Participation numbers skyrocket in Ireland thanks to CEV School Project

Volleyball Ireland will officially launch their School Project 2023-2024 at this year’s VLY. LIVE 2.0 on October 7-8 in the capital Dublin. In attendance to work with local school aged children and coaches will be Italy’s renowned expert Marco Mencarelli. 

Meanwhile, Irish school competitions are already off and running. After last year’s record-breaking season, Volleyball Ireland once again have increased entries in U18 and U16 tournaments to as many as 240 teams! The U18 Finals will take place again in Dublin on December 14 with the aim of breaking the 1,000 spectator numbers brought in last year. The U16 Finals will move to the west coast and Galway City on January 23. Both events include male and female divisions A, B and C.

Volleyball Ireland’s development officers are also busy out delivering student education as the academic year begins. Some 14 secondary schools have already confirmed interest in taking on the TY Volley Leadership programme for this year. Staff are coordinating to deliver the course to over 350 students within those schools. Those students in turn will then provide a six-week coaching programme to primary schools or juniors within their own schools, ultimately leading to an estimated exposure of Volleyball to over 1,300 young players!

Referee education for St Brigid’s College, one of Ireland’s more advanced and traditional volleyball schools and strongholds, was undertaken in late September. Nineteen new referees were certified after a full day of training and exam completion.

Finally, Ireland sent two schoolteachers and three club coaches to the CEV Coaches Convention held in Sofia, Bulgaria, on September 22-23. The delegation has returned home with incredible feedback and desire to implement new ideas within their schools.