About 1,000 youngsters attend annual National Gira-Volei Meeting in Guarda, Portugal

The city of Guarda recently played host to the annual Encontro Nacional de Gira-Volei (National Gira-Volei Meeting), doing so for the very first time. The event was held on May 31 and June 1 at the Urban Park of the Rio Diz. It proved to be a remarkable success, as it brought about a thousand athletes to the ‘Highest City in the Country’, as Guarda is known in Portugal due to its elevation (1,056 m), accompanied by thousands of family members and teachers, thereby exceeding all expectations and boosting the local economy. 

According to Leonel Salgueiro, Technical Director, this final phase of the competition was “one of the most relevant moments ever lived by the Federation.” The Portuguese Volleyball Federation official emphasised that this National Meeting represented “the culmination of all the social, municipal, and regional stages held throughout the year in Portugal.” The choice of Guarda, according to Salgueiro, was justified by “the expansion Gira-Volei already has in the region” and the excellent conditions offered by the Urban Park. The “support and availability demonstrated by the municipality” were also decisive factors in the event’s delivery in the city.
 
Organising this event was a long-held desire for the Guarda Volleyball Association. Nuno Lemos, President of the Association, expressed his satisfaction, stating that it was “a desire of many years and a goal of our late Mário Sucena, which came true this year.” Lemos, considered the main driving force behind Gira-Volei in the region, guaranteed that the organisation did “everything to make it an unforgettable experience for everyone,” and the participants’ feedback confirms its success. 

The event also had a significant impact on the local economy, as Nuno Lemos highlighted. The accommodation, catering, and commerce sectors saw a considerable increase in activity over the weekend. 

Rui Melo, councilman for the Guarda City Council, who had appealed to businesses to view the event as a “business opportunity”, estimated that the city received “more than five thousand visitors, including athletes, family members, and teachers,” thus contributing to a noticeable dynamism.  

Since its first edition in 2000 in Figueira da Foz, the National Gira-Volei Meeting has travelled through various locations, including Castelo de Vide (four times), Oeiras (five times), Portimão (twice), and once each in Matosinhos/Macedo de Cavaleiros, Viana do Castelo, Torres Vedras, Maia, Miranda do Douro, and Viseu. 

A success story

Introduced in 1998 by the Portuguese Volleyball Federation (FPV), Gira-Volei began as a volleyball initiation project involving children and young people aged eight to 15. Today, 27 years later, it has become one of the main initiatives for sports promotion in Portugal, mobilising over 100,000 young practitioners every year. 

What started as an incentive for initiating the sport transformed into a galvanising and dynamic phenomenon for the country’s youth. With its characteristics of being ‘easy, fun, competitive, and inclusive’, it quickly spread throughout the country, reaching areas where sports practice is difficult to implement, whether due to a lack of infrastructure or of clubs. 

Throughout its 27 years of existence, Gira-Volei has produced athletes who have even reached the national team and led to the emergence of new clubs. Meanwhile, Gira+ (for those over 15), subsequently created by the Federation, complements the careers of young Gira athletes. The truth is that its simplified game methodology (2x2), adapted to the technical and physical capabilities of the participants, makes the practice ‘easy, fun, competitive, and inclusive’, thereby maintaining the interest of young people and ensuring that everyone can participate, regardless of their socioeconomic background, gender, size, or physical appearance. 

Gira-Volei plays a crucial role in the physical-motor development of children, especially in the early years of schooling. It goes beyond sports by promoting a healthy lifestyle, social inclusion, equal opportunities, and the development of essential life skills such as teamwork, leadership, resilience, and self-confidence. Initially implemented with about 70 centres, Gira-Volei has expanded and now has over 1,800 hubs in more than 300 Portuguese municipalities. 

This expansion has been possible thanks to strategic partnerships with school clusters and local authorities, which allow the sport to reach regions less familiar with Volleyball and stimulate the emergence of new clubs. Viewed by many school officials and Gira-Volei centre leaders as the largest initiation and incentive programme for sport, Gira-Volei has been fundamental in making Volleyball currently the second most practiced sport in schools in Portugal, thus spreading the passion for the game to all corners of the country.