scottish volleyball association, sva annual report 2011 - 2012

Scottish Volleyball AssociationAnnual Report 2011 to 2012

B I G G E R • B E T T E R • S T R O N G E R

Scottish Volleyball Association

www.scottishvolleyball.org

Contents

1. Message from the President 3 2. CEO Review 4

3. Finance 6

4. Commission Reports

Beach 8 Coaching 10 Competitions 12 International Special Events 14 Referees 16 Student (Universities) 18 Youth and Schools 20

5. National Teams Report

Senior Women’s 22 Senior Men’s 24 Young Senior Women’s 26 Young Senior Men’s 28

6. Statistical Report 2011 – 2012 30

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Message from the president hi everyone, it is once again my pleasure to present to you our Annual Report and to showcase the highlights from another terrific year in our sport’s development. I know that it may not always feel that we are making dynamic progress, but I have witnessed some truly remarkable achievements over the last 12 months or so and I am very proud to have done so.

As a Director of the British Volleyball Federation I am extremely proud of the huge strides that our elite athletes have made in pursuing their olympic dreams and I can’t wait to see them perform in london in a few short weeks. to them and to all the Scottish officials and volunteers who will undoubtedly represent us with distinction I say a huge thank you and good luck for the summer of your lives. Ahead of this please do try to get along to see our indoor teams as they come to Scotland to finalise their preparations, they are competing at the highest level with genuine distinction and they fully deserve our support and warm wishes.

We have also seen some of the most encouraging national team performances for many a season with particularly impressive results from both of our junior squads with the Men and Women winning bronze and silver medals respectively at the CEV SCD Junior Championships. our hosting of the Men’s Junior tournament was a great success and demonstrated just how impressive a show we can lay on.

our Schelde Sports sponsored national leagues and the Scottish Cup competitions continue to be the bedrock of our domestic sport and we have seen wonderful developments and real growth in our schools, student and Jnl competitions. With these and a growing Beach tour we can look ahead positively to continuing our strive to be Bigger, Better and Stronger.

But it was away from the court that we saw what I consider the greatest of Scotland’s volleyball achievements when Margaret Ann was elected to Board of Administration for the CEV and to the position of president of the Small Countries Division, positions of real influence in European volleyball. Well done our CEo, this has enhanced our international standing beyond where we could reasonably have expected.

I ask that you indulge me as I close with a personal reflection. It has been my privilege and a real honour to have been your president for the last two years but I have decided not to seek re-election so I will be vacating my post at the AGM. During my tenure I have been massively impressed with the dedication, professionalism and commitment of our staff, the Board of Directors and the army of volunteers that drive our Commissions and Clubs. My parting message is therefore one of gratitude and pride. please keep up your efforts to all work together and we can only go from strength to strength.

Jim BerrymanPresident

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CEo Review

Scottish Volleyball’s Staff, Board, Commissions and Volunteers have once more worked as hard as ever these past twelve months to complete year three of our Strategic plan Bigger, Better and Stronger. With every single person rising to the challenge we have managed to improve our corporate delivery and have achieved 91% of the year three key performance indicators. the success of the 2011/12 three year operational Business plan has ensured that as an organisation we have reached a level of delivery which we should all be proud of.

this has been another exciting and challenging year for the office; there have been staff changes with the departure of Sandra Grubb and the appointment of Graeme Spowart to the post of Club and participation officer. thanks are given to Sandra for her significant contribution to Scottish Volleyball and a warm welcome is extended to Graeme.

once more as an organisation we have had to rely heavily on the established professionals, Commission’s, Board and members to do even more than before. I am constantly reminded and often overwhelmed by how much you all deliver for our sport. the continued successes found through Bigger, Better and stronger is down to you, congratulations!

As a national Governing Body we have successfully delivered the International Children’s Games, August 2011 and the CEV Small Countries Division Junior Men’s Final April 2012 in partnership with north lanarkshire leisure trust and Council. our Young Senior national teams gained significant experience within the SCD competition for the first time in 2012, with the junior women winning silver in the Cyprus Finals and our junior men winning bronze on home soil, a magnificent achievement. With 2012 now upon us, with many members, players and officials, who have worked tirelessly these past years, representing GB and Scottish Volleyball in preparation for london, as CEo I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate each and everyone one of our “heroes” and wish them all the best of luck and a wonderful experience.

PRIORITy AREAS dElIVEREd 2011/12• Introduction of the SVA on-line Beach registration programme

• Development of the SVA Commission terms of Reference and hR policies

• Delivery of the Regional league in three new areas

• 7 volleyball performance athletes within the East, West and tayside Fife Area Institutes

• Successful funding of the SVA International Influencing Strategy for UKsport 2011 – 13

• CEo appointed president of Small Countries Division and European Board member

• Completion of sportscotland’s Business operational plan 2011/12

• sportscotland; funding secured for two years, 2011 – March 2013

• Sponsorship; increased financial support from local Authorities and established partners

• 8% membership increase

• 15% Scottish player involvement within the GB 2012 programmes

• 21% olympic officials Beach and In-door in volleyball are Scottish

• 14% of all olympic and paralympics volunteers in volleyball are Scottish

• Events; International Children’s Games, SCD Youth Internationals, national Cup Finals, top teams Cup, Celtic Cup and Schools national Finals

• Increased Beach tour dates with emphasis on junior development

• Extension of the partnership with the Royal Yachting Association and the strengthening development of the “Sea and Sand” community project

• Sitting Volleyball programme, delivered with the support of Stonelaw high School and South lanarkshire Council

