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Make it Meath for International Beach Volleyball
Volleyball Ireland are delighted to announce that the Economic Development wing of Meath County Council are supporting the upcoming #RoadtoTokyo International Beach Volleyball Tournament which will be held at Bettystown Beach over the June Bank Holiday. The partnership will see the Flavours of Boyne Valley and #MakeItMeath branding at the Continental Cup event which will be communicated to over 250,000 people across Europe and beyond. With teams coming from Slovakia, Lithuania, Denmark, Estonia, Scotland, Ukraine and the hosts Ireland, the tourism industry on the North East coast will gain International exposure. Grainne Culliton, President of Volleyball Ireland said, “The Council have been incredibly supportive of this huge Volleyball event and we are delighted to be able to showcase Meath and the Boyne Valley to our guests and viewers. It is a spectacular region and the perfect location for Beach Volleyball. We are delighted local shops, restaurants and hotels are getting involved in the event, it’s been really positive working with the community of Laytown and Bettystown.” Kevin Stewart, the Director of Services Planning, Enterprise & Environment commented, “Meath County Council is delighted to be associated with this prestigious international event. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Meath and the Boyne Valley for what is sure to be a great weekend of sport and enjoyment.” The event will also see school blitzes, teacher training and beginner classes for adults from Thursday onwards. The matches feature both Men’s and Women’s pools with the winners in each progressing to the next stage of Olympic qualifying ahead of the Tokyo Games next Summer. It is one of the first team based Olympic qualifiers to be held in the country and the players can’t wait to get going. Marie-Claire Sobogal of the Women’s team added. “We’ve taken our National Tour event to Bettystown Beach for a few years now and it’s been a great place to play with quality sand and relatively sheltered by the spectacular sand dunes. There aren’t many better places to play Volleyball.” The games will be on from 11am to 7pm on both Saturday and Sunday with come try it courts available and skills sessions for kids on across the weekend. Volleyball Ireland will be announcing further event sponsors and a digital broadcast partner shortly. Newbridge VC will host a Grade 3 Referee Course on Saturday 22nd of June at Holy Family Secondary School, Newbridge. The course will run from 9.30am to 5pm and will cost €50 for waged and €45 for unwaged/students.
The fee includes a Volleyball Ireland Referees Jumper and whistle subject to the below.
Volleyball Ireland are delighted to announce over €37,000 of funding has been acquired for clubs, through the Sports Capital Programme. The Equipment Only round of funding was announced today.
€20,500 has been acquired for a net & post replacement scheme which will upgrade club facilities around the country. General Manager for Volleyball Ireland Gary Stewart said, "The Net and Post replacement scheme will allow Volleyball Ireland to support proactive clubs that are in need or new equipment. Posts in particular are expensive and when in poor condition can be a real barrier to participation. I am delighted and grateful to the Dept of Transport, Tourism & Sport for their support." Details on the application process for clubs to avail of this service will be announced in due course. €3,500 has been acquired to fund the purchase of new portable Beach Volleyball nets that will help introduce a National Youth Tour later this year. €3,150 will go towards providing training equipment for new clubs. Stewart added, "One of the main barriers to new clubs setting up is the cost of balls, and other training equipment. This element of the award with focus purely on helping new clubs establish themselves." Volleyball Ireland submitted applications in partnership with a number of clubs. The following have been successful: Newbridge Volleyball Club are also celebrating as they bring in €5,350 for a wall mounted post system which will cater for the expansion of their successful youth section. Tallaght Rockets will receive €3,150 for new posts and Santry will bring in €1,500 for equipment to aid their youth section. Dalkey Devils have attained €400 to help fund a Sitting Volleyball net as they develop an Inclusive section at the club. Volleyball Ireland Board Member Aidan Curran said, "When we announced our Strategic Plan we said the focus would be on helping and supporting clubs and I hope this shows we mean business. The Post Replacement Scheme is really good idea and I hope it helps clubs grow their participation base. On behalf of the board I'd like to thank Minister Ross, Minister Griffin and the team at the DTTS." Facility specific announcements are due later this year as Volleyball Ireland works with Dublin City Council to develop a permanent inland Beach Volleyball specific in Clontarf. This new funding is another boost to Volleyball funding. In December it was announced that VI had acquired Dormant Accounts funding to support the development of Inclusion programmes (€30,000) and full funding for a graduate position (€23,000). VI also received a €15,000 increase to their Sport Ireland Core Grant in January and on Saturday evening it was announced that €13,000 had been received to develop an u16s Club Youth League. The organisation will shortly be announcing over €30,000 in support of the Beach Volleyball Continental Cup which will be held in Bettystown over the June Bank Holiday.  The final preparations for the Continental Cup are taking shape and Volleyball Ireland are delighted to announce our Celebrity hosts for the event.
