Several kids gave volleyball a go at the Gallagher Recreation Centre last week. Photos: Andy Campbell
A visit from New Zealand Commonwealth Games beach volleyball star Shaunna Polley was a big attraction at a Volleyfest held in Te Kuiti last week.
The beach volleyball star is nursing an injury but popped along to the new venture created by a partnership between Waikato Volleyball and schools in Waitomo and Ōtorohanga districts.
It featured primary and secondary schools from the rohe participating in an inclusive volleyball festival.
The day wasn’t about results and who won; it was about introducing more students to the sport of volleyball and hoping to get the schools entering teams and partaking in tournaments going forward.
Volleyball is a sport that is growing each year, shown by the number of teams entering tournaments regionally and across the country.
Kahui Ako leads Catriona Chrystal (Ōtorohanga Primary School), Denise Marshall (Te Whare Kura o Maniapoto) and Raewyn Jackson (Pukenui School) were successful in gaining Tū Manawa funding (a fund developed by Sport New Zealand and administered in the Waikato region by Sport Waikato) to introduce and develop volleyball skills in local primary and secondary kura.
Seth Phork from Waikato Volleyball has spent seven weeks of Term 2 delivering volleyball skill sessions to schools in the Ōtorohanga and Te Kūiti area.
Te Kura o Tahaaroa, Piripiri, Āria and Rangitoto to Taumarunui are some of the more rural schools to have taken this opportunity.
The objective of this Tū Manawa-funded application was to provide opportunities for tamariki and rangatahi from rural schools to develop basic volleyball skills – volleyball is the fastest growing sport for youth in New Zealand.
The event was designed to enable students to come together to participate in a fun environment against other schools involved in the project.
The volleyball festival at the Gallagher Recreation Centre – the new indoor sporting complex – took place on June 22 and saw the arena packed out with students.
The funding also provided free transportation – removing the transport barrier, particularly for remote schools that often miss out on other sporting opportunities because of the “cost-to-travel” factor.
Twenty four teams participated on the day, with participants celebrating their new skills, and learning and meeting other tamariki and rangatahi across Waitomo and Ōtorohanga districts.
There were many participants who had never played the sport before, so seeing the smiles on their faces at the festival said it all.