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KEy AREAS FOR dElIVERy 2012/13 • Competitions and Events, national priority to increase profile and professionalism• Recruit a staff Competitions and performance Administrator• Increase club development and investigate potential funding for role specific officers• Introduction of Beach player pathways for performance athletes• Coaching – leading the way with the UK Coaching Framework and Coaching Certificate• Referees – continuation of the 2012 olympic programme and senior International appointments

in Europe for 2012/13• Youth and Schools – Jnl with specific emphasis on youth membership

SPECIFIC “hIGh PROFIlE PROJECTS” 2012/13 • GB Internationals; Edinburgh and Glasgow June 2012• “national 5 and beyond” pE In-service 9th June 2012• Competitions and review meeting 18th June 2012• london olympics, August 2012• SVA Strategic plan consultation 2013 – 17; submission September 2012• Establishment of Beach Community hub 2012/13 • FIVB Congress September 2012• CEV Congress november 2012 • Volleyball International; Commonwealth Arena 2013• Small Countries International Beach Event 2013

the SVA Board has increased in depth and experience throughout this year working positively with staff and members. Scott Borthwick as the SVA General Secretary and legal advisor with Alexander Steel as our anti-doping, welfare and technical Director continue their sterling work. Michelle patterson has made a significant contribution as the Board hR specialist and the SVA Vice-president Melissa Coutts continues in her positive and knowledgeable role. the SVA Board member Raymond Machugh who had the remit for Marketing and Communication has unfortunately resigned due to other professional commitments and Jim Berryman our current SVA president has also decided not to stand for re-election. It is with sincere thanks that I personally thank Jim for all his dedication and faith in Scottish Volleyball. A final thank you is also given to Malcolm Dingwall-Smith the SVA and sportscotland partnership Manager and to the staff of Scottish Volleyball for their dedication, focus, enthusiasm and support for me, as Chief Executive officer.

to conclude I believe this is a very big year for Scottish Volleyball, clubs require more help, there has to be greater attention given to the “bread and butter” of competitions and membership with the new Strategic plan developing the continued growth from grass roots to performance.

My sincere thanks to all those who have made 2011/12 one to remember!

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Margaret Ann FlemingChief Executive Officer

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Finance

the provisional accounts for the year end 31st March 2012 have been prepared by the SVA Finance officer, Ailien pallot and reviewed by haines Watt Chartered Accountants.

the below review reflects the significant activities of the Association in relation to income and expenditure for 2011/12.

INCOME

total annual income reflected in the draft accounts of £320,350 show an increase from £314,539 (2010/2011) of funds available to the Association.

the SVA also generated income of £116,805 (£97,735 – 2011/2012) which includes club affiliation fees £31,022; competition fees £8,574; coaching course income £8,366; referees course income £3,337. Also included in this sum is £29,437 brought forward into this year’s accounts from prior year allocation towards specific current year spends (i.e. fixed term staff). Finally, to enable the extensive national and international activity we are grateful for the player contributions of £9,023 (national teams) and £6,652 (UK School Games).

sportscotland We are grateful to sportscotland grant support during the year of £203,545 (£201,625 - 2010/2011) being the final instalment of their investment in the Association’s current corporate plan. this year, we received an additional contribution of £1,920 towards the development of the Associations next corporate plan for the period 2013 to 2017.

UK SportWe are grateful to UK Sport’s grant support of £ 4,680 which contributes to the international work of the organisation where we continue to have representation on the CEV SCD Board; FIVB and CEV Referees Commission; and new this year, saw SVA Board representation to the main CEV Board.

Sponsorship We are pleased to confirm the continued support from our national league sponsors, Schelde Sports with our British partner, Continental Sports; value for 2011/2012 £3,500. this is the 4th year of sponsorship which has realised a total of £16,000 investment to date.

Gerflor Gerflor have continued with their consistent and positive support with a value of £3,000 towards the development of SVA events 2011/12.

Mikasa Mikasa have also continued their support of the Association with the continued roll out of club equipment both in-door and beach, value over a 4 year period, £8,000.

ZOTI ZotI are the SVA sponsorship partners with a clothing agreement with all the SVA national teams. the value of the agreement is £12,000 over 3 years.

Scottish Sports Aid TrustScottish Sports Aid trust have supported our Junior Women’s national team with a £2,000 grant towards their successful qualifying match for the CEV Small Countries Division (SCD) U19 Women’s European Finals 2012.

Scottish Volleyball Association also hosted the CEV SCD U19 Men’s European Finals in 2012. Whilst much of the organisation and fund raising activity occurred during the last financial year, the event itself was held in April and all the financial activity is therefore not recognised in these accounts. however, the significant contributions by key partners warrants mention at this time:

UKSteel Enterprise £3,000 North lanarkshire leisure Trust £20,000 North lanarkshire Council £7,000

In addition to the above, Glasgowlife will be supporting the forthcoming 2012 GB event to the value of £ 7,000 and a further £1,000 from Scottish Sports Aid trust in April 2012.

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EXPENdITUREprovisional total annual expenditure of £320,415 was broadly in line with the previous year (£314,538 - 2010/2011) with the following expenditure:

WebsiteWe have continued to invest in the SVA website with £2,500 being utilised for the upgrading of system software and club development.

Staff costsStaffing costs decreased to £167,542 (£175,832 – 2011/2012) which reflects a slight reduction resulting from temporary staff maternity leave.

BAlANCE ShEETour Balance Sheet remains healthy with a reserve of £45,750 (£45,816 - 2010/2011) and brought forward funds of £55,000 available to expend in the forthcoming financial period.

I do believe that despite the continued difficult economic climate that all Governing Bodies are operating in, the Association has been able to maintain and indeed increase its available funds to enable further investment in all areas of the Association’s activity.

