In late February Volleyball Development Camps (VbDC), were finally given permission by the US Amateur Athletic Union to enter a team into it’s national tournament in Orlando, this June. This is one of the world’s largest junior indoor volleyball tournaments, played over 180+ courts, with over 600 American university/Club scouts in attendance. We have been given less than 90 days from our invitation to assemble a team to enter into their highly competitive International Division.
I’m wondering if there are any junior players involved in the South West teams, who would be interested in, and able to commit to this incredible opportunity?
I have attached our tour prospectus, all of the information within is current, apart from the expected costs. After negotiations with the AAU, they have agreed to provide generous financial aid for our team. This will come in the form of covering the costs of registration and membership, as well as housing, feeding and providing the team with ground transport for the tournament. I have detailed our most recent cost estimate below, which includes a whopping £1000 off the original estimate.
Return flights to Florida £750
Accommodation and board £200
Team entry fee £0
Administration, supervision, uniform, coaching and insurance £800
Contingencies and emergency fund £250
Total £2,000
We need to act fast to make this possible. Our tournament registration MUST be completed by Tuesday 7th May, which will also be the date that we expect each athlete to have made an initial deposit. This is not a commercial project and in keeping with the ethos of the AAU, we intend only to cover our costs. We still hope to further reduce these costs, however the longer time goes on, the more expense we open ourselves up to.
Any athlete who has an interest in participating must make their interest known to VbDC as soon as possible. They can contact me directly or contact VbDC by e-mail: vbdc.volley@gmail.com, through the VbDC website at www.vbdc.co.uk, or by telephoning or texting VbDC on +44 (0)7376 072 368.
We are still assembling players of the elite level and intend to make our final decision on whether to continue with this project by the end of this week. Our players will be coming from across Europe, and although we expect all team members to be able to attend a training session in London before the tournament, we also recognise that with such little notice, attendance may not be possible for all training sessions. At this stage, it would be great to simply hear from interested parties and to answer their questions regarding the details, standards and expected commitments.
I would be very grateful if you could kindly pass on this information to any talented juniors or coaches that you may know would be interested. If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards,
Rachel Hynes
coachrachelhynes@outlook.com
VbDC AAU Tour Administrator
