Volleyball WA this weekend held its annual AGM and Club Conference, reporting on yet another year of exceptional growth despite the constant presence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the wider WA community, with an additional 20,000 + new members/participants over the 2021 period.

Our Discover Volleyball programs which provide opportunities for Kids and Teens to “try” volleyball increased by a staggering 13,400 participants, this was complemented by our school’s program which delivered an additional 617 sessions to an additional 5,705 students.

Our Clubs have also experienced incredible growth reflected in an additional 75 teams being entered into the WA Volleyball League (WAVL) and Junior League (WAVJL) indoor competition. Their individual reports in the 2021 Annual Report highlight the results of extremely hard-working committees and tell some wonderful stories about the sport.

The Club Conference is an opportunity for the State Sporting Organisation to reflect on success but also to gather feedback and input, introduce new staff, and initiatives, and reveal to the audience plans for future support and continued growth.

We would like to thank some of the external speakers who gave up their Saturday to add value to the program.  Tara Whitney from Whitney Consulting passed on some of her expertise in writing successful grants, outlining her approach, and providing encouragement and confidence to our clubs.

Damian Oldmeadow from Star Physio talked to the group about injury management and about how to keep athletes on the court. And then Sara Yates from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries who delivered an update on the KidSport program and the new COVID cleaning grant opportunity. The key takeaway for our Clubs was to remember that the $150 subsidy can support young kids to get a start in volleyball but equally could support a junior to play in the WAVJL.

As part of our commitment to the health and wellbeing of our athletes,  we used the conference as an opportunity to introduce Outside the Locker Room. Volleyball WA will partner with them in 2022 to deliver mental health education and welfare support to our state teams and encourage our Clubs to consider their programs for their community.

Thanks also to our host and sports sponsor the Metro Hotel Perth who provided the meeting facilities and what I heard was the best lunch had at a Club Conference event.

To read all about the year of Volleyball in WA in 2021 follow this link or head to the About section of the website.