The 2014 Inter Regional Championships event has now been confirm, the SW will be entering all age groups and will be looking to defend our 2013 U16 Girls Title.

For the last few years the event has been held at the National Volleyball Center in Kettering but Kettering is not available this year. This years event will now be held at the University of East London, Sportsdock E16 2RD over the Mayday Bank Holiday 3-5 May 2014.

Please note that the Boys training session for 18th Jan has been Cancelled, the next Boys training will now be on the 15th Feb (Riverside Exeter 11:00 to 16:00), no change to the Girls program.

Exeter Storm has finished fifth in the entire country, after making its debut appearance in the Volleyball England U18 Men’s National Championships.

In the ‘last 8’ of the competition, at the National Volleyball Centre in Kettering, they were placed in a very evenly matched pool of four teams, with The Boswells Blaze A, Ernest Bevin College and Newcastle Staffs A. Exeter Storm started with a narrow defeat to Boswells Blaze. Far from being overwhelmed, Storm felt they could have defeated the defending champions on another day. They went on to beat Newcastle Staffs in their next match, with spells of real dominance. Each team won one and lost one in the first two rounds of matches, so victory against Ernest Bevin would earn Storm a place in the semi-finals. Exeter Storm gave away a big lead early on in each set and both times clawed it back, only to lose the decisive points.A 22-25, 23-25 loss ended their run in the competition.

“I am very proud of the boys who came to Kettering and those who have featured throughout the competition. Slightly disappointing that we couldn’t make the semi-final, but the improvement is outstanding and very apparent as we went toe to toe with all the teams within our group, including Boswells who won the competition last year.” said Danny Lewis.

Qualifying for the ‘last 8’ of the competition was a fantastic achievement, as Exeter Storm was one of the only teams to qualify that wasn’t representing a national volleyball academy. Competing with every opposition they faced and finishing in a very respectable fifthplace, after less than three months together as a team, shows the talent and dedication of the players and coaches.

Exeter Storm has been invited to Volleyball England’s pilot U18 Grand Prix event, in the New Year, to compete with the top teams at the National Volleyball Centre once more. Ben Fairweather declared, “Although fifth place was a huge achievement, we will come back stronger, with the confidence that we can beat any team on our day.”

Exeter Storm Volleyball Club is always looking to add to its squads. Full details are available on the club website: www.exeterstormvc.co.uk

Jo Turville has sitting Volleyball up and running in Guernsey with over 30 players having already tried the sport. For the last session this year, they are looking to run a mini 4v4 tournament on two courts. More information on the GVA web site and facebook page

You can watch an interview with Jo, from the Guernsey Sports Commission, plus photo at: http://guernseysports.com/2013/10/sitting-volleyball-launches-in-guernsey/

The Guernsey Sports Commission were invited along to one of the first sessions of Sitting Volleyball taught in Guernsey last weekend. Jo Turville, from the Guernsey Volleyball Association lead the session, which introduced them to the shots and techniques required to play this modified version of the game.

 

A quick reminder that the next Mini-Volleyball Grand Prix takes place on  Saturday 11^th January 2014  in Taunton.  It starts at 1 p.m.  and expected to finish around 5 p.m.  You can enter using the link http://www.swva.org.uk/junior-grand-prix-entry-formand the cost of entering is £15  per team.

Teams are generally made up with three players, but two can play together or you can have a team of four where players rotate in. It is also allowed to include one younger boy in a girls team or one girl up to one year older in a boys team.

The weight of balls should be appropriate to the age group playing and the team with the youngest player will always select the weight of the lightweight balls if there is a dispute.

I would like to make the closing date for entries Tuesday 7^th January at 6 p.m.

David Walrond

Well followers of Countrymen’s beach Charity Pairs and the Club 4′s at Perranporth beach in Cornwall will I am sure be pleased to know it’s on again in 2014 on 14th and 15th June.

It is not well known that youth aged 16 or under (Entering the charity pairs) on the day have a free entry apart from getting some sponsorship on the form. It does not have to get up to the entry fee.

Entry forms and more info can be obtained from oldal73@gmail.com

Alan G. Conquest MBE

We had a couple of super high tides this summer, at Exmouth we were down to just two courts some evenings.

and on court surfing at Croyde took on a new look this year.

If you have an interesting volleyball photos, then why not send it in and share it…

Saturday 1^st February 2014

This are the date put aside for the regional qualifiers (SW) for the regional rounds (S)  of the U15 national cups. Academy will be hosting this event and more details will be available shortly.

