing well and an ingress of junior talent will only help the club become stronger.”
“Plymouth Mayflower Volleyball Club hopes to echo the Pilgrim voyage of discovery and help deliver “volleyball for all” and discover a New World of volleyball superstars.”
For further details about Plymouth Mayflower Volleyball Club contact or follow us –
Website: pmvc.co.uk
Email: volleyballplymouth@gmail.com
Twitter: @PlymVolleyball
