Munster Express Online

SpikeBall players from Gaelscoil Philib Barun, Tramore.

Last month Christ the King Secondary School in Douglas played host to the SpikeBall primary schools’ southern region finals. Teams from primary schools in Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford took part in this exciting event. SpikeBall is an adapted volleyball game that has been growing steadily in popularity amongst primary and post-primary schools over the past number of years.

To qualify for the regional finals, schools first played in county finals in their respective counties in 3 categories of competition: boys’, girls’ and mixed; with the winners in each category going forward to the regional finals.

Representing Waterford in this year’s regional finals was Gaelscoil Philib Barun from Tramore, with teams in the girls’, boys’ and mixed competitions. These teams qualified from the Waterford county finals that took place in CBS Secondary School in Tramore in December.

The standard of play was very high on the day, with great improvement evident in teams since their last competition before Christmas.

The adapted rules, in particular the second touch being a catch and throw, ensure more rallies and attacking play and this was evident throughout the competition. From the first introduction to the sport, players are encouraged to hit the ball as attacking the ball is the most exciting part of volleyball. Indeed, it was the teams that used their attack to the best effect who were the most successful in the competition.

The Gaelscoil players had tough draws in the early rounds of the competition but each team was equal to the challenge and qualified for the quarter-finals in their respective competitions. In the girls’ competition the Gaelscoil Lions were up against last year’s national champions, the Ardfert Smashers from Kerry.

Despite a very spirited performance, the Lions were unable to conquer their opponents and exited the competition at the quarter-final stage.

The Ardfert Smashers were eventual winners of the girls’ competition, reclaiming their regional title. In the boys’ and mixed competition the Gaelscoil Hitters and Gaelscoil Tigers too had their regional title hopes dashed by the Glenbeigh Warriors and Ardfert Blockers respectively, both from Kerry. Both these teams also finished overall winners in each competition.

While the Gaelscoil teams may be disappointed at not reaching the national finals, they can be proud of their performance on the day and will be back again next year as strong contenders.

Thanks goes to the transition-year students from Christ the King Secondary School and Glanmire Community College who assisted in running the competitions and also officiated all the matches.

The TYs are participating in the SpikeBall Transition Year Leader Programme run by the Volleyball Association as part of the Women in Sport initiative. The programme has been a great success in introducing volleyball to many new primary schools, and has been a great experience for both the primary school pupils and the Transition Years involved.

Overall, the day was a great success. The national finals take place this month, where the teams from the south will be pitched against the best of the east and west.

If you would like any further information on the SpikeBall schools programme or any other volleyball queries, contact Ciara Buckley, Development Officer, Southern Region, at 086-8173990 or south@volleyballireland.com