A quick reminder that the next Junior Volleyball Grand Prix of the season takes place on  Saturday 24^th January  at Hutton Moor, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, BS22 8LY.  It starts at 1 pm. and expected to finish around 5 p.m.  You can enter using the link https://www.swva.org.uk/junior-grand-prix-entry-form and the cost of entering is £15  per team.   Ideally I would like all entries by Saturday 6 p.m.

I look forward to getting your entries, if you have not already done so.

David Walrond

dc.walrond@ntlworld.com

The Challenge: Can your team come out on top in a series of seventeen minute timed matches, it’s intense, competitive and enjoyable. A complete cross section of teams take part each year. As always, please book your place early, first come first severed.

Entry forms are now available for the annual Exeter Men’s Challenge (12th Apr) and the Exeter Ladies Challenge (26th Apr)  end of season events: Details and entry forms at the Exeter Challenge web site.

We would like to invite you to the SW Region 2015 Volleyball England Voice Presentation / Meeting on Saturday the 7th February at the Riverside LC, Exeter (start 12:45).

“We have taken on-board the feedback from the previous events to have more member oriented aspects and the opportunity for an open discussion. So outlined below is the proposed agenda, which would cover 2-3 hours:”

• Review of volleyball’s achievements of 2014
• Strategy 2024 – What’s it mean for my club & myself?
• External Funding Workshop – Where can my club/area/region go for development grants?
• Creating a Sustainable Club Workshop – How can my club benefit from Sport England’s Club Matters services and Club Mark awards? Where possible, this will include a representative from the Sport England Club Leaders team.
• Open Discussion

Everyone is welcome to come along, a SW Inter Regional Girls Training session will also be taking place in the main hall. Please feel free to look in and to see what they are up to, they will also be joining us for a short period (during their lunch break).

It’s free to attend however we would like to have a good idea on numbers, so we can get the tea/coffee/refreshments and the number of chairs correct, could you please let us know if you are planning to attend via the following form, thank you. Volleyball Voice Attending

Ex-GBR Star will be at the King of the Court session

Lucy Boulton, former GBR Beach Volleyball Player, will be visiting the Academy of Beach Sports as part of the Sporting Champions Initiative. Lucy will be at Petroc College on Monday 19th January for the King of the Court session that runs from 6pm to 7.30pm.

This is an excellent opportunity to see a high quality athlete up close and play alongside her. Lucy will also be able to give advice to anyone with a desire to become an international athlete.

Don’t miss this amazing opportunity!!

Academy of Beach Sports denise@beachvolleyballinc.com

The SW U16 Girls Development Squad got in plenty of match practice last weekend during round three of the Bristol Ladies league tournament. A total of eleven teams had entered the round,which gave each team eight matches.

 Well done to everyone who took part.

The 2015 Island Games heads to Jersey this year, the venue for beach volleyball is not to be one of Jersey’s many fine beaches but rather the Weighbridge in the heart of St Helier.

An estimated 650 tons of sand will be transported to the pedestrianised town square and used to build two courts. There will also be changing and shower facilities, spectator seating, area for officials and the media, and it will all be dismantled after the games.

The weigh bridge is a vibrant area of St Helier, with several bars and restaurants overlooking the area where the courts will be built, and it is expected to be one of the focal points for Jersey 2015.

Games director Steve Bailey said “We are delighted to have got all the permission we need to create what will be a fantastic venue. Because jersey’s tidal range is so large, the majority of most beaches are submerged twice a day, and it would have been impossible to erect all the facilities needed around the court. We have a fantastic venue, which is walking distance from the indoor volleyball venue and islands have a few days left to register. It will be a great event, which I am sure will attract spectators and be a great competition.”

Jersey companies Simon Sand, Normans, Houze Construction, and Jersey Scaffolding are all providing materials and support to construct the court and there will be commentary and atmosphere thanks to Jersey radio station Channel 103.

Station Director Mike Huston said “Channel 103 is very excited to be supporting the NatWest Island Games. We shall be broadcasting live from the Weighbridge throughout the competition, entertaining the crowd between the action and providing the soundtrack to what is such a significant event for the Island.

From: http://www.jersey2015.com

2015 will be a huge year for Sport in Jersey as the Nat West Island Games return to the Island. As part of the programme there will be two Volleyball Events; Indoor and Beach.

We are in need of many volunteers to aid us with the smooth running of the competitions; this will involve scoring, lines judges, ball monitors and court managers.

It would be great to see some of our old Family members with their children and friends and therefore this plea is to any of you interested in assisting us in this huge task.

Please get in touch if you think you can help out by completing this form

More info at: http://www.jersey-volleyball.com/2014/12/11/jersey-2015-helpers-needed/ Paul Adamson & the JVA Committee

I am writing to you from the Esmoriz Volleyball Club in northern Portugal – every year we organize TIVE, a youth volleyball tournament for international teams (six age groups, from 13 to 18 year olds).

So far we have never had an English volleyball club come and this year we would love to have one! Might one of the teams that you work with be interested or would you be able to help us publicize our competition to volleyball clubs in your area?

Our tournament has some of the best Portuguese and European teams competing, so standards are quite high; above all it is a friendly event and we make a lot of effort to make it as fun and well-organized for the kids as possible. Accommodation is in our dormitories and we make sure the kids are looked after and entertained throughout the 4 days of the tournament.

Esmoriz itself is a small city right on the beach and is a fun and safe place to visit as well as being within 30 minutes of the centre of Porto; Esmoriz is most famous for one thing though – volleyball! We are based near the city of Porto and the tournament itself is very reasonably priced, at €90 per person including 3 nights accommodation and 3 meals a day. There are several low cost options for flights coming direct to Porto airport from the UK, which would make the logistics quite simple and the costs low.

Please see our tournament facebook page for a flavour of last year’s event: https://www.facebook.com/tive.esmoriz and attached is our tournament brochure.

If you have any questions or need to know anything further, please get in touch.

Kind regards, Charlie Cutler charlie@carvalhocustom.com
Tel: +351 965836665 Esmoriz GC

At this time of year it’s good to look back and think about what you’ve achieved. We put our heads together in Research and came up with 12 things we’ve learnt this year:

1. The quality of coaching is improving. In the last 10 years the percentage of participants who think that coaching improves their enjoyment of sport has increased from 53% to 81%.
2. The general public have a positive view of coaches.
3. Adults who are coached are less likely to stop playing sport than those who are not coached.
4. Young people who are coached display a stronger connection to sport – they are more likely to make up the time they miss playing by doing other sporting activities, and even more likely to do whatever they can to avoid missing playing.
5. Women do want to coach as long as the environment is right.
6. If you’re a fitness trainer physical appearance matters. If you’re a coach it’s your coaching that matters.
7. Formal coach education (qualifications and workshops) make a more significant impact on coaching practice than informal methods like searching the internet or social media.
8. A coach’s level of qualification will be influenced more by whether or not they paid rather than where they coach.
9. Coaching courses with an equal split of male and female coaches are the most enjoyable for all students.
10. Coaches can be broken down into 12 different types based on their motivations and attitudes to learning.
11. Since 2008 the number of coaches gaining a level 2 qualification has increased by 52%. Level 2 coaches on average do twice as much coaching as level 1 coaches and do more CPD.
12. People who play no sport at all say a coach would encourage them to get active.