Volleyball England is delighted to confirm volleyball within schools can resume from 8th March and that organised outdoor and beach volleyball will be able to return from 29th March.
The news comes after the Prime Minister announced England’s roadmap out of lockdown.
Following the planned return of school, outdoor and beach volleyball activity as well as the re-opening of outdoor sports facilities in Step 1 of the roadmap, the phased return of indoor volleyball will take place during Step 3, which will begin no earlier than 17th May.
By Step 4, which will take place no earlier than 21st June, the Government hopes to be able to remove all legal limits on social contact.
Volleyball England will update its return to play guidance as further information from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Sport England becomes available. A separate announcement will shortly be made on the return of sitting volleyball.
Sue Storey, CEO of Volleyball England, said: “We welcome the Prime Minister’s road map and will now initiate plans to ensure volleyball returns with a bang in 2021.
“There is a long bumpy road ahead to get us back to where we were pre-Covid, but by working together and sticking to the rules now, we will get there.
“In the meanwhile, we’ll be issuing more guidance and support to ensure volleyball, beach volleyball and sitting volleyball all bounce back in 2021. The spike back is on, and I am very excited about this summer!”
Ready to return to court
With a roadmap now laid out for volleyball’s return in 2021, the Volleyball Family is encouraged to engage with Volleyball England programmes that aim to boost return to court preparations.
Get fit and ready to return stronger than before with VOLLEYFIT, our volleyball fitness programme for members of Volleyball England. We are now half-way through this 10-week plan and will be hosting a live Q&A with VOLLEYFIT instructors Alex Jenkins and Phil Spalding over on our Instagram Stories on 24th February. Tune in from 5pm to find out more and ask questions.
Clubs are reminded that Sport England has recently extended its Return to Play: Small Grant programme, giving volleyball clubs up until 30th June to apply for funding. Launched in October, the scheme was set up to make awards of between £300 and £10,000 to help sport and activity groups, clubs and organisations respond to the immediate challenges of returning to play in a Covid-safe way. Initially there was £10 million in the fund, but Sport England has recently injected an extra £5 million.
Also, to test your knowledge of the indoor game’s rules, webinar series Let’s Talk Rules continues on Wednesday, 24th February to discuss Rule 13: Attack Hit. We have also released an interactive quiz on the rules to test your knowledge.