James Tzanoudakis is a professional presenter, commentator and reporter at the BBC for 5 years before reporting at the Premier League for two years - covering Leicester City's title winning season. James has covered a range of sports and interviewed high profile athletes and football managers including Lewis Hamilton, Wayne Rooney and Gareth Southgate. James commentated at the Rio 2016 Olympics, and presented volleyball at IBB Polonia London for the past two years, as well as various beach volleyball events across London. Sabrina Stocker beat thousands of candidates to make it to the final 5 of last year's BBC1 Apprentice. She owns the UK's biggest tennis events company, and has worked as a presenter covering a range of sports including tennis where she has made some really exciting films, volleyball at IBB Polonia London, rugby and much more. She has a huge social media following, with high levels of engagement, and is very influential in the business world. Together they present their fortnightly Youtube channel called 15 Love. Ireland finished 5th in the Confederation de Europeene Volleyball (CEV) Small Countries Association Championships this weekend, their highest finish in 15 years.
The Girls in Green were handed a tough draw which seen competitive defeats v the heavily fancied Faroe Islands (25-17, 25-16, 25-22) and eventual runners up Scotland (25-16, 25-18, 25-23). Ireland finished with a strong 3nil victory against Greenland to take 5th place (25-15, 25-23, 25-19), in Luxembourg. A nervy start, gave the Faroes a quick lead as Ireland handed to debuts to Fiona Lamont, Emily Frazell & Alex Graves (all UCD). Ireland fought back but the strong Faroese kept Galway VC’s Olivia Molloy at bay, despite some hard hitting. The second set went much the same as the first before Ireland built a 4-1 lead in the third and ultimately final set. Newly qualified Irish resident Graves attacking from the Wing with some fierce spikes. It looked at one stage like Ireland would take the game to a fourth but the technical skills of semi professional Islanders proved decisive. The main difference between the two teams being the Faroe Islands Number 12 Sofia Purkhus – who was playing her first tournament since giving birth only 6 months ago. After a midnight arrival and early morning start Ireland took to the court against a well drilled and experienced Scotland. Carly Donaghy of Santry VC was given her first cap in the middle. The 2nd set also saw the introduction of 16 year old Siofra Lawlor who plays her club Volleyball in Luxembourg. Lawlor, who is also a talented Cricketer wasn’t overawed by the occasion and set her first point with confidence as wing Eimear O’Neill (Uni. Cork & Naas VC) impressed. It was game on the in third with Aoibheann Cassidy (Naas, Pictured) controlling the middle. Ireland took a 19-16 lead in the third as hopes were raised – however Scotland’s experience showed as the clawed back to win by 2. That result meant a 5/6th placed playoff V Greenland, whilst the Faroes lost out to Luxembourg in 5 sets. Scotland beat Northern Ireland, (25-11, 25-17, 25-13) to set up a thrilling final against the hosts, with the Red Lionesses eventually winning 3-1. The final match saw Regina Halpin take the bulk of the setting duties as Marie-Claire Sobogal raced to Cologne to catch a flight to a Beach Camp ahead of the Continental Cup in Bettystown next month (June 1 and 2). The Galway native setting up some lovely scores for Molloy and Frazell. In the end the Irish were too strong for Greenland and claimed victory when Lawlor nailed an ace with her first serve of the match (25-15, 25-23, 25-18). Head Coach Fabio Tamborrini said, “I am really proud of the way the girls committed to this competition. We are in the process of putting in place strong structures to develop our programme. We have improved greatly since the last competition and have earnt more points in this competition in about 15 years. This experience for our young team will make us stronger for the next event in two years time.” All attention is now focused on Beach Volleyball as the Continental Cup Squads will be announced next week. Volleyball Ireland would like to thank the Small Countries Association, CEV and the Federation of Luxembourg for putting on a great event, as well as Main team sponsor - WED Consulting. You can still support the team via the crowdfunding page; https://www.pledgesports.org/projects/volleyball-european-challenge/ Link to Gallery > will follow.  With less than one month to go until our CEV Continental Cup we have put together some brief guidelines on how to arrive at Bettystown Beach to see our #RoadToTokyo Event By Car
