A History of Volleyball in BC

(Thishistoryhasbeencompiledfrompreviousprograms.ErrorsoromissionsshouldbesenttotheExecu veforcorrec onandupda ngofthe website.)

THE VERY EARLY YEARS (1940 1969) ProvincialHighSchoolBoysvolleyballchampionshipsbeganasanunocialinvita onaltournament.Recordsshowthatitstarted intheLowerMainlandinthe1940s.Inthe1950sitexpandedtoincludeteamsfromtheFraserValley,andtheOkanagan. WhatisconsideredtherstProvincialChampionshiptookplacein1959;MapleRidgewon.Thetournamentwass llanopen eventandat mestherewereasmanyas22teamscompe ngforthe tle.IntheseearlyyearstwogentlemenMurray Harrisof MissionandPeter GreerfromtheOkanaganwerethemo vatorsbehindthecrea onofthetournament.MurrayandPeterwere therstHonorary Life Members ofBoysvolleyball. From1960to68thetournamentwasdominatedbyteamsfromMapleRidge,VictoriaandMission. In1969therewasasignicantchange.Teamsnowhadtoqualifythroughzonetournaments.Thisimprovedthecaliberofplay andmadethetournamentsizemuchmoremanageable. THE TRANSITION YEARS (1969 1976) In1969whenthechangetozonequalica onarrivedanewpowerappeared.UndercoachandHonorary Life Member, John Campbell,RevelstokeHighSchooldominatedandwonsevenProvincialChampionshipsinarow.

DaveKepler(72MVP) RickDevlin(1stAllstar71) JohnCampbell(Coach) MikeCummings(MVP71) KeithBramhill

Theveryprogressivecoachhada ended theMexicoOlympicsandadopteda quickeroensivegameanda51se er system.Moreimportanttotheirsuccess wasJohnscommitmenttoprac ceand teamplay.

In1969thetournamentalsobeganto recognizearstandasecondallstar team.ThetournamentMVPwass ll Includedinthatgroup.Alsoduringthis meandformanyyearsa erthe tournamenthostwasama erofschoolsbiddingtobethesite.OfnoteisUBChos ngin1959andSimonFraserUniversitywas thesitefortwoyearsshortlya ertheUniversityopened.In1972thetournamentwashostedinDawsonCreek,asfarnorthinour provinceasithaseverbeen. THE CHANGE TO A AND AA DIVISIONS (1976 1979) Boysvolleyballmadeanothertournamentchangein1976.The CommissionsplitintotwodivisionsAandAA.Thisallowedteamsofthe samesizetocompetefortwoseparatechampionships. TheAdivisionwasdominatedbyAshcro Secondary.Coachand Honorary Life Member David HunterwonfourProvincialsina row.Dave madeasignicantcontribu ontohighschoolboysvolleyballasacoach, commissioner,andpresident.DavealsocoachedatalllevelsofourTeam BCprograms,includingwinninggoldatthe1979CanadaWinterGames. Ashcro

TherstyearofthetwodivisionstheAAwaswonbyVernonSecondaryand coachedbyDick Chambers,anotherearlybuilderinhighSchoolboys volleyball.DickservedascommissionerandwasalsonamedanHonorary Life Member. DuringtheseyearsmanyVancouverandLowerMainlandteamsdidnotplay highschoolvolleyballinthefallseason.Someschoolswereallowedtoqualify fortheprovincialsbutplayedtheirleaguesinthespring.Theresultofthis systemallowedaverytalentedJuniorBoysteamfromMcRobertsJunior Secondaryto qualifyforthe 1977AA Championships heldinRutland.Thiswasaverylargetournamentwith18teams involved.Twoyearslater(1979)theMcNairteamwouldbecome theonlyLowerMainlandZoneteamtowinaProvincialBoysGold Medal.Todatetheyares lltheonlyLowerMainlandZoneteam towinaAAProvincialBoysGold.(In2008RichmondChris anwon GoldattheAProvincialChampionship)McNairwascoachedby Dale Ohman anotherHonorary Life Member.Daleservedonthe Boysexecu ve,andcoachedProvinciallyatalllevelsincludingthe McNair 1987CanadaWinterGamesteam.DaleOhmanCoachedvarsity VolleyballatUBCfor25years. A erthe1977tournamentthesizeoftheAAtournamentwasreducedto16teamsanditwasreducedagainin1981to12teams. 1980 1990 MORE TRANSITION YEARS (A AND AA) TheAtournamentmovedaroundtheprovince.ItwashostedasfarNorthasVanderhoof,alsoinRevelstoke,SouthSlocan,and onVancouverIslandwithVictoriaandParksvilletaking turns. A erbreakingthestreakofAshcro therewerea numberofdierentwinners.TeamsfromChetwynd, GeorgePringle,Mt.Sen nel,KLOandClarenceFulton claimedtheChampionship.LambrickParkwas consistentlyatopnisherandwonfourGoldMedals undertheleadershipofNeil Cou s. TheAAtournamentwasalsoa12teameventandalso movedaroundtheProvincewithanumberofdierent hostsandwinners.PrinceGeorgehostedthree mes, butthetournamentalsowenttoTrail,Comox, Victoria,Kelowna,Kamloops,ClearbrookandSurrey. The80sbeganwithanIslandteamEsquimalt, winninggoldontheIsland.Al Sco coached Esquimalt;hewasalong meProvincialCoach whomovedontoDalhousieUniversitywherehe coachedformanyyears.MissionandPrince Georgedominatedallthewayto1987when MountDouglaswonfortwoyearsinarow,un l LVRogerswontheirrstGoldin1989.1989also sawareturntoa16teamformatfortheAA tournament. LambrickPark

Mission

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In1982Victor LindalwasaddedasanHonorary Life Time Member.BesidesfoundingtheBC Volleyballassocia onVicLindalwasinstrumentalindevelopingthegameatthegrassroots levelwiththelaunchofthePacicRimVolleyballChampionships,establishmentoftheVictoria VolleyballAssocia on,thefoundingoftheBCHighSchoolGirlsandBCHighSchoolBoysVol leyballprograms,andthefoundingoftheBCVolleyballAssocia on.Vicisamemberofthe BC Sports Hall of Fame andnicknamedMr. Volleyball.

