May 9 2024 Newsletter

May 9, 2024

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CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS

2024 VA Premiers & Provincials, that's a wrap! Keep an eye out for the Club 2024 Season Surveys, thanks in advance for your time and feedback.

You have put in the hours and effort all season long! We have seen your hard work and passion for volleyball in #vapremiers and #vaprovincials, so now it's your time to shine at #vcnationals!! Have fun and play your best. We will be cheering you on! Good luck at Nationals!

Follow Nationals on:

Twitter: @VCNationals

Instagram: @VolleyballCanada

Facebook: Volleyball Canada

Website:https://volleyball.ca/en/competitions/national-women

Awards & Fundraisers

Mikasa Achievement Awards

The Mikasa Achievement Awards are presented to athletes, coaches, referees, and volunteers who have made an outstanding contribution to volleyball in Alberta for the indoor club season and beach season. * Please submit all nomination(s) by May 12, 2024, 11:59 p.m. For more information and to submit a nomination, please visit the Mikasa Achievement Awards page on our website.

All-Star Awards

During Provincials, the 1^st,2^nd, 3^rd and 4th place teams in each division for 15U – 18U age classes awarded their outstanding athletes with an All-Star Award. Congratulations to the All-Star Award recipients.

Sportsmanship Award

Congratulations to the Sportsmanship Award recipients.

50/50: Congratulations to our 3 raffle winners!

50% of the funds raised from these raffles will go towards supporting our Team Alberta programs.

Photo Gallery

Check out our Facebook photo albums.

HALL OF FAME

Incoming Inductees - Class of 2024

Three outstanding leaders in our volleyball community are being called to the Volleyball Alberta Hall of Fame as the Class of 2024.

We are honoured to welcome:

Blair Bann, Athlete.
Laurie Eisler, Coach.
Leigh Goldie, Builder.

To view a list of Volleyball Alberta’s Hall of Fame Inductees and their bios, please visit the Hall of Fame page on our website.

This year's Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 22 in Red Deer. 2024 is a special milestone year for Volleyball Alberta as we are celebrating our 50th Anniversary as the official governing body for volleyball in Alberta (established in June 1974). We are also commemorating 20 years since the inaugural Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2004. So much to celebrate and acknowledge, so let’s make this a grand reunion and a time to reconnect with friends old and new! Tickets can be reserved by emailing info@volleyballalberta.ca. We look forward to seeing you!

Latest News Story

STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS

We are excited to welcome this summer's students to Volleyball Alberta!

Coordinator, Beach Tournaments

Jaxson Thys will oversee this summer's VA Beach Tournaments under Ray Sewell's mentorship. Jaxson is a former player with the SAIT Trojan's and 4 year alumus with Team AB. This will be Jaxson's second summer in this position, and many will also have seen him throughout the indoor season as one of Calgary's venue coordinators. Welcome back, Jaxson!

Coordinator, Beach Programs Edmonton

Ross Bishop is overseeing the beach programs at John Fry Park in Edmonton. Ross is a former player with the St. Albert Sturgeon (SAS) and Nooks volleyball clubs. He recently helped the NAIT Ooks to a 2024 CCAA National Championship and will be graduating soon with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Join us in welcoming Ross; we look forward to a great summer of youth and adult beach leagues!

Coordinator, High Performance

Katie Murray will coordinate this summer's Team Alberta Indoor program under Ben Saxton's mentorship. A Team Alberta alumnus from Team AB 2021, she is currently majoring in International Relations at the University of Windsor, and in her sophomore year on the women's volleyball team. We are thrilled to have Katie contribute to VA's High-Performance Program!

Coordinators, Summer Camps

Annalise Hansen

Lana Matthews

Annalise is a former student athlete from NAIT who completed the Certified Personal Trainer program and has been a 14U Coach in Sherwood Park this past season.

Lana just completed her 5^th year of eligibility at Lakeland College where she has been a two-time National Champion with the Women’s Volleyball program.

Annalise and Lana are former Summer Camp Coaches for Volleyball Alberta that will be working together to plan a fun and exciting summer camp experiences in Sylvan Lake and Edmonton!

Coordinator, Early Stages & Development

Dia Syed is joining the Edmonton Office to assist with the GO Sports programming, Smashball Summer Camps and support Early Stages and development programs across Alberta. Dia is a club volleyball coach with a background in youth sport development from her time with the Edmonton Ultimate Players Association. She is also the founder of Girls in Sport Canada. Welcome to the team Dia!

Please join us in welcoming Jaxson, Ross, Katie, Annalise, Lana and Dia to Volleyball Alberta. Their emails can be found on our website's Contact Us page.

COMMUNITY

SUMMER CAMPS

Registration Note: SMASHBALL FUNdamentals (6-8yrs) and SMASHBALL Learn To Train (9-11yrs) are age-specific and have AM or PM sessions. Please ensure registration is in the correct week and session.

The Edmonton Day Camps are for all skill levels! These four-day camps are jam-packed with detailed sessions to improve all skills and transfer those skills into gameplay, as well as amazing Camp Activities to get to know your peers on another level!

Registration for all sessions will close two weeks before the start date. If the maximum capacity is reached, waitlist options will open.

Registration for the Sylvan Lake Camps Overnight & Day Camper weeks 1 & 2 are full; waitlists have been enabled.