From Airport (32min) Dublin Airport -> M1 (Gormanstown Road) -> Exit 7 -> R132 -> R150 -> Bettystown From M4 (Kinnegad 1h 9min) M4 to Dublin -> M50 (Northbound) -> M1 (Gormanstown Road) -> Exit 7 -> R132 -> R150 -> Bettystown From M7 (Newbridge 1h 12min) M7 to Dublin -> M50 (Northbound) -> M1 (Gormanstown Road) -> Exit 7 -> R132 -> R150 -> Bettystown From M50 (Bray 59min) M50 (Northbound) -> M1 (Gormanstown Road) -> Exit 7 -> R132 à R150 -> Bettystown By Bus Matthews Bus Times for Dublin - Bettystown direct found here. By Rail Irish Rail services from City Centre to Laytown can be found here. Depart at Laytown for 2.6km walk to Bettystown Beach.  Volleyball Ireland are delighted to announce W.E.D Consulting Ltd as their main Women’s Team Sponsor for 2019. The Dublin based consultancy firm specialises in cost management, quantity surveying, project management and specialist project control services on development and construction projects in Ireland and abroad. The partnership will see W.E.D Consulting become Team Ireland’s main sponsor for the Small Countries Association Championships which begin in Luxembourg today (FRIDAY MAY 10). Kevin Murphy, Managing Director of W.E.D Consulting said, “We are thrilled to be involved with Volleyball Ireland in one of the most exciting team sports there is. We see great potential for the sport in Ireland and we look forward to supporting the development of Irish Volleyball at an International level in the years ahead. As a company involved in construction projects across the world we see where a team’s enthusiasm and energy are key to a projects success. We witnessed this enthusiasm and energy in the Women’s team during their preparation for this competition. We wish the team, and the wider Volleyball Ireland team, every success in exceeding their goals in the days and years ahead.” Ireland kick off their campaign against the Faroe Islands 12 Midday Irish Time before taking on auld rivals Scotland at 5pm. The competition also sees Greenland, Northern Ireland and hot favourites Luxembourg competing. The games are streamed through the FLVB (Federation Luxembourg Volleyball) facebook page. General Manager of Volleyball Ireland Gary Stewart, added “I’m delighted to have a WED in place as our Senior Team sponsor. We are putting in place development structures that will create a pathway from participation to performance but to do that needs support and having an Irish company providing that help is a key part of the jigsaw.” Galway Volleyball Club’s Olivia Molloy is captaining the team and commented, “I’d like to personally thank Kevin and WED for their support. The girls will represent Ireland and WED with great pride over the coming days. We’ve prepared well all year and can’t wait to get going.” It’s a big few weeks for Volleyball Ireland with the Beach Volleyball Continental Cup coming to Bettystown over the June Bank Holiday. Eight Teams from across Europe and competing with a main headline sponsor to be announced next week. Individuals can still support the team through the Pledgesports crowdfunding page > https://www.pledgesports.org/projects/volleyball-european-challenge/ This weekend will see all eyes turn to The Watershed, Kilkenny for our annual Finals Weekend. Due to our Womens National team participating in Luxembourg some games will be played in ALSAA on Saturday 18th of May.  The 2018/19 All-Star Nominees have been announced. Winners will be announced at The Annual Awards Dinner, Crowne Plaza, Blanchardstown on Saturday May 18th 2019.
