This year has been better for Countrymen volleyball club as we have been coaching in schools. St. Ives Year 10 as seen in photos on their GCSE course. Also Mounts Bay school GCSE course. After schools clubs at St. Ives and Hayle School.

This has enabled us to put on a 13 to 15 year old Beach 4's at Perranporth Beach on 13th. June all Cornish schools are welcome contact Gemma Wilson at gwilson@penryn-college.cornwall.sch.uk.

GB Euro Cup 1st round EIS Sheffield 8th May 2008

The knock out thrill of cup competitions, that magic winning moment, when for the first time, a non-league team became English National Women Cup Champions, defeating Polonia Ladies in a five set match at the cup final at Bath last weekend. The University London Union (ULU) team is made up of present and past members and play in the London League, this year they have had an excellent cup run, beating both London Malory and Wessex-Bath along the way. The team is coached by Mark Kontopoulos and assisted by Spyros Masouros.

Final Instructions

The Win

A Proud Coach

EXETER FESTIVAL OF VOLLEYBALL  Saturday 7th June, 2008: Fun 4’s & Summer Volleyball Party  Sunday 8th June, 2008: Coaver Open & Junior Open

Coaver Volleyball Club (in association with Wanderers VC & Exeter & District Volleyball Association) is holding its Annual Volleyball Festival on Coaver Lawn, Topsham Road, Exeter on the above weekend. The event is now well established in the volleyball calendar, selling out in recent years despite increasing the capacity to 60 teams.

Travelling teams are able to camp free of charge on the lawn and take advantage of the newly refurbished Club facilities including cheap Bar prices and showers / changing facilities. In addition there will be outside caterers on site throughout the weekend.

FUN 4’s:
Saturday 7th June :- The event provides a full afternoon of ‘Fun’ Volleyball with registration at 12.15 and matches from 12.45pm through to around 6pm. Teams are handicapped according to playing experience and top teams win Prizes. Entry Fee is £20 per team, and includes FREE tickets for each team member to the evening Party. Additional Party tickets can be provided on request (subject to availability).

SUMMER VOLLEYBALL PARTY:
Saturday 7th June :- The evening fun starts at 9pm and ends at Midnight and includes ENTERTAINMENT plus late Bar. Always a sell-out so make sure you get your tickets at the time of entering the Fun 4’s.

COAVER OPEN:
Sunday 8th June :- Provides a full day of Volleyball for 6-a-side teams starting with registration at 9.45am and matches from 10.15 to 6pm. The event splits into Cup and Plate in the latter stages (around 2.30pm) to ensure competitive matches throughout and with trophies for all finalists. Entry Fee is £30 per team.

JUNIOR OPEN:
Sunday 8th June :- Junior Let’s Play Volleyball event with various age categories i.e. U12’s and U11’s (2v2), U14’s (3v3) and U15’s (4v4). In addition we continue to run Coaver events for U16’s and U18’s (2v2). Registration is at 9.45am with matches from 10.15 to around 3pm. Junior teams may also opt to join in the latter stages of the Senior Plate (see entry form for details). U15 teams must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

The event is run in conjunction with our hosts COAVER CLUB and EDVA who have also agreed to sponsor these events, enabling us to give FREE entry to all junior teams entered. Teams are required to pay a deposit of £5 per team which is then refunded to participating teams on the day.

CAMPING:
FREE Camping is available but may be limited. As the camping area is close to local residences the site is manned by a site superintendent with regular patrols by security guards. As a result there is a Midnight curfew for all parties, music, etc.

If you would prefer to camp a little further away where restrictions are not so rigorous, or to make use of nearby Hotels, B&B’s or Hostels (within walking distance of the site), check out the website for details and links (www.coavervolleyball.org.uk).

Click for Entry Form

Martin.oram@Devon.gov.uk

Summer is almost upon us - time to look at tournament entries and plan glorious weekends in the unpredictable English weather! The Gloucester City Festival of Volleyball will take place over the weekend of August 9th and 10th. Last years festival was played in the aftermath of local flooding, (I believe bog snorkelling was discussed as an alternative) but we have ordered sunshine this year so lets hope for a good weekend of sport.

