Australian Volleyball Schools Cup
Six Volleyball Teams will depart on Sunday morning 4 December, representing Ivanhoe Grammar School at the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup (AVSC) on the Gold Coast. This week-long tournament brings together 400-500 of the best high school Volleyball teams in the Country. With that many teams, coming from all states and territories, the event prides itself on being the biggest junior sporting event in the Southern Hemisphere!
Ivanhoe Volleyball will be represented by a Junior, Intermediate and Senior team at the tournament. The event is the major developmental tool of the Ivanhoe Volleyball Program. The program organisers and the individual team coaches use the event to attract players to the program, develop existing players and hopefully encourage some of our athletes to be motivated by what they see to take their game further and aim to try out for State and National Junior teams.
It was great to see most parents and athletes at the official tournament information night and ‘send-off’ for our teams on Monday night. There was a special buzz in the room and all the players were very proud to be presented with their official Ivanhoe Volleyball warm-up shirt. This shirt is presented to students each year who either play in the Firsts Volleyball Team or attend the national tournament…. Or in most cases, both!
This is the 12th time Ivanhoe has attended the event, however, it used to be on a smaller scale with mainly our senior teams attending when it was held in Melbourne. This is our second visit since the tournament relocated to the Gold Coast. Taking the six teams is logistically a big challenge, however, we are very pleased to be able to give 59 Ivanhoe Volleyballers the opportunity to attend the event and take their volleyball to the next level.
The developmental plans within the Ivanhoe Volleyball Program are very successful as both the Girls’ and Boys’ teams are reigning AGSV champions. Hopefully, this trip can continue contributing to our teams being close to the top of the AGSV competition consistently in the future. Good luck to the 59 athletes and eight coaches, teachers and team managers who are attending.
John McInerney
Primary Physical Education/ Sports Coordinator