Tickets are still available through our online shop. Women Middle Eliska Cechova - Garda Indre Simkute - Garda Lauren Clark - UCD Renata Paliokiene - DVC Outside Alex Graves - UCD Fabi Souza - Naas Ilaria Piacenza - Santry Lina Dzurnak - DVC Opposite Claudia Honorio - Santry Jana Langford - DVC Setter Giedre Guobyte - Garda Leanne Ricciardelli - DVC Defense Specialist Adriana Sacchetto - TCD Zydre Guobyte - Garda Men Middle Adrian Pinczura - IT Carlow Daniel Duchnowski - Santry Edoardo Vero - UCD Jonathan Whitty - DVC Lucasz Kaluga - TRVC Outside Christian Kolb - UCD Evgenii Menshchikov - TRVC Jake Dysselhof - UCD Seweryn Furmanski - Aer Lingus Opposite Robert Maj - IT Carlow Tomasz Kondys - IT Carlow Setter Israel Xavier - TRVC Marco Zayas Arenales - Aer Lingus Defense Specialist Francesco Ricciardelli - DVC Gianmaria Marcatelli - UCD Pawel Kalaga - Santry Rafal Kesik - TRVC Winners are announce subject to fulfilling the criteria needed i.e., having played the required number of league matches.  Last week The Federation of Irish Sport announced the shortlist of finalists for the 2019 Sport Industry Awards. The awards were set up in 2015 to highlight the contribution that sport makes to Ireland’s economy both directly and indirectly. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Monday 15th of April in the Crown Plaza Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. The Awards recognise and reward excellence in the business of sport, whilst simultaneously highlighting the contribution of sport to Ireland.
A women in sport award, under the banner of 20x20, will be a new addition to the award ceremony this year in a move towards showcasing the increasing contribution and value of women in sport in Ireland. In all a total of 14 awards will be distributed on the night, reflecting the diverse nature of Irish sport. Speaking at the announcement of the short-list, Mary O’Connor, CEO, Federation of Irish Sport, said “The awards were set up to highlight the importance of the business of sport in Ireland and the value of sport to the Irish economy. Today sport supports almost 40,000 jobs, represents almost €2.4 billion in household expenditure and has been estimated to contribute almost €1.9 billion in tourism revenue. And that is beyond all of the other contributions sport makes in areas such as health, inclusivity, diversity and reputation both at home and abroad.” Nominated for the 20x20 Award are;
Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualifiers (Referees/Score Keepers & Lines People - Volunteers Require)5/4/2019
Volleyball Ireland will be hosting Round 1 of the CEV Continental Cup a Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualifier tournament over the June (1-2nd) bank holiday weekend in Bettystown.
Teresa Court has volunteered as Referee Manager, to be a part of this amazing opportunity and to help Volleyball Ireland make this an event that Ireland can be proud of. She will be working with the CEV Referee Delegate in gathering together an amazing team of volunteers who can assist in the following roles: Referees; Score keepers and Lines people, preferably who have a knowledge of beach volleyball through refereeing or as an experienced beach player or current volunteer. We are hosting a Training Programme over the weekend of 26/28 April, starting with a presentation, webinar and theory training which will be delivered by the CEV's Referee delegate, followed by practical beach referee training sessions on beach courts on the Saturday and Sunday (27-28 April). Friday, 26th April: National Sports Campus 18:00 - 21:00 Saturday, 27th April: Sandymount Beach 10:00 - 16:00 Sunday, 28th April: Sandymount Beach 11:00 - 14:00 Could you please reply directly to volunteer@volleyballireland.com if you are willing to volunteer and help Ireland host these beach qualifier matches and help make a name for the Emerald Isle in the international volleyball community? Please respond at your earliest convenience so we can confirm numbers for the upcoming training programme to the CEV. PS: A few points to note: - As a volunteer there will be no compensation forthcoming should you offer up your time over the course of the event. Food and refreshments will be provided to all volunteers over the course of the event. - If you have any questions, concerns, comments or opinions (positive or negative) please direct them to VI or myself and it would be greatly appreciated if all volunteers would refrain from using social media in any negative manner. You're representing Ireland and that's what your posts will be viewed as from the wider international volleyball communities. Let's grow the sport and encourage further support and investment from CEV and FIVB into Irish volleyball. Annual Awards