We have, once again, to thank Gloucester City Council for their support in making the festival such a successful event last year and to reiterate our gratitude for their continued support this year.

Sportset will be in attendance to supply all your clothing needs and a disco will take place on both nights for your entertainment. Entries are always at a premium so please book early. Click for a scanned copy of the Entry Form

£50 ENTRY FEE PER TEAM, Price also covers camping, entertainment and parking. Negotiations are still underway with regard to a Beach Open Tournament. We will enclose more information with entry forms. However if the Beach competition goes ahead I must stress that it will NOT be possible to play in both tournaments. Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

LADIES: Division 1 National & Regional League Teams Division 2 Local League & Social Teams

MENS: Division 1 National & Regional League Teams Division 2 Local League & Social Teams

MIXED: Division 1 National & Regional League Teams Division 2 Social Teams

MIXED 6 A SIDE TOURNAMENT (3 MEN 3 LADIES) Local League, Regional and Juniors under 18

SUNDAY 6TH JULY 10AM - 5PM  

Optional 2-a-side KO Competion (entry fee £1 per person payable at Registration on the day )

Lunchtime Swim - no fee

BBQ 12 - 3pm

REFRESHMENTS ON SALE ALL DAY

Register On Line

SAVE £3 IF YOU REGISTER BEFORE 31ST MAY

For further information Carole Rice crice@btinternet.com

In the previous twenty two years of the Jersey Open, home success for the Jersey Island teams, had been something of a rarity, however the women won for the first time last year and this year they were looking at a possible double, with both the Men and the Women making their way to their respective finals.

The Jersey Men were favourites the year, having been boosted by the addition of a number of Eastern European players, they beat St. Malo in the final 2-0, to take the title for the first time. The women were up against Ashcombe, the events most successful side and looking to take the title for a record 12th time. Jersey Women were unable to hold on to their title, losing 2-0 to Ashcombe.

More photos from the event on our Photo Page, I also understand that both Jersey teams are looking to enter the EVA cup next year.

First: Torexe	Second: Exeter University	Third: Yeovil

The Team played their hearts out and put together an awesome performance against a very good team. The first set was close all the way with only a 1 point difference all along the way but we prevailed with strong blocking and attack when it counted (25-22).

Second set was well controlled and very similar with us pulling away at the end to win 25-21. The third set was super until the end - I think we had a 19-13 lead and we let it get away. Part of the problem was getting used to finalizing the execution, losing focus after thinking the match was won and much was the good play of Albania who got some critical blocks and attacks at the right time. They came back to win 25-23.

The 4th set was a character builder - we got down 2-4 early but rallied back to tie the game at 19-19 and again pulled away on great attacks by Janine Sandell and a crucial block by Rachel Bragg.

Lucy Wicks was special today as it was her first big match in a long while because of her recovery from the ankle injury. Also starting where middles Nicky Osborne and Stacy O'Conner, libero Maria Bertelli and Power Rachel Laybourne.

Coming off the bench were Jo Morgan, Jen Thom and Jen Taylor. Dressed but did not play was Lizzie Reid and Grace Carter. Player of the match was Janine Sandell. Bottom line was that it was a strong team effort. We were anchored by the passing of Maria Bertelli.

It was taped by Sky TV and should be sired sometime in the short future - sorry I don't know when.

Next match is on Sunday in Albania and it will be tough - we have to win at least two sets to qualify so we will have to play very well. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Statistics:
Janine Sandell 26 kills in 48 attempts + 2 blocks, Rachel Bragg 13 kills, 1 block, Rachel Laybourne, 6 kills, Nicky Osborne 6 kills + 3 blocks and Stacey O'Conner with 6 kills and 2 blocks + 1 service ace. Maria Bertelli = 2.70 passing (this is exceptional).

