VOLLEYBALL
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THE growing presence of volleyball in Bathurst has been enhanced further after a winning performance at the annual Good Neighbour tournament staged in Canberra.
One of the biggest events on the volleyball calendar in eastern Australia, the tournament is staged across six divisions each for men and women as well as two mixed divisions. The main Bathurst men’s side came away with a cherished win.
“We started the Bathurst Volleyball Club about 12 months ago and this tournament last year was the first one we went to, we sent two teams that time,” club president Mitchell Bestwick explained.
“That time our main men’s team won the division three championship, this time around we competed in division two but again we were able to win.
“We would have been happy just to make the semi-finals, winning came as quite a surprise. We scraped through our semi and actually only got through on a countback, but we were really dominant in winning the final against a team from Newcastle.”
The majority of the 2012 Bathurst team returned for the weekend’s championships, although there were a couple of new faces who performed admirably at what was for them, their first big competition.
In addition to the Bathurst team, national star Hayden James represented a Hills District team in the men’s honours (elite) competition, while Blayney players Elissa Blowes and Laura Weekes were part of the UTS team in the women’s honours division.
A second Bathurst men’s team finished fifth in division four having just missed out on the semi-finals, and a women’s outfit were similarly unlucky to miss out on the division one play-offs.
A mixed Bathurst team also attended, though the mixed competitions themselves were more about player involvement and for more inexperienced volleyballers.
“At the moment we’re trying to get a few people back into the fold that haven’t played for a while,” Bestwick said.
“We have some very good players out here. Jerry Sheader is a former national representative and he was a star for us in the winning men’s team.
“Now we’re looking at going to a couple of beach tournaments in the coming months and there is some talk of a representative league starting in NSW and we’d like to be a part of that if possible.
“If there is anyone interested in being part of the club or our social or competitive competitions, they can give me a ring on 0423 380 182 or email bathurstvolleyballclub@bigpond.com.”