With 23 teams and over 200 players aged 9 to 13 years old, Volleyball BC’s annual Elementary School Tournament was very busy this Sunday! 8 Boys teams and 15 Girls teams competed in Round Round Robin play in the morning, followed by afternoon playoffs to determine the prize winners.
The standard of play was very high with the quality improving throughout the day and some great performances particularly from our younger teams, who had to think creatively to win points against the older teams. The future of volleyball in BC is bright!
In the Pool Play stages, the Pacific Academy teams looked very strong, with both Boys’ teams topping their groups and their Grade 7 Girls teams also easing into the Tier 1 playoffs. Grenfell “Griffins” Girls also remained unbeaten in the morning play with the remainder of the pool ranking matches very tight with some long matches!
Lunchtime saw the special ‘Serving Contest’ put on just for Elementary School entrants – with a basket full of prizes up for grabs it was a popular contest. All players called up who were able to serve onto the targets received a Volleyball BC themed prize – well done to all the winners!
The afternoon saw barely a straightforward match in sight, with several tight 3 set thrillers in both competitions. In the Boys draw, Khalsa overcame Pacific Academy Blue 15-7 in the third, only to go on straight after against Pacific Academy Red who had already defeated them in their morning match up. It took 3 sets again, but Khalsa emerged victorious 2-1. In Tier 2, Roberts Creek Boys overcame Old Yale road, followed closely by their Girls squad, beating Burnaby’s Seaforth “B” to take 1st place in the Tier2 Girls.
Across on Court 5, the Tier 3 Girls finals saw the Grade 5 and 6 teams in action – with Grade 5 St Anthony’s taking the gold spot. Definitely a team to watch over the next two years! The final game of the day fell to the Tier 1 Girls finalists featuring unbeaten Grenfell “Griffins” taking on also unbeaten Pacific Academy 7s Red, who had just beaten their PA compatriots in a close fought semi. Another deciding set saw Grenfell edge ahead and take the 1st place with an excellent final kill attack!
Well done to everyone who took part and congratulations to our Tier winners: Khalsa Boys (Tier 1), Roberts Creek Boys (Tier 2), Grenfell “Griffins Girls (Tier 1), Roberts Creek Girls (Tier 2) and St Anthony’s (Tier 3). For the full final standings, visit our Schools Volleyball page.
As is tradition, each team were also asked to submit a banner and the standard certainly made judging tough! After careful consideration, this year’s winners were École Pacifique Sechelt 6/7s girls team with their banner showing “Volleyball for Life” – congratulations!
Dates for our 2013 School tournament series will shortly be released with entry opening in Summer 2013 – we look forward to welcoming even more schools to Harry Jerome Sports Centre!
