Sitting Volleyball activity during the European Week of Sport in Malta

For the second consecutive year, Birkirkara Volleyball Club and ParaVolley Malta joined forces to organise a sitting volleyball activity, called ‘Sitting Volley: Have-a-Go Day’ as part of the European Week of Sport, organised by the European Union and coordinated in Malta by Sport Malta. The event’s purpose is to encourage as many European residents as possible to take part in a sport or physical activity during the week starting on the 10^th and ending on the 18^th of September 2016.

This year’s sitting volleyball activity, under BKVC’s #Volley4All – Love at first spike project, was funded through the Voluntary Organisations Project Scheme managed by the Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties. This 2-hour fun session, backed by the Malta Volleyball Association, aimed at encouraging people of any age and with various physical abilities to try out this inclusive sport.

Sitting Volleyball is a Paralympic sport in which the athletes play volleyball whilst sitting on the ground. With a smaller court and a lower net, sitting volleyball is a fast paced game, based on the same rules used in volleyball, with some minor differences.

The activity held during the European Week of Sport attracted individuals keen to try out this Paralympic discipline, with ages varying from seven to fifty, and with abilities varying from people who were playing volleyball for the first time to others who have been playing volleyball for more than twenty years. The event concluded with a certificate being given to each individual who participated in this event.

Both Hon. Dr. Michael Farrugia, Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, as well as Hon. Mr. Chris Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport, showed their support for this activity by attending and addressing the participants.  Also in attendance were Ms. Rhoda Garland, Executive Director at KNPD as well as Dr. Andrew Decelis, Director of the Institute of Physical Education and Sport (IPES) at the University of Malta.

For more information about Sitting Volleyball, one may contact ParaVolley Malta through email at paravolleymalta@gmail.com.