3 Apr 2024
Wildcats expand community sessions into Greenwich
The successful bid to tap into funding from Young Greenwich follows a three-year partnership with Newark Youth London that took the sport to the Tower Hamlets area of the city.
Noting several players were travelling to take part in free community sessions at the John Orwell Sports Centre in Wapping, there was a strong case to bring sessions to Greenwich to ensure others, who could not make the hour-long trip, didn’t miss out.
This funding will support a free Friday open community beach session which will run for 12 months, initially starting at the BVDC courts at the Samuel Montague Youth Centre on 14th April before moving to Shooters Hill Sixth Form College from 20th September.
Sessions at Samuel Montague will span over four beach volleyball courts, where the groups will be divided by age and ability.
Participants aged 10 to 18 are welcome, with no prior volleyball experience required. The sessions will be led by a Level 2-qualified volleyball coach, alongside an administrator, who will be a qualified first aider.
The project builds on the fact that Greenwich has become a hub for volleyball in the past few years, with nets on the grass becoming a common sight in Greenwich Park and Blackheath.
Over the last three years, the Wildcats – a Sport England-funded Community Sports Club – have been a community partner to several schools in Greenwich, delivering after-school clubs at Leigh Academy, Halley Academy and Thomas Tallis.
They currently run a Volleyball Academy at Shooters Hill and enter teams into the London Youth Games, winning the 2023 edition in the Girls U18 category.
The newly-secured BVDC status – which offers a pathway into the England beach performance squads – is also expected to help the sport continue to gain greater traction, with the hope of one day producing future Olympians.
The BVDC starts with an Easter Half Term camp running from 8th to 12th April, with those wanting to improve their skills and keen to take part able to find out more by clicking here or by downloading the app by clicking here.
