Consultation on VE’s 2020/21 indoor season

Consultation on Volleyball England’s 2020/21 indoor season

With the final decisions on the 2019/20 season for Volleyball England’s indoor competitions now made, we are in a position to share our thinking on when the 2020/21 indoor season could begin and, subject to government guidelines, how we are planning for the fullest possible programme.

Due to ongoing restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, we do not yet know when sport and volleyball will be able to return in full and have therefore planned for a number of scenarios.

Our current thinking, in brief, is listed below. If the restrictions on volleyball’s return are lifted by:

  • End of May – Default position. September start
  • End of June – Option 1a: Streamlined process with no fixtures meeting. September start
  • End of July – Option 1b: Streamlined process with a fixtures meeting. September start
  • End of July – Option 2a: Cancel the Cup and Shield competitions with no fixtures meeting. October start
  • End of August – Option 2b: Cancel the Cup and Shield competitions with fixtures meeting. October start
  • End of October – Option 3: Run a half season. January start
  • End of December – Option 4: Extending the half season, with no Cup or Shield competitions and a streamlined process. February start

Note: Please scroll down and click ‘Read the consultation document in full’ for more information on such areas as the streamlined process, the online fixtures meeting and the possible consequences of each option. 

We all long for the return of volleyball, but it will only return when government guidelines allow it and we feel that appropriate measures and support are in place to protect the health and safety of all of those taking part.

This consultation, which does not tackle specific guidance on any changes that may be required to matches, is being published to gather feedback from the entire community on these contingency plans. We must stress that this consultation relates to our current way of thinking, which we may change depending on how and when restrictions are lifted. Nevertheless, we wanted to take this opportunity to share these thoughts, to help you plan for the future.

We are particularly keen to hear from the community on 3 key questions:

  • Are there any other options we could consider? If so, what are they?
  • A season extension would allow us to push back the decision on reverting to a half season by a month but it will have an impact on beach volleyball and outdoor competitions. Would you support the option of the season being extended?
  • Fixtures meetings reduce the time it takes to organise competitions but they make the possibility of organising cost-saving triangulars impossible. Single headers are more expense to play than triangulars. In principle, do you support the option of a fixtures meeting?

Please email responses to this consultation to competitions@volleyballengland.org before 5pm on 5th June.

Click here to read the consultation document in full.

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