swva newsletter – issue 299 – 2015-August

The big event since our last issue was the 2015 Natwest Island Games in Jersey and the amazing beach court in the middle of St Helier.

Well done to everyone involved, you can read more about the event at: www.jersey-volleyball.com / www.jersey2015results.com / www.iiga.org

Exmouth Beach Tournament

After 32 years in the centre of Bath, the 41^st Whitefield Volleyball Tournament moved to its new venue at the South Bristol Sports Centre.

Feedback from the teams has been very positive with many commenting on the additional space available – both for playing and camping, but also in terms of the social facilities.

The new venue allowed us to slightly increase the size of the tournament to 147 teams playing on 28 courts, split into 10 divisions. On the Saturday they play for places in the top part of the division or the plate – so on Sunday everyone starts with a chance of winning a trophy.

There was, as always, strong competition across all divisions – but played in a very friendly atmosphere. A big feature of the tournament is the large gathering of family members and friends who come to visit, watch the matches and socialise.

Before the event there had been concerns from some neighbours – who had been used to being disturbed by football tournaments and “it’s a knock out” events. We had struggled to convince them that “volleyball was not like that”, but after the event had some really supportive feedback from neighbours. Typical of their comments were:

“The players themselves were excellent people, and it was good to see sportsmanship like this without all the bad language and shouting you get with other sports.  We experienced very little noise disturbance at night, and were impressed that there was absolutely no rubbish at all left around the pitch afterwards. We came down Saturday & Sunday to enjoy watching the matches and it all seemed very well organised with everyone enjoying themselves. Congratulations to everyone involved in organising the weekend event and I looking forward to seeing it return in the future. .”

So, volleyball has gained some new friends and supporters.

Congratulations to the winners of the 10 divisions – Stolen Llloveable Club, Malory, Inter Mixed, Purbrook Park, Riga, Umbongo, Can’t think right now, Smell of desire, Group Sets and St Albans Rascals. Overall 40 teams collected awards and there is a full list below. Congratulations also to Belper Volleyball Club – on their first visit – who were awarded the Bill Daniel Spirit of the Tournament Award.

We were also blessed with good weather and all in all it was a great weekend. While there were a few “teething problems” in using a new venue, we are confident that we will be able to sort out these small issues and are confident that most divisions will again be full very soon after entries open in late March 2016. The provisional date for the 2016 tournament is July 23 / 24 2016. We hope to see many old friends and some new entrants in 2016.

Tournament Director, Whitefield Volleyball Tournament.

Results

Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick put in an impressive performance to help his side win at sitting volleyball. Picture: John AllenBy HeraldSport | By Sports Journalist David Munday @DavidMunday815DSC_4053

Derek Adams’ Pilgrims may have emerged as victors of the 2015 Argyle vs Albion pre-season showdown – but Plymouth Mayflower Volleyball club were the real winners as members of the city’s football and rugby teams descended on the Life Centre to take part in the new and upcoming sport.

Sitting Volleyball – sometimes known as Paralympic Volleyball – works almost exactly as one would expect

Two teams of six sit either side of a low hanging volleyball net and must try to score points against their opponents by hitting winners against them – but every player must have at least one bum cheek on the ground at all times.

See the full item and the video at: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/VIDEO-Argyle-beat-Albion-pre-season-Plymouth/story-26864152-detail/story.html#rbHAs0ppX1Yv7eHu.01

by Carl Edwards

This LED digital net will be used at the 2015 FIVB World League Final Round in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The U.S. Men begin play on Thursday against host Brazil.

Check out the video below by USA Volleyball

We have asked an number of our SW players about their IRC experience, this week it’s Louie Samuels (No. 4, far right in the above photo):

I found going to the inter regional’s really fun and enjoyable. But as I wasn’t a starting six player I watched more than played but this was really useful as I get to see the standard required to play.

Next year I hope to make the squad again and hopefully be on the starting six.

In: Taunton, Richard Huish College
On: 1oth October 2015
Time: 8:30am – 5.00pm
Venue: Richard Huish College, Taunton
Tutor: Richard Morton (tbc)
Organiser: Volleyball Taunton, Swantja Glindemann
Course Fee: £50 / Candidates must be at least 16 years of age

Grade 4 Referee Qualification
The Grade 4 referee qualification is an introduction into the world of indoor volleyball refereeing. The benefits of taking such a course are varied as it will not only allow you to referee games as a qualified and competent referee (therefore becoming eligible for paid refereeing opportunities in your region), but also will increase your knowledge and understanding of the rules as a participant.

