Volleyball tourneys set to dig in

TWO national volleyball tournaments will be played at Red Energy Arena, starting this weekend.

The Australian Youth Volleyball Championships will be held from 25 to 29 September, immediately followed by the Australian Club Volleyball Championships from 30 September to 2 October.

President of Bendigo Volleyball Association, Kane Rutledge, said it’s part of a three-year agreement between the club and Volleyball Australia.

“It’s definitely a great opportunity for us,” he said. “A couple of years ago we locked in a three-year deal to host the Australian Youth Championships here in Bendigo, which has been great.

“COVID knocked us around so we couldn’t host it the last two years, but we’ve managed to sign on for another three, so this will be the first out of the three years.

“It goes to show how good our stadium here in Bendigo is, that we can host the number of teams we do.”

The youth tournament will feature the best up-and-coming talent in the country representing their states in under 14, under 15, under 16, under 17 and under 18 divisions.

The club championships will see teams from all over Australia, including La Trobe University Bendigo, compete in three men’s divisions and two women’s divisions.

“This is the first year it’s run, so it’s great this is also coming to Bendigo as well,” Mr Rutledge said.

“We’ve got 11 courts and they’ll be utilised from 8am to 6pm with games at every single timeslot.”

Following the two national tournaments, BVA will host their open division Dragon City Tournament on 29 and 30 October, inviting the best teams from Bendigo and beyond to compete in four divisions for men and women.