With the new volleyball season well underway, the range of activity within the university continues to grow, underlining why this sector of the game in Scotland has so many strengths.

The start of a new academic year is always fraught with new challenges and demands on students, not least the need for new club officials to get to grips with the many administrative tasks requiring completed in a short space of time on returning to campus – not to mention the stresses of getting teams selected and in shape for the start of the university league season!

This season sees a total of twenty seven teams participating in the Scottish Division of the British Universities and Colleges (BUCS) Programme.  The universities league season in Scotland typically finishes by mid-February, allowing the top teams to progress to the knock-out stages of the BUCS Championship, which culminates in the BUCS Championships 2009 from 11 – 15 March in Sheffield with 11 venues, 22 sports and 5000 athletes involved!

Currently both men’s and women’s leagues have clear leaders, with both Napier and Dundee respectively having only dropped one set in their first 6 matches and looking as though they will be taking their place against the best of the English qualifiers in the New Year. In Div. 2, a strong Dundee men’s team have gone one better, having not dropped a set this season, while Glasgow women are looking to bounce back to Div. 1, having only dropped one set to Stirling.

While the responses to the annual audit of student volleyball in Scotland are currently being collated, it is clear that the sport is in rude health within the student sector.  At Dundee University, for example, the club currently has over 60 paid-up members and puts out five different teams each week – three of which play in the local district league competition.

Since September the Dundee University club have put four members through a Grade 4 officials course and five through a Level 1 coaching course to allow them to assist with junior development in the city.  Attendance at training on Wednesday and Friday evenings regularly approaches 40 and this is supplemented by separate strength and conditioning sessions and a 7.15am training session on Tuesdays (where the average attendance is 18).  With facts and figures like this, the common perception of students being less than committed to their sport, is soon corrected!

All-in-all, the rich mix of nationalities, playing abilities and backgrounds, makes university volleyball a wonderfully vibrant and energetic part of our sport – social evenings; fundraisers; club tours and reunions complements weekly competition and proves that the future of volleyball in Scotland is in good hands! 

Paul McPate is the Chair of SVA’s Student Commission.