The 1-day course consists of pre-course tasks, half a day of on-court practice and half a day
conducted in a classroom setting, covering both theoretical and practical aspects of refereeing.

Finally, you will be required to sit an exam.
At the end of the day, you will be able to:
• Interact effectively with teams and match officials
• Handle pre- and post-match administration, guiding a successful match
• Understand the FIVB rules
• Referee a game both as a 1st referee or as a 2nd referee assisting the 1streferee, including
signalling, etc

With this qualification, you will be able to officiate games within regional and local leagues as a trainee referee and work towards attaining a Grade 3 Regional qualification. Included in the price upon passing the course is the referee registration with volleyball England for the 2015/16 season.
Course application If you would like to enrol for this course please go to Volleyball England www.volleyballengland.org/courses

If you have any questions about the venue, please do not hesitate to contact me: Swantja
Glindemann swantja@gmx.de 07784 824 578

Back in May we presented the SWVA 2014-15 Ladies League second place awards to half of the Torexe Topcats team. Last weekend, we finally court  up with the rest of the team.

Over 150 junior teams and in excess of 50 adult teams enjoyed 2 days of sunshine and sea breezes at the spectacular setting of Sandbanks beach.  The spectacle of volleyball courts, 2 – 3 deep, for over 250 metres along the shoreline with junior players ranging from ages under 10 years to their late teens enjoying the healthy sport in the fresh air for 2 days was amazing.

The standard of play was as usual very high with, in particular, the top flight Division 1 (British Open Championship) players putting on an exhibition of skillful, well trained and well practiced volleyball all well matured and in a competitive but fund atmosphere.

Competitions were run for ages U12, U14, U16, U18 and U20 with adults able to take part in men’s fours, women’s fours and mixed fours.  Winners and runners up over the weekend were as follows:

The weekend was enjoyed equally by both experienced players and those trying their hand at beach volleyball for the first time.  Players, their coaches and families commented on the good organisation, the continued friendliness of the Festival and how special it felt to play in an event with such a good legacy.

Teams took part from various parts of the country as far apart as Croyde and Wolverhampton and with large contingents from Richmond and Swindon.  As in previous years, old friendships were renewed and new ones created.

Overall the 2 days were a great success and the organising committee would like to give special thanks to all those who helped out over the weekend.  Special thanks also go to the sponsors, in particular Revo and Mojo Bros for providing the prizes, and also to those presenting the prizes.

Full Results at: sandbanks-beach-results

Club Registration Changes
Some important changes are coming to the Club Registration process! Make sure you’re kept in the loop! We are communicating some important new changes for the 2015/16 season regarding how you go about registering your clubs and members.

Why are we doing this?
The number of people playing volleyball is tracked continuously by Sport England through the Active People Survey. As a sport, we also want to have confidence and be proud when it comes to telling Sport England exactly how many people play volleyball. As such, we are asking you to help us out by listing your members.

Find out more about the registration changes

Safeguarding Changes for 2015/16 & 2017
In line with Government Guidance and the NSPCC Children Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU), at the start of the 2015/16 season every volleyball club (regardless of whether you have a junior section or not) must provide details of a nominated Safeguarding Officer. If you don’t currently have one, you can nominate a club representative for this role, however they will need to attend a Sports Coach UK Safeguarding and Protecting Children Workshop, and a Time to Listen course.

From the 2016/17 season, all volleyball clubs must have a safeguarding Officer. For more information on these requirements, please see the Safeguarding Changes document.

Read more about the Safeguarding Changes

Congratulations to all the teams that took part in the School Games Volleyball Competition. There were 5 girls teams and 8 boys teams. The teams were of varying standards, though all showed improvement by the end of the competition. It was good to see schools returning for the second / third year and to see particular improvement in those teams.

These were the pool results:

Final Positions:

Congratulations to the medal winners and to all the teams for their performances.

If you would like to be put in touch with a volleyball club, please contact me by email –rricha7122@aol.com.

Ron Richards
rricha7122@aol.com