Dundee University VC Turns Back the Years

Over 60 current and former members of the Dundee University Volleyball Club met up for a reunion on the court - and at the bar – recently to celebrate the success of the current club members.

The Alumni Reunion weekend saw former club members from the past five decades rekindle their memories of student sport and volleyball contests and meet up with old friends as well as the new crop of volleyball stars.  Former players came from Italy, France and Norway as well as from throughout Britain, demonstrating that volleyball memories and club loyalties last long and clear.

Friday night saw the “advanced-guard” of alumni attend the club’s regular Friday evening training session and join current members in their sponsor bar afterwards.  On Saturday nearly 50 players were involved in both a 6 v 6 challenge match between current and former players and a more leisurely 4 v 4 recreational tournament.  Although the current players came good in the 6 v 6 matches, the former players took their time in warming up and demonstrated on the smaller courts some skills and court knowledge which left their younger successors impressed.

Like all good reunions, age was soon forgotten and tales of current and past volleyball triumphs, tragedies and comedies meant that by the time the Ceilidh started in the student union in the evening, Dundee University VC, young and old, were partying as one: although there was an age span of 40 years amongst those present, it really was not apparent!

Like all sports clubs, lifelong friendships have been formed over the years, and the club has even produced one wedding, with one couple, Phil and Liz Hudson, tying the knot in 1993 after first meeting at the club. 

DUVC currently has 22 nations represented in its membership of 90, and is arguably Dundee University’s most successful sports club, having won both Team of the Year for the past two years and being named Club of the Year for 2009.   The women’s team recently won the British Universities and Colleges Sport Trophy, having been runners-up in the British Universities Championship last season while their male counterparts won the Scottish Universities League and Cup double this season and have been unbeaten in league competition for two years.

In addition. the club has provided numerous players for Scottish Universities Select Squads for both men and women, and several members have represented their country at international level over the years.

The club hopes to repeat the highly successful reunion weekend to enable the many former members who couldn’t attend this time to return and continue their association with the club.  Indeed future reunions will allow current members to return and celebrate future generations’ successes!