May 3, 2008
Tonight the GBR Team played a better match with steady attack which allowed us to control Denmark for 3 straight sets. Scores were 25-19, 25-16 and 25-20. It was a better match than on Thursday because we had a more positive attack and our players held their composure on the court better. Playing at home and playing in a great environment (which was to duplicate the site when we play Albania next week) at EIS were all new to our athletes. Stress is a mighty force that has to be learned gradually.

Our players, today, handled themselves quite well. We can still play at a higher level which we will have to do to defeat Albania.

May 1, 2008
Last night our GB Women's Team defeated Denmark 3-1 with scores of 25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 25-18. All players saw action in the match with Jenn Thom (PH), Maria Bertelli (Libero) and Lucy Wicks (Setter) playing well throughout.

However, we had moments where we lacked confidence on the court but managed to find solutions to our problems. The total bench was very important in assisting us when we had down times during the match. Attack was poor but more individual mistakes. Blocking was excellent with 12 and serving helped us to disrupt Denmark and their attack (14 aces).

It is good to start to play and we need it to prepare for Albania. We still lack consistency within our skills and the confidence to play throughout the whole match. I think we will only get better as we go forward. The team is stronger now physically and our player depth for 'choices' to play on the court is very competitive within the squad.

With Volleyball England’s National Cup Finals taking place in Bath this year, a request for volunteers to help with the various tasks went out to clubs in the Southwest Region. Volleyball England had also been asked to use the Data Volley software program this year, as part of it’s European and 2012 build up. Once accepted, we decided to get a head start and downloaded a restricted version of the program from the Datavolley.com web site, plus the 180 page hand book. Fortunately the software comes in various versions and Volleyball England is using the basic scouting version, having flicked through the 180 page manual, a very wise decision.

With basic input codes learnt for the server, receiver, attacker, blocker, plus additional codes for the setter, digging and free balls, it was time to put a match DVD on. Starting in slow motion sounded like a good idea but the limited view of the video, plus being unable to see the player’s numbers, we did not gain much practice. Fortunately our local club was having an end of season tournament, so with note pad in hand, it was down to the local sports hall.

You quickly learn that you do not have time to look at your note pad during rallies and it was clear that watching the play and typing (unless you are a fully competent touch typist) was out of the question. A team of two would be required, one to call the play and one to type. With this arrangement confirmed by Ben Brown and Matt Bianco (from Volleyball England), we set off for Bath, knowing that we will be able to do an appropriate job, not error free but definitely heading in the right direction.

They asked us to arrive early

We were divided up into two teams of two, with one lap top per team. No power supply on the score table and no login to the University WiFi network, were two issues which meant that the first match had limited live scoring on the website.

Score table Left

Score table Right

For the second match of the day, we were all up and running and fully connected on line. The callers called each service receiver, the quality of the pass to the setter and the hitter of each attack. Setting up the software was not fault free and although every rally was entered, not every rally was complete. Generally the men had shorter rallies, which proved a lot easier to enter, in the longer rallies of the women's game, as soon as you had a couple of blocks, you were already starting to play catch up. The addition of technical timeouts at 8 & 16 points gave us all a period to catch our breath.

The software often highlighted errors on the screen and gave the operator the option of going though and correcting these at the end of each set. With four matches to do, we had no time for this but our skills were improving and we progressed on to adding in blocks, digging and setting errors. By the end of the third match, we were all getting the hang it but it was also beginning to take its toll, mentally and physically.

We like to think that the fourth match was the best to date but substitutions had to be called in (Ben & Matt), a few rallies began to get missed by the callers. Having two callers (which both laptop operators could hear), saved the day here several times. Overall it was an interesting exercise, it was a bit like filling in scoresheets after the change from side-out to rally-point scoring, more hectic but a skill that most people should be able to pick up in time and one which I hopefully will use again at other events.