Margaret Ann FlemingChief Executive Officer

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Beach Commission Report

With every year the number and quality of beach activities continues to grow steadily. We had seven Scottish tour events in 2011 with 3 junior categories for the first time (under 14, under 16 and under 19) at every event, a Scottish Universities tournament and 5 Junior Beach festivals.

the first event was the Scottish Universities at St Andrews and was a huge success with a record entry of 33 teams participating.

the Scottish tour again kicked off with the Grampian open, which this year coincided with the Aberdeen 10k race so there were plenty of spectators. then came four of the five Junior Beach Festivals, which have introduced many youngsters into the beach game since their inception. St Andrews, Broughty Ferry, portobello and troon were the venues and at portobello there was the first ever “Sea and Sand” event introducing young people to beach volleyball and sailing at the same venue in collaboration with portobello Sailing Club.

As the summer progressed, the weather improved. portobello was the next event on the Scottish tour, followed by troon, Broughty Ferry, the King & Queen of the Beach, the St Andrews Championships, and the Jets open. At the start of the summer the men’s tour rankings were close with different teams winning the first two events, however by the middle of the season Konrad Krawczyk and Marcin Mosinski were beginning to gel as a team and by the end of the summer they were clear leaders. the surprise came when they decided to play the final event with different partners which led to a very exciting final at the Jets open where the winner of this match would become overall winner. Konrad won this final match to become Scottish Champion.

on the women’s tour we had a few new faces on the beach, with some indoor players coming out to try their hand on the sand. Experience won through this year though, with Shelly paterson taking the overall title of Scottish Champion for 2012.

the Junior Beach tours were well attended this year, with the under 16 men’s competition in particular producing some great displays of beach volleyball. Rhys Arthur and Craig Brown winning three events to become Scottish Under 16 Men’s Champions for 2011.

the final two Sea and Sand events were in north Berwick and troon in August and September. the north Berwick event in particular went down a storm with locals and holidaymakers alike, which ran alongside the prestigious topper nationals. It is hoped to run more events of this format in 2012.

one final event which was run this year was due to an invitation to participate in the opening of the Glasgow Riverside Museum. part of their opening festival campaign was to build a giant sandpit outside their front door and the Beach Commission were approached to see if we could run an event. A double-gender invitational event was organised with the top available beach players invited to attend. In addition to this the top Scottish beach volleyball officials, on their way to the olympic test event the week after, took this opportunity to train and prepare for this important event in their calendar. the event was covered by many press outlets and we gained good exposure. We have an application in to run another such event in 2012.

on to Scots on the World and European tours, Shauna Mullin continues to do well with her partner Zara Dampney and finished the 2011 season as the top world ranked GB team. Robin Miedzybrodzki, partnering tom lord, is now playing on the World tour. Both teams are fighting for berths at the olympics and we wish them well.

A big thanks to the SVA office for all their hard work again this year, to the organisers of all of the events, all the referees and to all who participated. looking forward to seeing you all on the Scottish Beach tour in 2012!

Colin PatersonPresident, Beach Commission


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Coaching Commission Report

It is the case that every year is a busy one for the Coaches Commission, and 2011/12 was no exception. the range of activities that contribute towards the strategic development of our coach education and development programmes is both diverse and extremely absorbing. Great thanks are due to the members of the Coaches Commission for their sustained efforts to direct the programmes, and to the Staff tutors and Staff Coaches who do the actual delivery.

one of the absolute highlights of the year was the talent ID and Development Seminar that was presented at the peak Centre in Stirling in September 2011. the keynote speech was delivered by professor John lyle, to a enthusiastic audience of nearly 50 delegates. the Seminar content was part of an overall development theme for the year that focused on the development of Junior players - this was particularly appropriate in a year that finished with Scotland entering, and medalling, at both SCD European Championships for Junior players.

In addition to the talent ID Seminar the Coaches Commission organised and presented;

• 6 Fast track player and coach development sessions in both the Central Belt and the north East• 5 CpD Clinics for coaches on key themes • Consistent deliveries to various Universities• 1 Coach Forum as part of the nD project

In addition to running four level I UKCC courses in various locations throughout Scotland, a large focus for the year was establishing and delivering the content and structures for a level II UKCC course. this course was piloted in Glasgow and was well received by the participating coaches.

the delivery of in-service courses to primary School, and pE specialist teachers continues to be a major element of the overall development programme. In-service courses were delivered for teachers in Glasgow – Mid lothian – north lanarkshire – Aberdeenshire – Stornaway – Dumfries and Galloway – perth and Kinross and Aberdeen City.

In addition to this, the SVA course that clarifies and supports the use of volleyball as a vehicle for delivering a Curriculum for Excellence was successfully presented in huntly in Aberdeenshire.

All of this work is not possible without the help and support of a large group of people. the members of the Coaches Commission who give so freely of their time. the group of Staff tutors and Staff Coaches who deliver the courses and support in so many ways. My thanks to them all.

A special mention again to John orr, for all the work, the enthusiasm, the support, thanks John.

Finally a ‘thank you’ to Cameron Galloway and Malcolm Mclean both of whom stepped down from membership of the Coaches Commission in February 2012. they have delivered sterling service to the CC for a number of years, and will be missed.

