2009
The Inter Regional Championships saw over 450 junior athletes across the country descend on Loughborough town for two days of volleyball competition across 4 age groups.
This year two teams from Wales and Northern Ireland were invited to attend the competition. The Welsh had teams in the Under 14 girls and Under 15 boys, with Northern Ireland fielding Under 16 girls and Under 17 boys teams. This was the first time the newly formed 'Volleyball Wales' have competed, and they are already making great strides in these early stages.
At the end of the first day of competition there was an opportunity for the players to take part in a Master Class run by the GB Women's squad. A lot of the young players took up this rare opportunity and the 3 hour class saw over 150 youngsters drop in and try out the different drills and mini competitions that the girls were running.
Lauren Bell-Brown, one of the players from the Under 16 East Midlands teams attended the session and said " I loved it, and had such a good time and really learnt a lot in such a short space of time. The GB girls are really friendly and I'd love them to be in my team!"
Tom Storkey from the East Under 15 boys team was full of enthusiasm after the session and commented " Its was fantastic to be able to meet the GB players, the session was good fun and the girls were really helpful and passionate about volleyball."
The second day of competition saw the final rounds of the pool competitions before the playoffs began. The South West region dominated three of the four age groups winning in the Under 15 boys, Under 16 girls and Under 17 boys finals. Credit must go to the coaches for all their hard work on the development of these players in the region as it is paying dividends!The West Midlands were the winners of the Under 14 girls age group winning both of their pool finals against the North West region. The Under 15 boys final was a particularly close affair with the South West down 13 - 9 in the last set to their opposition from the East. They were able to come back from that deficit to take the set and the title. Captain Matt Hunter said "It was great to see our team character build in the final which helped us to pull back the points and win, it was a great team effort!"
The two days of competition was a fantastic event to showcase the level of play of our junior players across the country. The top players from these Championships will be selected to represent one of the three England teams that will compete at this years UK School Games in September.
The Inter-Regionals Event Manager, Matt Rogers said " I am delighted with the event and was pleased to see our young junior athletes able to focus on the volleyball competition and thank all that were involved for their efforts and contribution in allowing them to do this."
Under 17 Boys
1st South West
2nd London
3rd East
4th North East
5th South East
6th North West
7th West Midlands
8th Northern Ireland
9th East Midlands
10th Yorkshire
Under 16 Girls
1st South West
2nd West Midlands
3rd North East
4th East
5th South East
6th North West
7th Northern Ireland
8th East Midlands
9th London
10th Yorkshire
Under 14 Girls
1st West Midlands
2nd North West
3rd Yorkshire
4th South East
5th North East
6th South West
7th London
8th Wales
9th East
10th East Midlands
Under 15 Boys
1st South West
2nd East
3rd West Midlands
4th East Midlands
5th London
6th South East
7th Wales
8th Yorkshire
9th North West
10th North East (did not attend)
Super 6 awards - voted for by the coaches for the top 6 players in each age group.
Under 14 girls
Julia Whalley (North West)
Megan Brockenhurst (NorthWest)
Madison Grant (West Midlands)
Jade Butcher (West Midlands)
Nikki Kaur (West Midlands)
Sophie Fanner (South West)
Under 15 Boys
Matt Hunter (South West)
Nathaniel Drew (West Midlands)
Tom Storkey (East)
Aiden Lewis (Wales)
Jack Saward (East)
Ryan Stout (South West)
Under 16 Girls
Hannah Carey (South East)
Hannah Ridge (South West)
Rachel McManus (North East)
Kamiko Graceson (East)
Jenny Little (North East)
Annie Tinker (South West)
Under 17 Boys
Nathan Dixon (London)
Daniel Donegan Haughton (London)
Chris Frost (East)
Joe Lambe (South West)
Rasnad Ali (West Midlands)
Chris Wakeman (London)
Photos from the Inter-Regional Championships are available to purchase from the following website: http://www.stillsport.com
The 2009 Inter-Regional quiz had some very interesting results, but this years winners from the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />
Statistics were intoduced to the 2009 IRC and were taken for the U15, U16 and U17 Finals. Please click below to download the summary sheet.