The 2018/19 Season Volleyball Ireland Annual Awards has 5 new categories. We are rewarding, celebrating and promoting the great work our clubs provide. All Fully affiliated clubs, associate clubs or schools can enter. The closing date for applications is 12 Midday on Monday April 22nd. Shortlisted clubs will be notified on Thursday April 25th. The categories specifically relate to the Strategic Objectives set out in the Volleyball Ireland Strategy – Raising the Game. The judging panel will look favourably on applications that tell a positive story. Pictures and videos that support applications will be welcomed. Send your entries via email to info@volleyballireland.com with the subject: Awards Entry. Word count: MAX 500. The categories Raising Participation – best programmes or projects to get more people playing more often. This award shall reward a group that has raised participation in any form of Volleyball. We are particularly looking for clubs, schools, colleges or community groups that have established effective partnerships to increase their numbers and/or provide activity for people from disadvantaged groups. Judging Criteria;
Raising Operational Standards – best effective governance of a club. This award shall reward a club that has shown commitment to good governance. This could include how a club has adopted GDPR related policies or put together a fit-for-purpose constitution. It may be a project, process or programme that ensures transparency with members. Judging Criteria;
Raising Performance – best initiatives to support player, coach or referee development. This award shall reward a club or school that has shown clear commitment to supporting player, coach or referee development. This could be how they are up-skilling coaches or mentoring young referees. This could be a school that is going above and beyond to support the pathway and help players reach their potential. Judging Criteria;
Raising the Profile – Best use of social media to promote your club or volleyball in general. The award shall reward a club or community group that is publishing creative content that positively promotes Volleyball. This could be how they are implementing a digital strategy to increase their followers and ultimately raise participation in the sport. Judging Criteria;
Fundraising and Finance – Best initiative to generate sustainable income for your club. This award shall reward groups that have increased club revenues. Did you setup a fundraising committee or run a creative sponsorship campaign? Did you develop an exciting programme that gained financial support from a Local Sports Partnership or other grant? Did you develop a benefit-in-kind agreement with a supplier? Did you come up with a creative way to save money? Judging Criteria;
The Volleyball Ireland Volunteer of the Year Award recognises the outstanding achievements of a volunteer who has substantially contributed to developing, enhancing and sustaining volleyball in Ireland during the year. Nominations are open to: All Volunteers within schools, clubs or the general volleyball community. Judging criteria: Nominees must have demonstrated measurable evidence of developing, enhancing and sustaining volleyball in Ireland.
Provide up to 500 words outlining the suitability of the nominee covering the following headings:
 Would you like to be involved in this "first ever of its kind" event for Ireland,with teams from 6 countries around Europe as well as Ireland?
We are looking for enthusiastic energetic volunteers to help with court set-up, transport, volunteers and team services, beach management services and spectator services. If interested, please email volunteer@volleyballireland.com by the 5th April, confirming where you live and if you have any restrictions on what you would be able to do, so that we can allocate you to the perfect role. Referee Pamela O’Donnell is currently one of a select number of referees officiating in the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi. Pam is kindly providing regular updates on her experiences throughout the event.
