Kwara State to host inaugural Beach Volleyball Tourney in December

 

The first Kwara Beach Volleyball Tournament is set for December 27-28, 2024, at WaterView Park in Ilorin, Kwara State. 

Announced by Dare Kuti, Media Assistant to Nigeria Volleyball Federation President Engr Musa Nimrod, the event aims to promote the sport and discover new talent.

"This tournament will provide a vital platform for athletes to showcase their skills and passion," Kuti stated at a press conference on November 4, 2024. 

The competition welcomes participants from military and paramilitary organizations, as well as students from tertiary institutions, fostering camaraderie among diverse groups.

Key collaborations include the Kwara State Volleyball Association, Nigeria Volleyball Referees Association (Kwara State), University of Ilorin, Kwara State Sports Commission, and the Ministry of Youth Development. 

Kuti emphasized the need for partnerships with investors to enhance the tournament and promote beach volleyball in Nigeria.

He also encouraged the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in Kwara to help publicize the event and raise community awareness. 

Additionally, Kuti congratulated Engineer Musa Nimrod on his recent appointment as President of the CAVB Beach Volleyball Commission, highlighting its significance for the Nigerian sports community.

Jos Beach Volleyball Fiesta uncovers talents in beach volleyball, says Barshep-Amakiri

 

Member of the Nigeria Beach Volleyball Commission, Bolcit Barshep-Amakiri has disclosed that the 1st Jos Beach Volleyball Fiesta has discovered talents and helped the grassroots players to compete at the national level.

Barshep-Amakiri who is also a Member of the Plateau State Volleyball Association revealed this at the closing ceremony of the 1st Jos Beach Volleyball fiesta in Jos on Sunday 

The fiesta started on March 24 and runs through March 26, and featured more than 30 teams across the country.

Kada II won the Gold, Youth and Sports won silver, and G-Ranks won Bronze in the Men's category.

In the Women's category, Kada I bagged the gold medal while EdBac won the silver medal, and Kada II won the Bronze medal.

Barshep-Amakiri said the idea behind the fiesta is to encourage  Beach Volleyball at the grassroots and discover talents.

According to her, "The turnout is overwhelming, this idea was born out of the need to encourage the grassroots and create a platform for them to showcase their talent but the response at the end of the day was encouraging. 

"We discovered we had about Nine states represented here and it's overwhelming but somehow we can meet up to our expectations. Hopefully generally it is the first of its kind on the plateau soil and in the north-central area and we did very well."

She added that the Participants inspired her and they did justice to the theme of the festa, Pair to Inspire.

"The Participants which are the Volleyball players themselves did justice to the theme which is Pair to Inspire, initially when this idea was born we think we would get a few participants within the north-central region only to find out that we have participants coming from Lagos, Anambra, Benue and this met and surpass our expectations.

"The turn out here by the talents that were displayed, the lead and senior players in beach Volleyball that was displayed here actually did justice to the theme Pair to Inspire, it has also inspired me indirectly that this needs to be taken to the next level, we have to make this yearly event.

"Part of our success factor today is because, we had strategic partners who contributed both in cash, kind and advice in technical Knowledge on how to put on the National event itself, which inspired us to do more actually, we hope to get more strategic partners in subsequent editions, when the next editions will come up we don't know yet but we intend to sustain this in Future," she said

Over 30 teams indicate interest for Jos Beach Volleyball fiesta

Over 30 teams have registered to participate at the forthcoming Jos Beach Volleyball Fiesta, according to the member of Nigeria Beach Volleyball Commission, Bolcit Barshep-Amakiri.

The 1st edition of Jos Beach Volleyball Fiesta is scheduled for 24th to 26th March, 2023 in Jos, Plateau State 

Barshep-Amakiri who doubles as the organiser revealed that states from the North West, North East, North Central, para military as well as a Ghanaian team will grace the beach volleyball fiesta.

She said part of the criteria for participation is for a professional player to pair a non professional player.

The sports marketer added that one of the aims and objectives is to encourage the game of beach volleyball amongst the grassroots.

She said, "I am glad to announce that the Jos Beach Volleyball Fiesta has attracted teams from Abuja, Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau, Kaduna, paramilitary as well as a foreign team; as of now over 30 teams have registered and are still counting. I want to ensure beach volleyball is rooted in Plateau State.

"It is on record that some of the finest indoor volleyball players have their roots in Plateau State. I want the same to happen in the beach volleyball event. 

"For any team to be eligible, you must parade a non professional player; thus the Theme: Pair to Inspire".

"Our aim and objective at the Fiesta is to encourage the beach volleyball 🏐 among the grass roots and most importantly discover new and hidden talents", she revealed.

The member of Plateau State Volleyball Association said her intention is to use volleyball as a tool to take the youths off the streets and reduce crime in her society.

Nigeria U21 team secures Beach Volleyball semifinals

 

Nigeria U21 teams have qualified for the semifinals of the ongoing Zone 3 U21 Beach Volleyball Championship in Cotonou, Benin Republic.

The duo of Emenike Ezike and Emmanuel Udah (Nigeria boys), schooled Benin Republic 2-0 (21-4, 21-6) in their first match before taking Niger Republic to the cleaners 2-0 (21-11, 21-19) in their second match on Friday.

The Nigeria girls team, Happy Wushiland and Esther Mbah did not waste time to dispatch Benin Republic 2-0 (21-10, 21-9) in their first match and won their second match convincingly against Ghana 2-0 (21-14, 21-8).

The coach of Nigeria U21 beach volleyball team, John Iwerima expressed satisfaction over the performances of the team at the championship.

Iwerima said the players exhibited a high level of technicalities in each of their matches.

He said, “I am happy over the performances of each of the players; they are hungry for wins and have shown to the world that they want to win the championship.

“If you look at the matches, you will see that players did not give their opponent chances to express themselves. The players showed a high level of technicality in their two matches. I strongly believe that if these players are given more playing time together, we will have a formidable beach volleyball junior team.”

Speaking from Cotonou, the President of Nigeria Volleyball Federation, Engineer Musa Nimrod praised the team for making Nigeria proud in the group stages.

The Secretary General of Confederation of Africa Volleyball (CAVB) Zone 3 said, “I watched the team play and I must confess that they have shown much promise. We are not going to put pressure on the team and the coaches; I believe that they will emerge victorious.”

The Nigeria boys and girls team will face Liberia in their last group stage matches on Saturday.