The project aims to make the sport more sustainable and suitable for clubs across the country.
The British Volleyball Federation are proud to announce their collaboration with Loughborough University on a research project to analyse sitting volleyball’s competition models.
The aim of the project is to evaluate the opportunities and challenges of running a successful national competition structure for sitting volleyball, as well as how to better engage the volleyball community and make sitting volleyball more attractive to the disability community.
With the view to create a positive and sustainable national competition structure to benefit the sport, the project explores team sports for disabled athletes in the UK and the competition structure for non-disabled volleyball in countries with a similar home nation or wide geographical spread.
The future of sitting volleyball in the UK is uncertain as club participation has seen a drastic drop, with England as the only National Governing Body that runs a national annual competition programme.
Without essential funding, the programme is in danger of disappearing.
In an effort to revive the competition structure, and ensure the community, participation, and performance pathways are maintained, British Volleyball is calling for a revival of its national programme for its sitting game.
The project’s goal is to review sitting volleyball’s current competition structure to then build upon a more integrated home country competition element, to ultimately make the sport more sustainable and suitable for clubs across the country.
The findings will be utilised to enhance the home nation structure and shared with International Federations to help ensure the longevity of the sport.
The BVF is excited to be working with Loughborough University to review the current competition structure and chart a new pathway for sitting volleyball in the UK.
We look forward to the project’s results and making sitting volleyball a more attractive and successful sport.
If you would like to learn more about this project, please contact Joanna Cook jcook@britishvolleyball.org