Days 7-8 Day 7 was Bronze Medal day with some fantastic Volleyball on show - many of the matches went the full three sets which meant referee concentration had to high throughout. After the bronze medal matches it was on to the 'Unified Games' - this is where all players, coaches and celebs mixed in and represent various teams. Vladimir Grbic - a friend of Volleyball Ireland - participated in his role as a Special Olympics Ambassador. The Unified part of the Special Olympics was great fun. The final day of competition was of course the Gold Medal matches. Again as throughout the week the standard was very high. There were 9 Gold Medal matches in total with 4 in Unified, 3 Traditional Men and 2 Unified Women. Taking home the gold were USA, South Korea, Jamaica, Tanzania, Russia, UAE, Nigeria, Botswana and Peru - so as you can see champions from around the World. Abu Dhabi put on a magical show - it was really a brilliantly ran event that will leave a positive legacy here in the Middle East. The Irish team have performed well across all sports ending up with 86 medals of which 30 were Gold. I'll get one day of rest before heading back to Dublin with Team Ireland on Friday morning. Days 3-6 The last few days have seen the seeding rounds completed for all 32 teams. There has been some excellent Volleyball on display which is testament to the tireless work of volunteers and coaches across each Special Olympics Federation. The competition has been very strong. There has been some very close contested matches as we head into the Bronze Medal Matches today (March 19th) and Gold Medal Games tomorrow. I've had the pleasure of working with some old friends from the 2003 World Games in Ireland, as well as some new acquaintances. My referee crew for one of the games featured Daniel Leake (USA), Jordan Leake (USA), Charles Wambua (Kenya), Kristine Hughes (Special Olympics Athlete Official and Rick Laskey (USA). Those who remember the event in 2003 will recognise Daniel and Rick. Daniel is the technical delegate for the Volleyball Games and Rick is Head of the Divisioning Games. I had the pleasure of refereeing Jamaica v Japan with Rick over the weekend. Sunday was extra special as I got to wear my Green Irish Jersey on Paddy's Day! Team Ireland are performing really well in range of sports which has seen 20 Gold medals so far and 56 in total coming back home. There's still more to come!! Day 1 & 2 The Special Olympics World Games welcomes 7,500 athletes from 200 countries making it the biggest humanitarian sporting event in the world ever! Over 20,000 volunteers are making the Games a reality. There are 24 sports and 8 days of competition held in the middle East. The Volleyball element features 32 teams of which 17 are unified Men, 6 unified Women and 9 traditional male teams. The Venue for the Volleyball event is the stunning Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC). It is the main hub of sports activities during the games and will host 10 sporting events. It’s the largest exhibition centre in the Middle East – and these guys don’t do small! My role for the first two days is part of the ‘Divisioning Team’ which is done by all experiences of Special Olympics Referees. The job is to watch every match for all teams to assess ball handling, serving, court awareness and net play. The aim here is to assess each team and place them into pools of evenly aligned teams ahead of the ‘completion rounds’. It’s been great to catch up with some faces from the 2003 World Games in Ireland, such as the Technical Delegate Daniel Leake who was Assistant TD 16 years ago in Dublin. I also met Head of Divisioning Rick Laskey (pictured) who has fond memories of Ireland 2003. Team Ireland features the biggest ever delegation of our Athletes with 91 competitors, 49 coaches/staff and 400 supporters making the journey. More info on the World Games can be found at https://www.abudhabi2019.org/ and keep an eye on Special Olympics Ireland’s social media and website for updates http://specialolympics.ie/ --- Pam will be providing more updates over the coming days.  EARLY BIRD SALE ends Monday 1st April.
This years awards will be held in Crowne Plaza, Blanchardstown and are priced at Early Bird €35 (Available until 1st April 2019) and €45 after. We have reserved a number of rooms at a discounted rate and are available until 12 noon on the 24th April 2019. To book contact Crowne Plaza, Blanchardstown Reservations team directly on 01 897 7721 or reservations@cpblanchardstown.ie. (Quote Volleyball Awards when booking). Room Packages are;
Over 70 brand new players from across Ireland are set to play in the Volleyball Ireland Championships this weekend. The competition is open to all Recreational teams and is a key part of the participation pathway. The event sees the Recreational league teams go up against National League teams in the 44 team Men's, Women's and Mixed competitions. Operations Officer Mark Leonard-Doyle commented, "The Championships is a great way for Rec teams to measure themselves against National League teams. It's a stepping stone into more regular competition. To have 70 completely new players register is fantastic and really shows the demand for Volleyball. It's always great fun as well, especially the mixed event." The Women's section will see the Ireland u16s girls team compete in their first event since beating Iceland in the Faroe Islands last month. The games are held over two days at Gormanston Park on Saturday and ALSAA on Sunday. Volleyball Ireland would like to thank all volunteers, referees and commissions for their contribution in organising the bumper weekend of Volleyball action!  Volleyball Ireland are seeking expressions of interest from high standard players who might be interested in representing their nation in Snow Volleyball. Snow Volleyball is very similar to Beach, except players typically wear more clothes...a lot more!! Oh and there's 3 players per team...with the option of one sub as well.
