Outdoor volleyball league a first for Guernsey

KGV is becoming a real hub for sport with outdoor volleyball being the latest activity to make the sports ground their home.

The Guernsey Volleyball Association has launched a new fun initiative to try to encourage more people to join the indoor winter leagues. They’ve secured an area of the grass outfield at KGV which is perfect to set up temporary volleyball courts and nets.

‘This has never been done in Guernsey before,’ said Dave Bartram, Treasurer of the GVA.

‘Thirty-six people turned up to our first session last Monday including eight beginners who have never played volleyball before.’

Judging by the growing numbers turning up to play in the second week, outdoor volleyball looks like becoming a popular summer activity.

‘It’s been largely word of mouth. People have said to their friends to come along or invited work colleagues to give it a go,’ said Dave.

‘This is a bit of an experiment. But the most important thing is to make it fun.’

After hosting two open sessions on the last two Mondays, the GVA is now confident they have enough interest to run a summer fun league.

‘After this open session we are asking people to sign up. The committee will put people into teams, or a group can get together to form their own team as long as they are a mix of abilities,’ said Dave.

‘We are aiming for a fun and inclusive event with everyone able to participate. We want to have teams of mixed genders, mixed-abilities and mixed ages.’

‘The Guernsey Grass Volleyball League 2020 will be run in the spirit of #GuernseyTogether and thus has been designed with fun and inclusiveness at the heart of the league.’

There will be four people in a team with a substitute, and games will be the best of three sets and take place on a Monday night from 7pm. Games will run throughout July and August with a scheduled week off in case any games need to be rearranged.

‘The indoor volleyball season is played on Mondays, so by keeping it on the same day we are hoping that players are able to attend and that it doesn’t clash with other summer sports such as softball,’ said Dave.

‘One of the main differences with the outdoor game is the requirement to change ends when the score is a multiple of seven as the wind and sun play a much bigger part in the game. We don’t have that problem indoors.’

As well as the Monday night summer league, the GVA is also hosting free turn up and play sessions at KGV on a Friday evening. They also run fun beach volleyball sessions on a Wednesday evening at Port Soif, as long as the tide isn’t too high!

‘Ultimately these are promotional activities with the aim of encouraging more people to take up the game and play indoors. We dipped to our lowest numbers around 3 years ago but have seen an influx of younger players and we are now on the up.’

The GVA is keen to develop beach volleyball further if possible. They are in discussions about the possibility of creating a permanent beach volleyball court which could also be used for foot volley; both provide great training for the full games.

‘I just want to say thanks to team at KGV for being so welcoming,’ said Dave.

‘It really is a real hub of Guernsey sport.’

Anyone interested in finding out more should contact the GVA via their website or Facebook page