Thomas dowensPresident Coaches Commission


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Competitions Commission Report

the Competitions Commission continued to administer the running of five divisions of the national league and eight cup competitions; Scottish Cup, thistle Bowl, Scottish plate and the ZotI top teams Cup.

this season proved once again quite challenging for the commission, primarily due to the enforcement of fines for failure to provide score sheets, notification of results to the SVA via telephone and in providing the allotted two weeks for communicating match times. the weather thankfully did not have a major effect on fixtures but did impact some matches with the Island teams of orkney and Shetland. the Commission would like to thank and acknowledge that it was to the credit of all teams and clubs that this feat of rearrangement was accomplished.

there were several problems requiring mediation and the Competition Commission completed these issues in a professional and satisfactory manner. the stability of the national leagues meant that clubs were able to stay within the boundaries of the regulations on the vast majority of occasions.

the Commission worked hard to make fair and correct decisions and subsequently aspired to communicate them in an open and transparent manner to all teams involved.

overall, the national league remained the same size from season 2010/11. With a new club being formed in Aberdeen within Women’s division 2.

Competition winners for 2011/2012 were as follows:

Zoti Top Teams Cuptop teams Cup – Men City of Edinburgh VCtop teams Cup – Women Edinburgh Jets VC

Scottish Cup Winnersthistle Bowl – Men City of Edinburgh VCthistle Bowl – Women Edinburgh Jets VC

plate – Men Bells Cardinals of north lanarkshire VCplate – Women north Grampian VC

Scottish Cup – Men City of Edinburgh VCScottish Cup – Women City of Edinburgh VC

Men’s Schelde Sports Nl winnersMen’s 1st Division Kilmarnock Blaze VCMen’s 2nd Division Dundee VCMen’s 3rd Division Beacon of Granite City VC

Women’s Schelde Sports Nl winnersWomen’s 1st Division City of Edinburgh VCWomen’s 2nd Division Aberdonia of Granite City VC

Celtic Cup Women City of EdinburghMen Kilmarnock Blaze

Regional league 1st Dundee University2nd Kinross VC3rd linlithgow hornets VC4th perth VC

our commission shall undergo a restructure for the coming season, hopefully ensuring that we continue to fulfil our part towards a bigger, better and stronger plan.

this year I have had several of my team retire, namely Dave Stoddard who has been a stalwart of competitions for many years, his valued insight will be missed and I would like to thank him for his years for service. Graeme Spowart moved on to take the role of Club and participation Development officer, and again I wish him well in his new role. Gordon Welsh has also decided to retire to spend time with his growing family. Gordon has helped when things were tough and we will miss his knowledge and unique viewpoints on our team.

Mike heaneyPresident, Competitions Commission


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International Special Events Commission Report

Since the beginning of this season, the Special Events Committee have made it their mission to be delivering “Bigger, Better, Stronger” in each event. It has been a busy year of events this year, which for me personally, kicked off with involvement with British Volleyball in the European league. I was able to work with Wayne Coyle and the British Events team in allowing the Great Britain Men’s and Women’s teams to compete in the CEV European league. Summer 2011, I was also involved in the london prepares test event at Earls Court, which served as a marvellous experience in preparation for the olympic Games, particularly in my role as Sports Equipment group leader.

August 2012 saw a flagship event for Scottish Volleyball and a huge involvement from the Special Events Committee. In partnership with both north and South lanarkshire Councils, we led the Volleyball event at the International Children’s Games 2011. held at Wishaw SC, we delivered a two court, 15 team spectacular with U16 boys and girl’s teams from as far away as South Korea, Slovenia and the USA. Representation from lanarkshire and Edinburgh made up the Scottish contingent. It was a fantastic event, culminating in a more-than full house at Wishaw for the finals.

In the absence of the Christmas International this year, the top teams Cup Final stood alone in December. Four of the top flight, first division teams made up the two finals. It was a quiet event but Edinburgh Jets Women and City of Edinburgh Men battled through to win. those that missed the event, missed out. It offered two very close, fantastic five-set games.

After Christmas, Junior Volleyball took centre stage for Special Events and we assisted with the delivery of both the Jnl play-offs and Scottish School Cup Finals. the Schools finals were held at Coatbridge high School over two nights and it was a pleasure to see some high-class volleyball at this level. the Jnl U16 and U19 Finals were, once again, held at Wishaw Sports Centre – which is fast becoming the home

of Scottish Volleyball. Both the boys and girls events displayed some fantastic volleyball with City of Edinburgh dominating in the U16 Finals. the U19 event, as usual, only goes to semi-final stage and we look forward to welcoming the teams of City of Edinburgh (boys), Marr College (boys), Futures (girls) and Su Ragazzi (girls) to Finals Weekend in April. All four teams demonstrated commitment, drive and determination in their matches.

For the first time, Scottish Volleyball hosted the CEV Small Countries Junior Mens Final Round Junior Men event at the beginning of April this year. Another first for us was making use of the new Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, which proved to be a very useful facility for hosting an International competition. A hard, week-long competition ran with teams from Scotland, Ireland, northern Ireland, Cyprus, luxembourg and San Marino. A top-class event was delivered, showcasing volleyball at International level and proving that Scotland is able to deliver events at this level. positive feedback from CEV and those that attended demonstrated our capability and we look forward to hosting events of this calibre in the future.

the Finals Weekend at the end of April was again a great success and working with our colleagues in the SVA Staff and Commissions we delivered a showcase event, proving that we are Bigger, Better, Stronger in all that we do.

Jen downsPresident, International Special Events


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Referees Commission Report

the work of the Referees Commission can be grouped under Domestic training Activities (Indoor and Beach), Servicing of Competitions (Indoor and Beach) and International Involvements.

AChIEVEMENTS

1 domestic Training Activities: the main achievements in this area are; • Running of referee courses covering grade

2, 3 & 4 plus a Jnl Introductory award • the Beach referees, many of whom have

been signed to london 2012 as ntos, continued to service the Beach tour in summer 2011. In 2012 there is another full programme of Beach events

• In terms of the KpIs, we have achieved our targets, including involvement at the olympic Games, london 2012, however we need to make renewed progress on Grade 1

2 Servicing of Competitions and Other Activities Appointments to SVA competitions: matches

were provided with referees as per regulations; however this proved to be quite challenging this year.

personnel for additional competitions throughout the year were also supplied, although this was difficult when other fixtures were scheduled for the same day.

