Scottish Student Volleyball – A Background

Scottish Student Volleyball is one of the longest-standing competitive environments within the Scottish Volleyball Association – the men’s annual Cup competition having been contested for nearly fifty years! 

Volleyball in Scottish Universities is characterised by large numbers of participants in clubs run by elected committees of enthusiastic student volunteers.  University clubs are often supported by large numbers of oversees players, who provide a unique blend of international experience of volleyball – often from countries where the sport has a much higher profile than in Scotland.

University volleyball clubs suffer from a unique problem within Scottish Volleyball – they usually have too many club members to be able to cope!  Each October sees a huge influx of players to university clubs – of all abilities from complete beginner, to those with international experience. 

It is perhaps the “sink or swim” scenario that some clubs face in providing for such large numbers, which has ensure that the Scottish Universities environment has produced some of the most able, dedicated and influential individuals within the sport in Scotland.  A quick look at the current SVA handbook  highlights a plethora of ex-student players and enthusiasts, who have further developed the skills learnt within the student environment, to become key catalysts in the sports’ continued development within Scotland.

Administration of Scottish Student Volleyball
In addition to operating within the constitution of the SVA, Scottish Universities Volleyball is also one of 36 sports administered and supported by Scottish Student Sport (SSS) – the national organisation for staff and elected students involved in providing for sport and exercise within the higher education sector in Scotland.

Each sport within SSS has its own dedicated, volunteer Development Coordinator.  The coordinators for Scottish Student Volleyball is Paul McPate.

The respective development coordinator administers the domestic and international representative programmes for Scottish Student Volleyball.  This includes:

Scottish Student Leagues (BUCS Tier 1A & 2A)
Scottish Student Cup
Scottish College Finals
SSS Beach Championship
International Student Challenge