.….11 Male, 6 Female Volleyball Clubs Jostle For Honours
By Ikenna Nwokedi
The ‘Anambra Volleyball Showcase’ competition has kicked off with eleven male and six female volleyball clubs drawn across the state jostling for honours in the three-day sporting programme.
The volleyball championship which is being bankrolled by a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, philanthropic, volleyball player and sports administrator, Hon. Barrister Uzoma Eli is currently taking place at the Alex Ekwueme Square Volleyball court at Aroma, Awka with the competition holding from Saturday, 21st to Monday, 23rd December 2024.
The competition which is geared towards promoting the team game of volleyball and showcasing Anambra Volleyball talents has six female volleyball clubs taking part in the event such as BV Hoopers, Smith City volleyball club, UNIZIK Queens VC, Refiners VC, United Spikers and Desperate Eagles VC while eleven male volleyball sides featuring in the programme are UNIZIK Spikers VC, Victory Spikers, Refiners VCA, Federal Polytechnic Oko Tigers, United Spikers, Unique Spikers, BV Hoopers, Dominican VC, Smith City, Desperate Eagles and Utimate Spikers.
According to the sponsor, the winners in both male and female categories will each smile home with the sum of 200 thousand naira while the second placed and third placed teams in each category will take home the sum of 150 thousand naira and 100 thousand naira respectively while there are individual awards for the best blocker, best passer, best setter and most valuable player (MVP) for the two categories with consolation prizes for other participating teams.
Speaking to sports journalists on Saturday, the benefactor, Hon. Uzoma Eli stated that Volleyball is the second most popular sports in Anambra State and the essence of the competition tagged ‘Anambra Volleyball Showcase’ is to raise awareness for the game which is usually underplayed and to also showcase the abundant talents in the game to the entire state and beyond.
Hon. Eli said: “Football is not all there is to sporting activities as the second most popular sports in Anambra State is volleyball but it is underplayed in this part of the country. Not a lot of persons know what Volleyball is and of recent, states who are beginning to raise consciousness about the game of Volleyball are beginning to reap the benefits.
“I felt it was time to showcase what we have and that is why we restricted this to teams and members who are here in Anambra whether you are a professional or not so that we can showcase what we have in living up to the name ‘Anambra Volleyball Showcase’ so that those looking for volleyball talents can use this as a platform to scout for players and achieve their goals,” Eli stated.
The erstwhile lawmaker also disclosed that the name ‘Anambra Volleyball Showcase’ is generic such that it can also be adopted by another sport enthusiast if the need arises. Barr. Eli affirmed that the competition has come to stay and will be an annual program in the state.
He admonished participating teams, players and officials to make discipline their watchword, promote the spirit of sportsmanship, have fun and see the competition as an opportunity to take their game to the next level.