3 International Involvement • Appointments to Internationals (targets

met: referees, line judges and scorers – and technical Delegate,). We also benefited

from visitors from Volleyball England. our biggest success was the Small Countries Division Finals. John Swan was the CEV nominated Referee but many other referees did great work, servicing the event in many capacities

• Alice Stewart and Douglas orr have done sterling work to get line judges and scorers to this and other SVA events

• Appointment to BVF training events has proved troublesome and the reduction in Government funding has meant that the home nations Referees Commissions have had to pick up the expenses. training for potential olympic ntos (line judges and scorers) continued. the Beach ntos had to travel further afield to places like Rome, Den haag, Gstaad, etc on the FIVB World tour. Further training events (or at least evaluations) have taken place within the Small Countries event and are also scheduled for the GB events in June

• CEV appointments – international referee administration and appointments (targets met)

• neVoBo appointments – the impact of these appointments for our international referees has been without measure – many thanks to peter Scheffer of netherlands for making this happen. the money has since been re-directed to pay for ntos within SCD Finals and other events

• FIVB Activities – Referee Administration, registration and ratification/ Rules of the Game Commission/ World Championships Events. Brian McDougall refereed at the World Championships in Argentina, and Sandy Steel was Refereeing Delegate in the World Juniors in Brazil as well as acting as Course Instructor in an IRCC in thailand

• John Swan and Grant Macintyre have also been getting more appointments, but there still seems a disparity between Scottish and other European Referees

• the UK School games had a good support from SVA personnel. Grant Macintyre acted as Refereeing Delegate and did so again this year in May


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TRAINING IN dETAIl

We still require more clubs to help us organise Refereeing Courses. the process has to be constantly on the agenda of training opportunities, and Club Development targets. Albert Jaster has done a lot of work to support this format and to find a fixed point in the calendar for, especially, Grade 4 courses. thanks are also due to the Universities for their regular September course, which has also become a fixed point in the calendar. A progress plan for Students is on the cards. the new Jnl referee course has again proved popular. the success of the Jnl refereeing course is down to Douglas orr’s drive and commitment, so finally further congratulations and well done to him.

the one-day Grade 2 has also proved to be a successful format. the YS event benefited from one recently. We hope that clubs running tournaments in season 2012/13 will approach us in plenty of time.

COMMISSION MEMBERS ANd ThEIR ROlES

Commission responsibilities can be found on the SVA website and in the handbook.

INTERNATIONAl REFEREES/ INTERNATIONAl INVOlVEMENTS

the big event this year is london 2012 – Scotland has met its Beach and Volleyball targets for involvement in both of these disciplines and also in Sitting Volleyball later in the paralympics. our next target for our referees is to gain nomination to Youth and Junior World Events in preparation for london 2012, and to generate “legacy” for the future.

Sandy Steel attended the FIVB headquarters in Switzerland, as president of FIVB’s Rules of the Game Commission, in January 2012 and again for their Executive / Board meeting in

March to determine the Working programme for 2011-12. he also attended a special meeting in lausanne to determine the direction of Beach. At the time of writing he is now in charge of harmonising BEACh and VollEYBAll rules at the World level. So there may be some changes come the Congress in Anaheim, USA, September 2012.

Several of our ntos will score and line judge at International Beach events this summer as part of the GB nto programme. others will be involved in the GB indoor matches in Glasgow and Edinburgh in June.

COMMITMENT

I wish to thank all of the referee commission members for their hard work and dedication. It goes without saying that through the dedication and commitment of our officials the SVA leagues and competitions would not be possible. on behalf of the Referees Commission I would like to thank you all for giving up your time to assist with the delivery of our events.

Sandy SteelPresident, SVA Referees Commission

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Student (Universities) Commission Report

there have been a number of developments within student volleyball in the past season, not least with the development of the college sector. Student player registration figures continue to be healthy, with 312 students registered with the SVA in 2011/12. A record 27 teams (14 women’s and 13 men’s teams) competed in the Scottish Universities leagues this season, with Edinburgh and napier winning the men’s and women’s top leagues respectively. the battle for promotion to tier 1 was very tight this season – Edinburgh women and Glasgow men eventually claiming the promoted spot in what will be an extended 6 team league next season.

Another healthy entry of 9 women’s and 10 men’s teams in the Cup competition resulted in Edinburgh men completing a league and cup “double” and St Andrews deservedly winning the women’s Cup for the first time in nearly 30 years.

the target for the most successful Scottish teams continues to be the British Universities (BUCS) trophy and Championship and again Scottish teams continued their recent good form at the event. Edinburgh men finished a creditable third in their Championship; while napier completed their season with a 5th place finish in the women’s Championship.

Following the integration of college sporting activity under the new umbrella organisation of Scottish Student Sport (SSS), the development of volleyball within the further education sector continues. the Scottish Colleges Final, played as part of a multi-sport event at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility on 29th February, was an excellent advert for this sector. Aberdeen College retained their women’s title beating telford in the Final, while Elmwood College from Fife excelled to reach the men’s Final before losing to a strong telford team.

Increasing work is taking place within the college sector to develop volleyball and further development and integration of college players in regional and national competitions will take place in the coming season. this work should see the overall student playing numbers rise significantly, adding to an already vibrant sector of our sport.