It's a developing discipline of the game which is getting great support from the CEV and FIVB. They have a couple of events coming up in Austria 28-31 March and Italy 4-7th April. Participation in these events would be funded by the player. More info on the events visit > https://www.cev.eu/SnowVolley-Area/CompetitionNews.aspx?NewsID=28492&ID=1136 It could be a perfect opportunity for the Summer Volleyballer and Winter Snowboarder to combine their skills. For more info on snow volleyball rules visit > https://ebook.cev.eu/documents/snow_volleyball/rules_regulations_guidelines/cev_snowvolleyball_rules.pdf If you would like to hear more drop Gary Stewart an email at gm@volleyballireland.com  The 2019 National Beach Volleyball Trials are happening on March 17th at Greystones Beach. All interested players must hold a valid Irish Passport. We are entering a range of International Competitions this year including the CEV Continental Cup - the first stepping stone on the road to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Sunday March 17, 2019: Men: 1000-1430 Women: 1330-1800 Greystones Beach If you fancy giving it a go please email our Beach Commission direct beachvolleyballireland@gmail.com Some changes have been made to the coaching application in terms of Garda vetting. Please pass the relevant information onto relevant members of your club/commission.
Going forward, when filling in the online coaching registration form, coaches will be asked to declare if they are/not coaching juniors. If the coach only coaches adults then they do not require to be Garda Vetted. However, If this is to change and the coach begins coaching juniors they must contact Volleyball Ireland and go through the Garda Vetting process. Validation Officers Going forward when validating club member’s/ Squads Supervisors Garda Vetting application please ensure further details are provided in the ‘Role’ section. Also, if someone has a couple of roles ask them to fill them all in. see examples below, Further details for ‘Role’ Section Coach - Instead Use - Junior Coach Referee - Instead Use - Referee of junior matches Volunteer/ Squad Supervisor - Instead Use - Additional supervision for junior club Volunteer/ Squad Supervisor - Instead Use - Volunteer assisting at overnight training camp Volunteer/ Squad Supervisor - Instead Use - Assisting at underage squads If someone has more than 1 role fill in the ‘Role’ section like below, Multi-role, Junior Coach, Referee of junior matches, Club Children’s Officer Any Garda Vetting Applications that does not provide the above detail will be sent back to the applicant which will result in a delay in the process. Ensure all of your club coaches, volunteers, referees etc.. are informed of the level of detail required. Children’s Officers In the next round of Quarterly Reports there will be an additional section whereby the club will fill in individuals who are actively coaching in your adult and junior section. I will review and advise if the named are indeed Garda Vetted and provided Safeguarding information. I will also advise who isn’t which will determine who can and cannot coach in your club’s junior section. If a non-vetted coach wishes to coach in your clubs junior section they must be Garda vetted first. It is the coaches responsibility to notify VI when their coaching situation changes and it is the Club Children’s Officer’s responsibility to ensure all coaches are vetted and receive a letter from VI before they commence coaching duties in your club. See sample below. In Summary,
If you have any questions on the above, don’t hesitate to contact Norma, vetting@volleyballireland.com The youthful Senior Men's team continues to make great progress under the tutelage of Head Coach Andrei Molnar.
The programme has invested in youth ahead of the St Patrick's Day Challenge v Northern Ireland, with all but four of the current squad aged u19. The squad have been taking part in regular training camp weekends and matches against top club teams. This Saturday saw a competitive and narrow defeat to IT Carlow. Molnar said, "The lads are working hard on their all round game and the improvements are clear. It is an exciting group of players." The management team would like to thank IT Carlow for hosting the match and they look forward to playing other club teams over the coming months as preparations for the CEV Small Countries Association Competition steps up.  The Ireland U16 Womens Team are holding trials shortly. The Elite Squad is being expanded in preparation for a Tournament in Italy at the end of June 2019.
Trials are open to players born after 1st of January 2004. An Elite Squad of approximately 20 players will be picked and from this 12-14 players will be chosen for the tournament which will me held in Sardinia from June 27th to June 30th. The trials are open to players that comply with the below criteria:
Players will be assessed by the International Team coaching staff and must be able to commit to the training schedule below to prepare for the Tournament.