From the event organisers perspective, they now have a few more people trained up on the Data Volley program for future events. The event organisers also have the option of projecting the screen on to a live venue scoreboard, this would mean the audience would be able to follow the match in more detail. See the score, time outs, substitutions, players line up, rotations etc plus incorrect line-ups and rotation errors. The decision to show this type of information obviously has advantages and disadvantages for the organisers, officials and the teams. From our screens we could see that Polonia Ladies were out of rotation (in set four against ULU). Would this count as outside assistance to the teams and officials, if it were to be displayed for all to see?

You can see the results of our match recording from the weekend, on the Volleyball Scores web site at: www.volleyballscores.co.uk

More behind the scene photos from the National Cup Final's on our Photo Page

From the Martinus web site
And so we have come to the end of another phase in the history of our famous club. With two amazing parties we said goodbye, starting a couple of weeks ago with our British friends, and yesterday-evening (and this morning!) to our lovely First ladies team. I'm sure that it's no farewell: the boys and girls have found out that being with Martinus is a little more than playing a game every week. They're part of us, and they always will be, whether they like it or not. Wherever they play, they will play there as our representatives, and their clubs will know they come from Martinus. And if they need us, we will be there.

Hi All: I have nothing much to say about this match as it is 'covered' in the disappointment of the moment. To put it in a 'nutshell" we were simply outplayed, out powered and out performed by an Albanian team that felt they had nothing to lose. Their serving was extremely strong and our reception could not handle the 'heat'. Why not, partly because for the first time our players played in a crowd where you could not hear the person standing next to them.

Drums were being used, fans were vocal all the time, horns were going off - not just leading up to the serve or after the rally ended, but throughout every contact of the ball. Our players said that this was the first time that they had this experience and in the end we didn't have a response for this constant noise. Now they know why eye contact, using hand signals and coming together between rallies is important. Instead of turning external as a team we went internal as an individual to try and 'zone' out this constant noise. This resulted in all types of unforced errors on our side - mainly in reception of service...

..Our game plan was to go after their middles with our quick attack and our first score by a middle did not come until this point [second set] - so that tells you something. We also were confident that we knew their attack angles but our block timing was poor. They found seams and they also found lots of high touches or just broke through the hands of our block. Our first block did not occur until well into this set...

...Give the Albanian's credit - they came to play - we couldn't cope with the crowd, their tenacity and it resulted in us losing focus and skill execution. "Live and learn" - this is a year for those experiences to occur.

Janine led the team with 14 kills, Rachel Laybourne had 5 and Rachel Bragg had 4 kills and 2 blocks. Lucy Wicks contributed with 1 block (we only had 4 in the entire match). In spite of the bad passing we had a 21% attack efficiency and our 'pipe' linkage was quite good. However, we only had a few balls go to our middles resulting in only 2 kills by Nicky Osborne (+2 Serve Aces) and Stacey O'Conner. Grace Carter and Lizzie Reid got action for the first time. When serve receive goes down then your block and defense have to pick up - this simply - didn't happen.

We will miss not qualifying for the Europeans to get the quality of 'pressure' matches we need. There is no Euro League this year for women so unlike our men we have to learn from playing in tournaments and on training tours - not exactly the same pressure levels but it should give us quality experiences when we play before crowds in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, at home and in Kazakhstan over the summer. Next year there may be a Euro-League, World Championship qualifications and their may be the FISU Games where we will get another chance at that 'pressure' situation which we are training for. The quality of teams we will play only gets stronger so we have to continue to improve...

...Next matches are against Luch at the end of May, a Russian Club that is stronger than what we have just faced. So we will have our hands full but have to learn to adapt and continue to show resiliency and come to play every day.

We have open talent development camps for better Junior and Senior athletes coming up on May 30 to June 1 and June 13-15 and finally a longer camp with invited athletes at the end of June and early July. These will be held in Sheffield and information has been sent to Home Nations. We are looking for some better younger players to get experiences and to see if there are any more up and coming athletes who are interested in training.

We will keep you posted and thanks for that support you have shown either personally to myself, the players or through e-mails. I hope that you can appreciate that we have made big strides but the international world of volleyball is a big ocean of talented teams.