An increasingly crowded competition calendar, with a particularly busy April, meant that the annual Scottish Student Challenge event involving the national Squads and the Scottish Universities representative squads, did not take place. however, challenge matches with the Scottish Junior men’s and women’s squads in advance of their successful participation in the European Junior Championships did take place and continued the positive relationship between the student community and the national team programmes.

the first ever Scottish Student Festival took place in Dundee on 17th March and was supported by 6 different institutions and fifteen different teams. the event was a great success and is the start of what is hoped to be an annual celebration of volleyball within the tertiary education sector.

over 30 different nationalities play volleyball within the student sector of our sport, providing a rich mix of experiences, backgrounds and abilities. Student volleyball continues to be an important and unique part of the volleyball family in Scotland and 2011/12 has been yet another vintage year!

Paul McPatePresident, Student Commission


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Youth and Schools Commission Report

this has been another challenging year in terms of Commission personnel, however thanks to the office, Board and the Commission members, the effects on participation were not too disrupted. I am delighted that the role of Club & participation Development officer has resumed full time status, and early meetings with Graeme Spowart indicate that his involvement with our Commission will be invaluable.

Affiliation saw an increase from 53 to 71 schools this year and School Festivals were oversubscribed leaving some planning to be undertaken to accommodate all entries next season where possible. there were 7 events, 234 teams, 1269 players.

Junior national league began with a successful pre-season tournament and saw three new teams join the league to total 21 teams, 229 players. Discussions are currently underway to refresh the league for next season.

Many junior players represented Scotland as we hosted the CEV Small nations Championships at U20 for boys and received bronze medals. Meanwhile, the U19 girls competed in the same competition hosted by Cyprus and brought home silver.

Scottish Schools Cup entries saw a rise in senior teams, identical S2/3 teams though a reduction in p7/S1 teams with totals of 73 teams, 426 players. Fabulous finals nights took place in March, which attracted many spectators, and VIp’s. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Greg Coburn for his tireless work with the Schools Cup over the years as he steps down to give someone else the challenge and rewards of running this competition. thanks also to north lanarkshire Council for facilitating the finals.

During a summer of Beach Volleyball, several junior events were hosted as well as a ‘Sea & Sand’ initiative and this year sees an emphasis on junior beach performance.

UK School Games took place in Sheffield, September 2011 where 48 young athletes

represented Scotland with pride. Due to the olympic Games, the newly named School Games could not take place at the usual time slot, therefore it moved to May 2012 in london. Again 48 athletes attended through the additional challenges of a shortened preparation time, studies and exams during the event for some, however every single one of them were an absolute credit to themselves, their school and their county by embracing the challenges and displaying a fantastic level of performance.

our Grant Aid scheme continues to make a difference to several schools and clubs with many purchasing equipment to set up new clubs or to put staff through coaching courses. Jets VC won ‘Club of the Year’ and were offered our ‘Gold Star’ award for 2011 – 12. ‘Meet me at the net’ continued this year with thanks to the Board and was continued when our C&pDM returned from maternity and benefited clubs around the country.

Child protection remains a priority and the association now has the ‘protecting Vulnerable Groups’ system comfortably underway.

In conclusion, an action packed season for current and future Volleyball players of all ages and my best wishes to all for another exciting season.

youth & Schools Commission Members:

• heather Darling – president & Jnl organising Committee• Steve Scott – Jnl organising Committee• Greg Coburn • Jess Reid • Colin Giles• Steven Raeburn• Claire Crowe

heather darlingPresident, Youth & Schools Commission


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Senior Women’s national team Report

By 2021 the Senior Women’s national team will be competing in the 2nd round proper of the CEV European Championship.

this is the 20:21 Vision which the Senior Women’s national team programme (SWntp) has signed up to and the catalyst for the work that began before the last point of the 2010-2011 season had been won.

the key to developing the 20:21 Vision is creating the right performance environment. this is dependent on four elements:

1 The physical environment (i.e. the practice venue) 2 The Players3 The Staff4 Technical improvements

the first changes occurred in the physical environment when a partnership agreement was struck with Active Stirling to base the SWntp at the pEAK Centre in Stirling. this immediately raised the profile of the programme by establishing it in a quality sports facility used by the public. Coupled with the introduction of branded training kit this had the immediate impact of placing a greater responsibility on the players to act as ambassadors for the SVA and the sport.

the players were challenged from the outset, not just in terms of what happened on court but in everything that they did. the key message was that you are not only an International player when you are at national team practice or in competition. You are a national team player 24/7. It isn’t about having an ambition to play for Scotland, it’s about having the ambition to win with Scotland.

the Staff were equally challenged. If the players were being asked to demonstrate the appropriate level of commitment and approach

then the Staff were required to do likewise. External Staff in physiotherapy and Strength and Conditioning were brought in not just to add another level of expertise but to further enhance the performance environment that is fundamental to the success of the programme. the SVA has always made good use of external expertise, be it in CpD Clinics or even the Board, and this is a support mechanism that is seen as being of great importance within the SWntp.

technical improvements will always be required if the 20:21 Vision is to turn into a reality. the higher the level of competition the greater the physical, technical, tactical and psychological demands on the players. But, the only real way you can measure progress in these areas is through playing.

the squad travelled to Ireland in october to play its first international under the new programme leadership. A 3-2 win was a welcome result but while the performance level was high in many instances it was not stable and there was still a lot of work to be done. the novotel Cup in luxembourg in January 2012 was the next checkpoint. It was approached with eager anticipation and much confidence. the outcomes of the three matches played have been well documented through the reports on the SVA website. needless to say the three losses and overall performances were a major blow to confidence all round. It resulted in some very searching questions for players and staff alike. It was a tough time.

If you believe enough in something then you will be prepared to deal with adversity. If you value something you will fight to hold on to it. the players and staff have done both. there is an immense belief within the group that we can turn this round by the time we head out to Malta towards the end of June to play in the CEV Small Countries Division qualifier. Why?


