Volleyball England Review of the Year 2025 

Here’s just a small taster of what has happened over the last 12 months... with more to come in 2026! 

 

January 

• The year kicked off with a bang as the National Volleyball Centre in Kettering hosted the Five Nations Championships, where England (men) and Scotland (girls) were the respective winners, while the hosts took home the Dr Don Anthony Trophy as the tournament’s most successful side overall.  

• That event was the first in partnership with FabLittleBag, meaning coach bags containing period products and the means of disposing of them in a safe and environmentally-friendly way are now available at all major Volleyball Egland events. 

• A new People Plan and Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), focusing on how best to help and develop the people who support the players and spanning both the volunteer and professional workforce, was launched. 

• England's squads enjoyed an experience to remember when they competed at the Novotel Cup in Luxembourg, as both men’s and the women’s teams faced strong opposition from the hosts and young sides from Germany. 

 

February 

• The Student Cup Finals were staged at the University of East Anglia (UEA) where University College London (UCL) secured a historic third consecutive title in the women’s competition and Brunel University triumphed in the men’s. 

• Kukri became Volleyball England’s official kit supplier for the next five years, supplying kit for all national teams and coaches (indoor and beach), Hub staff, officials and volunteers, as well as developing a retail line. 

• Volleyball England partnered with the That Volleyball Guy podcast, hosted by Luke Wiltshire, to begin the production of a series of Digging Deeper and Heritage shows. 

• The Invictus Games was held in Canada, where the UK sitting volleyball team, led by South Hants’ Richard Osborne, finished a creditable fourth out of 20 teams. 

 

 

March 

• Beach volleyball athletes Daisy Mumby and Kirsty Star made history by becoming the first English women’s pair to take a silver medal in a World Tour event with their run to the final of the BPT Futures Event in Coolangatta. 

• The Volleyball England Sitting Volleyball Cup was renamed the Ken Edwards Trophy in memory of the popular player, coach and administrator, who played a pivotal role in the sport for many years, with South Hants the maiden winners.   

• A new volleyball-specific safeguarding qualification was integrated into coaching courses from the end of the month, with the Assistant Coach Award Course featuring an online Safeguarding Children and Adults in Volleyball qualification. 

• The Last 8s were contested at the National Volleyball Centre, where Leeds Gorse, Urmston Grammar, Richmond, The Boswells School, Malory Eagles and Wapping Wildcats reached finals at U18, U16 and U15 levels. 

• Hosts UEL won the maiden, four-team University Sitting Volleyball Tournament, with the event to return again in March 2026. 

 

April 

• As the domestic indoor season came to a climax, Malory Eagles women defeating Essex Rebels to win the Women’s Super League Final 4, while London Giants edged out Essex Rebels in a final set decider in the men’s competition. 

• 11 winners were crowned at Cup Finals Weekend, where Malory Eagles won the Senior Women’s National Cup by beating Team SideOut Polonia to complete the double, while Essex Rebels bounced back from Final 4 disappointment to defeat Malory Eagles in five and secure the Senior Men’s National Cup. 

• The Saturday of the weekend saw the Annual Awards 2025 winners crowned, where Gillian Harrison was presented with The Peter Wardale Memorial for her outstanding and ongoing contribution across many years and in a number of roles.   

• Also recognised at the ceremony was Ian Legrand, who was inducted into the Volleyball England Dr Don Anthony Hall of Fame after giving more than 30 years to coaching national team players in both the sitting and indoor disciplines. 

• Sandwiched in between the Final 4 and Cup Finals were the NVL Play-offs, where Richmond Docklands (men) and Darkstar Derbyshire (women) were able to see off Black Country and London Giants respectively to preserve their Super League status. 

 

 

May 

• There was a silver lining for Freddie Bialokoz and Issa Batrane in China as they took second place on the podium after an excellent series of performances at the Beach Pro Tour Futures event in Wuhan. 

• Maria Bertelli stepped down from the role of England Senior Women’s Head Coach, which saw Malory Eagles’ Carol Gordon take over on an interim basis. 

• Nick Heckford was appointed as a challenge referee for the FIVB Men’s World Championships 2025, which were to take place in Manila, Philippines from 12th to 28th September.  

• A successful Inter-Regionals Championships for U17 and U15 athletes was staged at the National Volleyball Centre over the month’s second Bank Holiday Weekend, with London dominating to win three of the four titles as the North West claimed the other. 

• The end of the month saw the beginning of Volleyball England’s 70th anniversary year celebrations, with the first ever meeting of the Amateur Volleyball Association (AVA) of Great Britain and Northern Ireland taking place on 28th May 1955. 

 

June 

• Four days of action-packed beach volleyball unfolded at a wet and windy Sandbanks, as over 400 students took part in the BUCS Beach Championships and more than 300 players competed in the UKBT Club Championships. 

