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A new 16 and over court volleyball team based in Ōrewa is aiming for the national leagues.
The Coast Storm Volleyball team was formed by Ōrewa resident Fiona Scrimshaw with the men’s trials completed for season two. The team will compete in the Northern Zone league, and hope to participate at the National Club Champs level in early October.
Volleyball is fast growing in popularity, with Volleyball New Zealand reporting more than 41,000 young people participating last year alongside an 18 percent increase in secondary school players.”
Scrimshaw first played court volleyball with North Harbour for 20 years, then moved into beach volleyball, representing New Zealand internationally. She has coached since 2009, starting off with beach volleyball and later court volleyball.
She is keen to promote the sport on the Hibiscus Coast.
“I felt an open grade team would be good, as North Harbour Province only has one club that caters for males, and two clubs that cater for females, yet we are the biggest province in the country.”
Her goals for the club teams are to “hit the ground running” and provide that next step for keen players wanting to compete.
Fiona also runs the more social Ōrewa Volleyball club, which has been underway for the past year.
“We always have singles looking for teams, or teams looking for a couple of extra players.”
Social volleyball leagues run every term and last for around eight weeks, with 12 to 16 teams each term. It provides an fun atmosphere for families, friends and anyone above Year 9 to learn and develop, she says.
“We needed something up here to rival what Rangitoto, Westlake and Longbay Colleges have access to on the North Shore.”
Fiona is keen to bridge the gaps in volleyball, whether it’s location, time, skill level or age. More than establishing a club on the coast, she would like to present opportunities for people to have fun and develop their skills closer to home.
Although the social league is currently full, it will be accepting enrollments for term three. Anyone interested is encouraged to register their interest quickly due to limited space.
The club is also looking for sponsors. For any questions, sporting interest or helping hands, you can contact Fiona through coaststormvb@gmail.com for the club or Fifilabonbon@hotmail.com for the social teams.