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Because luxembourg taught us a lesson about what it means to be a performance athlete.

Cyprus, Ireland, liechtenstein and Malta stand between us and the Finals in 2013. Behaving like a performance athlete, believing in yourself and trusting your team-mates creates the platform

for success. We are confident that our platform is much stronger to deal with anything that our opponents may throw at us. now we have to go and prove it. Craig FaillHead Coach, Senior Women’s National Team

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Senior Men’s national team Report

the 2011/12 season has been one of transition as we coped with the retirement of a number of senior players and have tried to integrate several new players to the squad.

off the court I have been joined by new Assistant Coach Iain Cook who in a short space of time has made a great impact with the team and myself, most notably in luxembourg where he helped steady the ship against the English.

I have tried to engage the various club coaches by offering sessions on DataVolley as well extending an open invitation to our practice sessions. this has proved to be relatively fruitful as Jets head Coach John Gaughan took up the invitation and in recent weeks I have been approached by Jade Yee lim (a phD student from Edinburgh Uni.) about developing a role for her as statistician with the programme.

In terms of the performance of the team on court the Scottish Men’s team have been phenomenal, every practice session has been approached in the same manner; hard working, competitive and most importantly in a supportive and cooperative way which allows the players to push the edge of their performance.

the work ethic has transferred directly in to the International matches we played in the last 12 months and was backed up with the win at the 2012 novotel Cup in luxembourg. this tournament win was a massive achievement for the Scottish team and marked a changing of the guard with players like Fraser Brown, Seain Cook, Jamie Mchardy and Stewart Caldwell all making significant contributions in what was an extremely young and inexperienced squad.

these players along with the Junior national team players that acquitted themselves so well in the Small nations Championships this year show that there is a lot of young talent and that if we continue to develop them we can qualify for the finals of the Small nations Championships next year and hopefully improve on our 4th place at the last championships.

As is the norm in my reports I would like to thanks Steve Scott for his continued support and Iain Cook for joining the coaching team with a new look on things and for bringing great enthusiasm to the role.

I would also like to thank coaches like Barry McGuigan and Stuart Edgar for taking the messages from the national team and applying it to their club situations; I really do appreciate the support. Finally I would like to thank the Scottish Volleyball public for the messages of support over the last 12 month and in particular during the novotel Cup, all of the players and staff got a massive lift knowing that we had the nation behind us.

Simon loftusHead Coach, Senior Men’s National Team


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Young Senior Women’s national team Report

It was a highly successful competitive season for the Scotland Young Senior Women’s Group.

In october 2011 it was decided that the Scotland Junior Women (under 18’s) should enter the European Small Countries Championships for the first time ever. the European Small Countries Division consists of 15 European Countries and the draw saw Scotland pitted on a qualifying pool with Cyprus, northern Ireland and Malta to be held in Malta. In preparation the Scots prepared hard and we could tell in training matches against a north of England junior squad that our young women had substantial ability. In Malta in January 2012, following a tough match against a strong Cyprus team which was lost 3-1 the Scots went on to defeat both Malta and northern Ireland by 3 sets to 0 to reach the finals to be played in Cyprus at Easter 2012. In Malta the Scots women gained further recognition when Claire Ramage and Sophie hunter won individual awards for best hitter and best server respectively.

the team went to the finals in Cyprus with limited expectations as they were the new kids on the block and due to the loss of Claire Ramage. however, another tough fought defeat by Cyprus (1-3) was followed by an exceptional performance against reigning champions luxembourg (coming from 2-0 down to win 16-14 in the fifth) and an impressive performance against the pool winners from the second qualifying group leichtenstein. A 3-1 win over the principality saw the Scots take the silver medal behind Cyprus. this was only the second time a Scottish team either junior or senior and male or female had won a silver medal at the Small Countries Championships and the first time ever on foreign soil. In the words of the European Volleyball Confederation’s press officer at the event the Scottish women were “brilliant”. Sophie hunter again received an individual award, this time for best receiver and naomi Symonds was best blocker.

on one other front it was a very successful season for the Young Senior Women’s Group

as it saw Claire Ramage, Becky Arthur, Sophie hunter, naomi Symonds, Katie Sampson all invited to join up with other recent graduates from the group such as Kirsty Mclean, Alex Dickenson, Caitlin McEwan, Emma Clarkson, hazel Gow and Kay Wheatley to train with the Scotland Senior Women’s Squad.

All but two members of the fourteen players who went to Malta and/or Cyprus were playing Scottish Senior Women’s First or Second Division volleyball (eleven in the first division) and this shows how important experience is to the junior player but also how important our junior players are becoming to our senior game.

All fourteen players were playing Junior national league too and they played a part in creating some high quality matches but it is essential that we manage to convince more of our Scottish Cup entrants and other schools/clubs to make the transition to Jnl to broaden the base of our sport as there are too few teams playing this form of the game.

the UK School Games continue to provide welcome very high level British Competition for our young women (at under 17 level) and we should pay tribute to our coaches and team managers during the 2011/12 season for the work they did in preparing our West of Scotland and East of Scotland teams to their usual high standard, namely Jess Reid, Vince Krawczyk, Jill Galloway, Jenny Krawczyk, linda Anderson and Beth parker.

our heavy emphasis in the 2011/12 season on the Small Countries Championships meant that following the international matches against England in May we did not offer any competitive outlet to our under 20 group thereafter and we need to look at offering something tangible to that age group in the season ahead, as well as begin the preparation with a group of under 16 year olds for the next Small Countries Championships in 2014 as it must now be our target to match or improve upon our great performances of this season.


