2020 has brought challenges for everyone, and with the return to indoor volleyball halted in the middle of October, LBVA used outdoor volleyball to provide people with safe environment to play, whilst following Government guidance, and use this as an avenue to keep people within the Edinburgh & Lothians fully engaged with specific disciplines of the sport we can deliver.
With the support of local partners, (Edinburgh Beach Volleyball Club, University of Edinburgh (EUVC) and NUVOC, LBVA ran a substantial series of Beach Volleyball and Grass Volleyball Tournaments in Portobello and The Meadows.
A total of 6 Individual beach Volleyball tournaments for Men and Women and 6 Mixed Tournaments, 2 of which were grass tournaments at capacity, were achieved between the middle of October and the 2nd week in December.
The appetite for the sport in the capital and surrounding areas has been something we have loved to see and also loving the willingness of the volleyball community to further engage about how much they want to continue playing the sport, despite the changing weather.
This year has been a great advert for the Outdoor Volleyball community and how engaged they are, regardless the time of year and the elements they face. It has certainly made us think differently about how we engage everyone ALL YEAR ROUND.
It was great to see so many clubs outside this summer delivering volleyball, while the Universities made fantastic use of the grassy area in the Meadows playing volleyball on a daily basis.
NUVOC have managed to continue their successful Indoor Junior Volleyball programme from the great work they did through the summer, with Edinburgh Beach Volleyball Club members loving the mild weather by getting on the permanent courts at Portobello on a regular basis. EBVC made some great partnerships with Universities this year to further enhance the reach of their club, while providing excellent facilities for some newcomers to Edinburgh. The EBVC partnership with EUVC was to ensure students had an outlet for sport and physical activity to support mental health.
Edinburgh and the Lothians is in a good place with participation numbers and will continue to deliver in 2021 with some changes 🙂
Lothian & Borders Volleyball 