Press Releases Page 2

League Update

As we approach the Christmas break, Torexe Buzzards and Taunton Thunder are neck and neck at the top of division one, with Exeter Uni & Kirton Revolution close behind.

 

Torexe Buzzards

Taunton Thunder

Kirton Revolution

In division two, Torexe Kestrels are just a head of the all girls team of Torexe Falcons but the team to watch out for is Exeter College, after a late start, they are unbeaten and closing in on the leaders.

Torexe Kestrels

Torexe Falcons

Exeter College

A Snap Shot in Time

Like everything else, the sport of volleyball in Exeter changes and evolves over time. Back in the late 80's and 90's their was no internet, press reports in the local newspapers were the only means of publicity, volleyball reports often appeared twice a week in the Exeter Express and Echo, as well as the EDVA, all the major clubs had their own press officers, Torexe, Wonford, Teignmouth & Exeter University etc. This gave the sport good exposure, looking back, it has also record some of our history and shows how the sport has changed in our area.

I have put a selection of press releases on line, as well as side out scoring and best of three sets to 15 points, you will also see that teams and leagues were often sponsored #, that the EDVA has also covered quite a wide area at times, as well teams from Teignmouth, Totnes, Cullompton, Tiverton, Honiton, we have also had teams from Minehead, Barnstable and Burnham involved.

We also played in more leagues (Devon had three local leagues at one point), Torexe, Teignmouth and Wonford all had teams in the Plymouth mixed and ladies divisions as well as the EDVA. Torexe, Teignmouth and Exeter University also competed in the Southwest Men's and Ladies leagues and Torexe had teams in both the men's and ladies National Leagues. 

We started in 1988 with 14 teams, in 2002 we had 27 teams in the EDVA (the maximum number of teams I can find), which included a six team ladies division. Among others things, I have also included press reports about the: The first Exmouth Beach Tournament Funds received for the EDVA volleyball centre at Exeter School The start of the National League Ladies team Start of the Exmouth Beach league National Honors etc Press reports were written by many people, myself, Martin Oram, Jerry Fardon, Nigel Weaver, Rick Partridge, Andy Pym, Rachel Swindell and many more. Past EDVA Press Reports  [To view / read, select the report and then click on the image when it's highlighted and chose size (Medium / Large / Extra Large) depending on you screen size]. # According to the 1994 club SW survey report, 37% of clubs were sponsored. 12% received between £500 - £1000 / 76% between £100 - £500 / 12% less than £100

Ref's Course

Retired International Referee, Dan Dingle made a welcome return to the UK this weekend, flying in from Jersey to host the Exeter & District VA referees course. Providing courses as part of your on going development is an expensive part of running any association but with a large practical element and plenty of amusing stories from past matches, Dan's courses are extremely popular. Hence it was a full course, students came from throughout the EDVA area and the feedback has been excellent.  Hopefully we will seen a new batch of referees at our matches, teams select their referees from the EDVA referees list, to have your name added to the list, please email Rachel.Swindell@Network100.co.uk with your details.

Volleyball In Germany

Corinne Jeffries is one of our exciting young players who just can't get enough of the sport. She started with us as a junior and has worked her way up through the ranks, last year she was playing National league for Devon Women, South West with Torexe and Beach with Exmouth BVC. This year, Corinne has moved to Hamburg, so I asked her how she was getting on....

Well, where to start! Yes it really is a whole new world here in terms of volleyball, and there are a lot more levels to play at. In Hamburg there are two teams both playing in the division two Bundesliga which is divided into north and south Germany. In terms of playing standards it's more div 1 if compared to the English league. 

However even in the division two, the players are paid to play, and all the clubs' finance is from sponsors. So the idea of paying to play for a team is a very foreign one! I'm training with a club called VT Aurubis Hamburg ( http://www.na.hamburg-volleyball.de ), and the club has a team in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga.

The 1st team are all professionals, so they train twice a day. I'm training with the 2nd team, where the age range is from 16 to about 28. We train every evening for 2 to 2.5 hours a night. strength and fitness training is built into that time. The team has a first and second coach, plus a physio, which is really great, and also means that the players are given more one to one attention.  There are between 10 and 12 of us in the team, so team spirit plays an important role in the club. I only joined in mid-September, and they had all been training since early-august, so I'm a bit behind. Training is always very intense and focused, often spending over an hour practicing one drill, such as free balls, defense and serve receive. Friday's training is more game orientated, in preparation for the weekends match and to put into practice the training during the week.

VT Aurubis Hamburg - Division Two Bundesliga

I haven't registered to play competitively because I can't commit 100%, I am working as a full-time au pair here in the city. Up until now this has worked really well, I have most evenings free, which means I can get to 3 or 4 training sessions a week, but I do have to make work a priority. I'm living and eating with the family, so financing myself isn't a problem, which is great, and takes a lot of stress away as I don't have to worry about bills/rent...

As well as the indoor volleyball, I've recently got a membership at a huge indoor beach centre ( www.beachkurs.de ) just up the road from where I live. With 10 indoor courts and 8 outdoor courts, this centre caters for beginners all the way through to the top German beach pros. It is a really amazing venue, and so I'm playing there around twice a week, depending on work commitments.

This means that I have access to beach coaching throughout the winter months, which is so great, because as a player I'm still undecided which route I want to take. At the moment, with the beach opportunities that I have available, I'm leaning towards focusing on beach, but I feel I'm still in need of a lot of technical improvement!

As for costs, I have a two month pass (40 Euros) which allows me to play 4pm-6pm week days and Sundays from 3pm for free. Training sessions are 11 to 14 Euros, depending on numbers.

Best wishes,
Corinne Jeffries corinnemjt@hotmail.co.uk

Exmouth Beach Open Pairs Tournament

A total of 18 men’s and 12 women’s teams from across the South West region came down to Exmouth to partake in what was a very successful and enjoyable day. Teams were blessed with good weather while it remained hot and sunny with light winds which enabled a high standard of game play.  Checkout the event photos at: Exmouth Beach Open Pairs 2009

Many thanks go again to our sponsors Eat Natural who supplied us with sustenance throughout the day, the helpers who made the tournament run smoothly and of course all the competitors who made it an enjoyable and competitve day. For more details on Exmouth Beach Volleyball Events please see: www.ExmouthBeachVolleyball.com

Stacey Santucci staceysantucci@hotmail.com

A couple of video highlights from the Ladies and Men's 2009 Exmouth Beach VC Open Finals, click image to view.