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there are a number of significant thank you’s due at the end of this season. Firstly, of course, to all the girls who participated in our training programmes but with a particular thank you to those players who played in Malta and Cyprus (listed below with the number of caps they now have at this level). Secondly, to their school and club coaches for the work they continue to put in to this talented group. thirdly, to the parents and guardians who spend so much time on the road and provide so much emotional and financial support to these young sports women. Fourthly to all those who have assisted us at the Scottish Volleyball Association, particularly CEo Margaret Ann Fleming, for releasing the expenditure for our vastly increased budget, thomas Dowens and Fiona Mcnelly along with Kirsteen and Stephanie on the admin front. A special mention goes to Scottish Sports Aid and the Robertson trust who generously supported both legs of our international travel to the Small Countries events. Finally, the whole season and the Small Countries Championships could not have run so magnificently well for Scotland without the very substantial input from my fellow coach tom Rooney and our team manager (and sometime coach) Aileen hall.

thanks to everyone. I hope there are such good or even better times ahead for the young women’s group, I know that by working together we will achieve a lot.

Vince KrawczykHead Coach, Young Senior Women

International Caps at under 18 level during 2011/2012

Sophie hunter 6Beckie Arthur 6Gemma Ramsay 6naomi Symonds 6Mhairi Agnew 6Katie Sampson 6Katy Barbour 6Eilidh Cruise 6nicola McKenzie 6Michalina ognewa 6Claire Ramage 3Elise Rodgers 3Katie Shaw 3laurie McKillop 3

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Young Senior Men’s national team Report

At the start of the 2011/12 competitive season, a significant change in his working circumstances meant that Iain parker, the head Coach of the YS Men’s programme, had to reluctantly resign his post. John Scrimgeour and myself volunteered to coach the programme in an interim basis, until the formal recruitment processes could be delivered. Shortly after this contingency arrangement had been made the decision was taken to enter the YS programmes into the SCD Junior Championships. this in turn established a clear set of development targets for the programme;

• to deliver a performance development programme designed to prepare the players for the event

• to deliver an appropriate player development and selection process• to be competitive in the final tournament

A programme of practice and development sessions, that were linked to the SVA’s player and coach development pathways, was established for the period october 2011 – April 2012. A total of 35 players were nominated to participate in the programme. the players were informed that a minimum of 80% attendance at the various sessions was the minimum requirement for potential selection for the final event. the initial group of 35 nominees was reduced to a working squad of 23. there were a total of 18 development sessions for the squad, which included;

• whole squad practice days• specialist clinics for key positions• establishing personal development plans and

targets for each of the squad members• a four day camp in December• three competitive sessions with South

Ayrshire, Su Ragazzi and the Scottish University teams providing the opposition

• participation in the Jnl• a conditioning programme leading to the

final event

• a sports psychology programme aimed at helping the players to develop their concentration skills and confidence; this programme was greatly enhanced by the support offered by Willie pettigrew, who delivered an inspirational talk to the players on the eve of their first match

the SCD European Championship finals were held in Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility in Motherwell. the Scottish team won the bronze medal, and team captain Grant Gwynne won the tournament award for ‘Best Setter’. An overall assessment would conclude that the Scottish team performed well in the final tournament and thoroughly deserved their place on the medal podium.

thanks are due to a number of people who helped to ensure the success of the programme;

• the national team staff; John Scrimgeour, John French, Greg Coburn, Freddie Fairbairn, and physio Steve Williamson

• the members of Su Ragazzi, South Ayrshire and the Scottish University Clubs

• the Referees Commission (particularly Sue Kee and Steve Scott)

• the SVA office Staff • the parents of the players for all of their

help and support – thanks again Kim!

And finally to the superb group of very talented Scottish players who’s enthusiasm, work ethic and application ensured this was both a successful and very enjoyable experience for all involved.

Thomas dowensInterim Head Coach, Young Senior Men’s National Team


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Statistical Report 2011 – 2012

In Summary, the affiliated and active members of our Association as at end of Season is as follows:

Affiliated Clubs 60 Registered teams 137 Affiliated Schools 71

Senior Membership 1051 Junior Membership 212 Associate Membership 126

Qualified Coaches Male Femalelevel 0 2 2level 1 388 266level 2 50 33level 3 34 23level 4 8 2level 5 12 1UKCC 93 64

Registered Coaches 54 14

Qualified Referees Male FemaleInternational 4 0Grade 1 9 0Grade 2 26 8Grade 3 41 27Grade 4 175 175Beach 5 3Junior 40 47

Registered Referees 163 82

player Registration Male FemaleDivision 1 103 95Division 2 76 51Division 3 56 0University 127 185District Seniors 165 150District Juniors 4 10Junior 109 140Regional 50 2

Sub totals 690 633

Total Player Registrations 1323


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Beach (over 8 Beach tours) Male Female total2V2 137 69 375Junior 29 0 244-a-side 8Junior Festivals 18 16 34

School Festivals number of teams number of players p7/S1 75 300S2/S3 101 505S4/5/6 58 464

Scottish School Cup number of teams number of players p7/S1 20 80S2/S3 26 130S4/5/6 27 216

School participation - take on School Affiliation Information – approximate figures

Curricular Activities 21866 Extra Curricular Activities 1884

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Scottish Volleyball Association

Scottish Volleyball Association, 48 The Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9TJ Telephone: 0131 556 4633 Fax: 0131 557 4314 Email: [email protected] www.scottishvolleyball.org

B I G G E R • B E T T E R • S T R O N G E R

scottish volleyball association, sva annual report 2011 - 2012

Documents

s c o t t

r e p o r t

s s o c

european volleyball

s h v o

young senior mens

british volleyball federation

young senior womens