• After a successful Annual Awards 2025, nominations were opened early for the 2026 edition in order to encourage more entries and give people more time to prepare. 

• The end of the month saw Bridlington stage the NEVZA Beach England 2025 tournament for Senior players, with Nico Gleed and Enrique Bello clinching the men’s title for the host nation. 

 

 

July 

• The NEVZA Youth Beach Championships 2025 followed on from the senior event in Bridlington where a host of young English players got the chance to go up against some of the best in Europe, with Norway proving to be the dominant force. 

• Dee Wauchope was appointed as a Jury Member at the ParaVolley Europe European Championships in Gyor, Hungary. 

• Adam Walker stepped down at the AGM after an eight-year tenure as Independent Chair of the Volleyball England Board (later replaced in November by Rowena Hackwood after Alison Shipway had filled in during the interim), while Anton Kornilov was elected to the board. 

• England women’s and men’s teams competed in the CEV U22 European qualifiers, playing their matches in Slovakia and Italy respectively. 

 

August 

• Seven officials – Sam Field, Paul Whittle and Michael Avery, Domitilla Di Stefano, Stephen Williamson, Olga Didarally and Hiroko Turner – successfully completed their respective training at the Inter Regional / Home Nations Beach Championships 2025 in Porthcawl, enabling them to take on new roles.   

• An England Senior Men’s side competed in the Nordic Cup, taking on teams from hosts Denmark and Norway, as well as a strong France U22 side.   

• English official Greg Thompson announced he was set to reach the landmark of refereeing 1,000 international matches at an event in Mexico.  

• The end of the month marked the end of Volleyball England’s time at the National Volleyball Centre after a period of 16 years, with indoor and sitting operations moved to Loughborough University. 

 

September 

• Volleyball England’s indoor competitions season for 2025-26 got underway as three National Shield Preliminary Round matches were contested.   

• The HEVO programme turned 15 during the month, with the landmark initiative having helped the development of a total of 833 individuals during that time, who have, in turn, engaged more than 53,000 people in the sport.  

• It was announced that TASS would be backing 18 Volleyball England athletes during 25-26, where support is given around lifestyle, psychology, strength and conditioning, physiotherapy and nutrition. 

• A first-ever Super League Media Day was held at Loughborough SportPark as part of ongoing plans to professionalise the league by raising its profile, with interviews, videos, photographs and social media content all gathered. 

• For the first time, Volleyball England National gave its full support to National Inclusion Week, running a series of articles, video and social media posts. 

 

 

October 

• The start of the new Super League season brought all 16 teams (eight women’s, eight men’s) together for Opening Weekend, which was the first to be staged at Loughborough University, and saw a number of new innovations introduced to the live streaming coverage. 

• The England U19 boys’ team claimed a hard-fought silver medal at the NEVZA Championships, hosted by the Faroe Islands, following a thrilling final against Denmark. 

• Glynn Archibald (official) and Kendra Hall (player for the USA) represented Volleyball England at the Sitting Volleyball World Cup in the States. 

• As they continued their comeback following an injury lay-off, England’s Javier Bello and Joaquin Bello won five matches in a row to claim a silver medal in the Beach Pro Tour Challenge Event in Nuvali, The Philippines. 

 

November 

• Javier and Joaquin Bello made history as the first English male pair to qualify for the FIVB World Beach Volleyball Championships, and they went on to reach the knockout stages in the tournament held in Adelaide, Australia. 

• Electric crowds and British brilliance in the shape of Freddie Bialokoz and Issa Batrane, who finished third in the men’s event, lit up the landmark indoor Queen & King of the Court in London – the first event of its type anywhere in the world. 

• The Ann Jarvis Hardship Fund was launched to support athletes and their families who face financial hardship as a direct result of participating in talent programmes. 

• The creation of four Talent Zones across the country was also announced, giving promising junior athletes earlier access to national-level training and development, with fewer geographic and financial barriers.    

• Seven Volleyball England referees - Katarina Cepinova, Anna Justkowska, Hiroko Turner, Domitilla Di Stefano, Fiona Cotterill, Maddie Vararu and Silke Vereeken - made history by being the first all-female cohort to officiate at the ACS Egham-held international schools volleyball tournament for girls. 

 

December 

• Volleyball England received the ‘met’ rating following its annual safeguarding review from the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) - the highest possible standard. 

• The first half of the 2025-26 was completed with tight promotion races across the NVL and events also progressing in the Sitting Grand Prix, Student Cup and Junior Grand Prix at U18, U16 and U15 levels. 

• Disability History Month sees features on sitting players Steve Allen, Kendra Hall, Jason Finlay and Aedrin Jayatilake as well a podcast with GB Women’s Head Coach Justin Phillips and the launch of a new Sitting Volleyball Newsletter. 

• The inaugural Independent Schools' National Volleyball Cup Finals were staged at Bromsgrove School with the hosts (boys) and Sevenaoks (girls) the winners.