Reminder to interested summer camp coaches, the application deadline is May 13. Apply today by emailing your resume to camps@volleyballalberta.ca

For more information, please visit our Summer Camps webpage

BEACH TOURNAMENTS

Volleyball Alberta is happy to announce that 2024 will once again have adult beach tournaments as well as adding a 12U age class!

Beach Tournament Registration opened on April 18, and we already see some divisions full. We are working hard to add as many teams as possible and waitlist invites will be emailed as spots become available (up to a week before). After the registration deadline (10 days before each event), numbers will be assessed and Jaxson will have all possible waitlisted spots opened and invites sent on that Friday -- if you are on the waitlist, please check your inbox on the Friday (8 days before the event).

The beach tournament schedule and registration information are available on our website.

Youth Beach Tournaments page: click here

Adult Beach Tournaments page: click here

BEACH PROGRAMS EDMONTON

Youth Beach Programs at John Fry Park in Edmonton.

Volleyball Alberta is offering the following Youth Beach Programs for the 2024 Edmonton Beach Season:

Beginner Level Beach Skill Development (12U-14U)

- starting Wednesday, June 5 (open)

- starting Wednesday, July 3 (open)

Youth Beach Skill Development (14U-17U)

- starting Tuesday, June 4 (waitlist)

- starting Tuesday, July 9 (open)

Youth Coed 2’s League (14U-17U)

- starts Thursday, June 6, 2024 (waitlist)

- starting Thursday, July 11 (waitlist)

Register today! Some programs have filled already; if you are interested, please add yourself to the waitlist as we may be able to expand!

Visit our Beach Youth Edmonton Programs page for more information.

Volleyball Alberta offers adult beach programs in Edmonton at John Fry Park Beach Volleyball Courts:

Women’s 2’s: Tuesdays starting from June 4
Coed 4’s: Wednesdays starting from June 5
Men’s 2’s: Thursdays starting from June 6

Visit our Beach Adult Edmonton Leagues page for more information.

John Fry Park Beach Court Rentals and Portable Net System rental requests will open on April 15. The rental request forms are on our Beach Rentals and Equipment page.

TEAM ALBERTA

Team Alberta Indoor

All of the Team AB ID camps concluded in March and April, with over 275 athletes putting in a strong effort amongst their peers in front of our Team AB coaches. The coaches will continue to evaluate ALL athletes registered through GMTM right through Nationals. Here are the important dates and details for the coming months as we head into the Beach and Provincial Team seasons.

For more information about Team AB, please visit https://www.volleyballalberta.ca/team-alberta-information/

15U and 16U Programs

May 10^th – First wave of invites sent out for Team AB Training Centre held in July.

June 7^th – Final wave of invites sent out.

July 7^th to 11^th – Team AB Training Centre.

July 12^th – Team AB Cup tournament and Competition Team selection.

July 13^th to 23^rd – Team AB Competition Team Training.

July 24^th to 28^th – Canada Cup in Calgary.

17U Programs

May 10^th – First wave of invites sent out for Selection Camp in early June.

May 24^th – Final wave of invites sent out.

June 1^st – 17U Selection Camps in Sylvan Lake.

July 7^th to 23^rd – Team AB Competition Team Training.

July 24^th to 28^th – Canada Cup in Calgary.

Team Alberta Beach

Canada Games Beach Training Group Selection Camp (19U): June 8 – 9 in Calgary.

19U Men’s Head Coach: Corey Cowper

19U Women’s Head Coach: Erik Peterson

16U & 18U Men’s & Women’s Team Alberta Beach Selection Camp: June 22 – 23 in Calgary.

18U Men's HC: Grant O’Gorman

18U Women's HC: Erik Peterson

16U Men's HC: Camille Saxton

16U Women's HC: Isabela Lima O’Gorman

Registration is open on the Sportlomo VA-Events Registration portal.

For more program information please visit: https://www.volleyballalberta.ca/beach-team-ab/

COACHES CORNER

Coaching Tips

Training the Athlete's Brain

FIVB Beach Volleyball Drill Book

Guide to Staying Mentally Fit

Sport Parenting

Good Sports Waikato

Winning vs. Fulfillment

Men's & Boy's Mental Health still Overlooked in Sport

Club Leaders

LTD | Volleyball Canada

Quality Sport Checklist for Clubs

Basic Club Policy Templates

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Coaching Opportunities

Edmonton Beach Programs

Coaching Opportunities

Summer Camps

MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION

Please visit our website www.volleyballalberta.ca > Registration > How To Register page for all your registration needs and registration guides.

VOLLEYBALL CANADA

2024 Youth Nationals, May 2-26, 2024

2024 Beach Nationals, August 16-25, 2024

2024 Canada Cup Indoor, July 24-28, 2024

2025 Canada Summer Games, August 8-24, 2025

Abuse-Free Sport Helpline

Did you know the Abuse-Free Sport Helpline is free and available to all Canadians? If you have questions about maltreatment or discrimination in sport, professionally-trained operators will:

➡️ Listen and provide support;

➡️ Advise you on the reporting process; and

➡️ Refer you to the relevant reporting mechanism for your individual situation, as well as other resources.

Anonymous, confidential and bilingual, the Abuse-Free Sport Helpline is open 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

https://abuse-free-sport.ca/helpline

October 2023 Announcement To All Stakeholders