To enter, please follow the link below (if you have not done so already).

http://www.volleyballengland.org/competitions/junior_competitions/national_u15_championships

and then download the entry form.  Please email entry to or contact Will Westward at w.westward@volleyballengland.org

There is an initial entry fee of £10 and then the cost of Academy hosting the event will be shared between all the competing teams.

David Walrond

Could 4 pm on the 19th of Jan be the big day in this seasons Ladies league? We currently have two unbeaten teams, the Academy of Beach Sports from North Devon & Plymouth Marjon, they are due to meet on the 19th in Plymouth. However both have a number of matches to play before the 19th, so anything could happen.

Hot on their tails are Royal Wootton Bassett, Torexe Topcats and Exeter University.

In the Men’s league, Kernow are at the head of the table for the Christmas break, with an unbeaten record to date. However, they face Yeovil, Plymouth and Lydney (twice) in their next few fixtures, so its still game on for this years title.

We have received 212 Player of the Match nominations so far this year. Players to look out for are: Lois Chitticks (Wessex), Lucy Walton (UOG) and Millie Constable (ABS).

In the Men’s league, Billy Ewings (Cardiff Celts), Dave Tyack (Kernow Maw) and Tim Latcham (ABS) currently have the majority of nominations with Robert Odsterczyl (Yeovil) just one point behind them.

Sport England Report on satisfaction levels among people taking part in 46 different sports have been gathered annually for four years.

Those taking part in sports such as boccia, goalball and taekwondo are among those who say they are most satisfied with their sporting experiences.

Satisfaction – as measured by factors such as value for money, facilities, social opportunities and performance – is increasing overall.

The satisfaction survey offers a detailed breakdown of responses in all 10 factors for every sport.

The survey also breaks down satisfaction by sports club members, general participants and the ‘talent pool’ for each sport. Overall, club members and the talent pool are more satisfied than general players, but this does not hold true for every sport.

Results for volleyball Trend 2009-2012

The latest edition of 3Touch Volleyball Magazine is now available electronically.  This edition contains:

• Life after the Dream – Catching up with our 2012 volleyball heroes
• Valuing Volunteers – Attracting and retaining the lifeblood of volleyball
• The Big 3touch Xmas Quiz! – Test your knowledge of your favourite sport
• Meet Ian Legrand – Coaching sitting volleyball

Please click here to read your copy now.

Hard copies will be distributed to clubs, coaches and referees next week.

A lot of testing and development on the e-scoresheet was done in the UK on the run up to the Olympics, if you have not come across it before you can download a copy from the Data project web site at: http://www.dataproject.com/VolleyBall/Service_For_CEV.aspx

To have a go, you will need to enter the following [username: scorertest / password: scorertest], the USA federation also have a useful training presentation at:  http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/266078/E-Scoresheet_training-NCAA-Mens

Hai-Binh Ly is a volleyball analyst who is currently stating the Men’s Super 8′s and other matches. I addition to this he is also collecting match video’s and hence has a comprehensive collection of NL matches on his Youtube channel.

You can checkout both sites at the following URL’s:

• http://thevolleyballanalyst.blogspot.co.uk
• http://www.youtube.com/user/thevolleyballanalyst

JANUARY 2014

• 5th & 6th Jan Grade 4 Referee Course, Tor Bridge High, Plymouth (awaiting confirmation from VE) email popotter40@hotmail.com for further details 
• 11th January Junior Grand Prix, Wellsprings Leisure Centre, Cheddon Road, Taunton, TA2 7QP  1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Registration
• 18th Jan SW Boys Training - Cancelled
• 25 th Jan SW Girls training – Burnham on Sea – 11:00 to 16:00 Sign In
• 26th Jan Exeter Ladies Development Tournament 2

FEBRUARY 2014

• Saturday 1st February U15 SW Regional Qualifiers (Interested Clubs to bid to host event)
• 08 Feb SWVA Meeting
• 15th Feb SW Boys Training Riverside Exeter 11:00 to 16:00 Sign In
• 15 th Feb SW Girls training – Burnham on Sea – 11:00 to 16:00 Sign In

MARCH 2014

• 8th or 9th March South-West Mini-Championships (U12 to U15), Leaf Studio School, Bournemouth (TBC) Registration
• 15th March SW Boys Training Riverside Exeter 11:00 to 16:00 Sign In
• 15 th Mar SW Girls training – Burnham on Sea – 11:00 to 16:00 Sign In
• 16th Mar Exeter Ladies Development Tournament 3