These Training sessions will be help at a number of venues across the country. In order to attend the trials every player has to be registered. Please provide us via email her Name and Surname and a bit of her volleyball background. Trials are open exclusively to players with an Irish passport. Please Reply to juniorladies@volleyballireland.com for further information and to register your interest as we will need to have an idea of numbers attending. Volleyball Ireland welcomes the announcement from Sport Ireland of additional investment in National Governing Bodies of Sport.
The significant funding increase includes an additional €15,000 in core grant for the association. The 2019 programme brings the total core grant for Volleyball Ireland to €200,000. The additional monies will be used to achieve key objectives set out in our operational plans and the new strategy Raising the Game. Chairman of Sport Ireland Kieran Mulvey, commented: “It is vital that our NGBs and LSPs are well supported and the increase in funding this year means our funded bodies are well equipped to meet their objectives.” As well as the Core Grant Volleyball Ireland will receive over €53,000 from the Dormant Accounts fund to employ an Aspire Graduate and develop a range of inclusion programmes. General Manager of Volleyball Ireland, Gary Stewart said, “Our 15k increase will make a significant impact to our programmes and it shows the trust Sport Ireland have in Volleyball and the potential they see for sport. This and the Dormant Accounts funding will help us drive forward the strategic plan and deliver our vision for members.” The Sports investment package will see a 8.46million go to High Performance Programmes with over 1.9million direct to Ireland’s top athletes, with the likes of Thomas Barr (Athletics) and Kellie Harrington (Boxing) receiving the maximum carded funding of €40,000. Speaking at the launch, Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Brendan Griffin TD, added: “The funding announced today will assist in furthering Ireland’s ambitions at the highest level on the International Stage.” As well as the Core Grant Volleyball Ireland will receive over €53,000 from the Dormant Accounts fund to employ an Aspire Graduate and develop a range of inclusion programmes. Volleyball Ireland would like to thank Minister Griffin, Minister Ross, the Department and Sport Ireland for their continued support of Volleyball in this country. A full breakdown of funding can be found at https://www.sportireland.ie/Media/ Breaking News: The Confederation of European Volleyball (CEV) have announced the draw for stage 1 of the Beach Volleyball Continental Cup. Visiting Ireland in June will be Estonia, Denmark and Slovakia in the Women's section. Whilst in the Men's draw Bettystown Beach will be hosting Lithuania, Scotland and Ukraine. Commenting on the draw, President of Volleyball Ireland Beach Commission Miriam Gormally said, "It's a great draw with some really exciting teams visiting Ireland. We look forward to welcoming the players and their supporters in June." The competition format remains the same as in the previous editions as each country will be represented by two teams per gender and the match results will be counted ‘country vs. country’ instead of ‘team vs. team’. All pools of four will follow the double-elimination competition formula, while the pools consisting of three teams will play each other. After this first stage of the competition, the second round will follow in May 2020 with the Finals scheduled for 22-28 June, 2020 in the Netherlands. Ballymun Patriots Volleyball Club are taking part in the Volleyball Ireland & CEV Schools Project.
The club have been working with Trinity Comprehensive School and St Mary’s of Glasnevin to establish a school – club link. Patriots Secretary and qualified coach Grainne Culliton joined Volleyball Ireland development officer Norma McIntyre to kick start the programme. The project will see teachers and coaches complete an education programme before delivering sessions to pupils in both the school and club setting. The aim is to transfer participants into regular club training. Grainne added, “It was great to get out into the schools and promote the club. There is plenty of natural skills and hopefully by having a formal link we can filter some new players into the club as we look to establish our youth section.” If any other clubs or schools are interested in taking part please get in touch with info@volleyballireland.com Volleyball Ireland welcomes the announcement that Dublin City Council have been successful in attaining a grant of €64,900 from the DTTS Sports Capital Grant Programme.
The windfall will kick start the development of an Inland Beach Volleyball Court facility in Clontarf which will see a range of programmes, competitions and events to grow participation and provide an excellent training facility for our athletes. |
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May 2019
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