1990 to 1993 Transi on Years for AA AAA Withthechangebacktoa16teamtournamentattheAAlevelthesizebegantocreatesomedicul esforhos ngthetourna ment.Findinghostsbegantobeaproblem.HatzicScondaryhostedfortwoconsecu veyears,in1992and93.Duringthosetwo tournamentstheexecu veofMikeSookacho,DaveOlynyk,DalePoppandRodBelinskibegantomakethemovetowarda permanenthostsite. The1980shadbeena meofgrowthforboysvolleyball.Theboysvolleyballcommissiondecidedtochangethedesigna onof thedivisions.AAbecameAAA,AbecameAA.Itwouldbeafewyearsun lthethirddivision(A)wasadded,buttostayinline withothersportsthechangewasmade. AAA CentennialSecondarywontwice,o enba lingOkanaganteamsfrom Kelowna,KLOandPen ctonduringthesefouryears.Thesewereendurance tournamentswithtwopoolsof8teamswheresevenroundrobinmatches wereplayedevenbeforeplayos.Allmatcheswerebesttwoofthree.With onlythenalbeingabestofve.Thetournamentwasalsoplayedoverthree days. AA19901995 Between1990and95theAAchampionshipvisitedallmostallzonesofthe province.ThetournamentwashostedinRevelstoke,Kelowna,Parksville, Surrey,PrinceGeorgeandInvermere.Theyalsohadfourdierentwinners withMt.Boucherie,LambrickPark,FraserValleyChris an,andDavid ThompsonwinningoncewithMt.Sen neltakingthegoldtwice. 1994 The BEGINNING OF THE CHANGE In1994theAAAdivisionmadethemovetoKelownawiththehopethatOkanaganUniversityCollegewouldbethepermanent siteforthetournament.In94theformatforthetournamentremainedasatwopooleightteamroundrobin.Itwasnotun l 1995thatthecurrentformatwasadopted.ThemovetousingProvincialRankingstodetermineseedingwasonlypartofthe change.A eradayofpowerpoolplaytoadjustpossibleerrorsintherankingsthechampionshipplaywouldbeginwithbestof vecompe onstodeterminethewinner.ThesechangesweresignicantformovingBoysvolleyballintothemodernera. Star ngthetournamentonWednesday,alongwiththeabovenotedchangeseliminatedtheendurancefactorandimprovedthe qualityofchampionshipplay. KLOprovedtobeapoorhostwinningthersttwoyearsthatthetournament washostedatOUC.In1994KLOcoachRod Belinskiwasaddedtothelistof Honorary Lifeme Members.Rodcoached20seasonsofhighschoolvolley ballreachingtheProvincials19 mesandwinning12medals,vegold.Rod alsocoachedBCPacRimteamsaswellasCanadaGames.Hewasalsoonthe BCHighSchoolboysexecu veforanumberofyearsandservedasthe TournamentChairfor19yearsinKelowna.

Centennial

KLO

1996 2010 TOURNAMENTS UNITE In1996thetwotournamentsunitedatOkanaganUniversityCollege.Byusinganumberofhighschoolsondayonetherankingand powerpoolformatcon nuedandqualityofplaycon nuedtoimprove. IntheAAAdivisiontherewassomedomina onfromzonesbutnorealdominant schools.Semihamoowonthree mes,butnevertwoinarow.NorthPeaceand ElginParkbecamerst mewinnersandPen ctonwontwice. In2007theAAAdivisionexpandedtheirtournamentto20teams. TheAAdivisionbeganthis meframewithafewrst mewinners,buta er backtobackwinsbyMaxCameronin2000and2001,MEIbegantheirstringof dominance.From2002to2009MEI wonseven mes.In04Revelstoke Semiahmoo managedtowinfortherst me sincetheJohnCampbellera,and WLSeatonstoppedtheMEIrunofveinarowbywinningin2010.MEImanaged thesevictoriesundertheleadershipofthreedierentcoaches:JeGamache,Je Stel,andDeanWeiss.GregDyckhasbeenaconsistentinuenceovertheyearsin MEIssuccess. In1998thereweretwomoregentlemenaddedtotheHonorary Life Members.Dave Olynykalong mecoachofMt.Sen nel.DavesteamswonfourProvincialAAHigh School Championships.HealsocoachedformanyyearsinourProvincialProgramand MEI servedontheHSBVexecu ve.AlsoaddedfromtheNorthCentralZone,long me PrinceGeorgeSecondarycoachMike Sookacho.Mikewasakeyexecu vememberandworkedcountlesshoursinthedevelop mentoftheBoyscons tu on.Mikeiss llinvolvedasavolleyballocial. TheSingleAdivisionforBCBoysVolleyballbeganhos ngProvincialChampionships in1997.From97to2010theAtournamentwashostedaroundtheprovince,but oneschool,KelownaChris an,hostedfour mesinarowbetween98and2001. TheprivateChris anschoolsdominatethesmallschooldivision.OnlyAgassiz,and SparwoodSecondaryhavemanagedtobreakthepa ernandbringhomegold. 2011 2012 HISTORY MAKING TOURNAMENTS Mt.Sen nel In2011thehos ngCommi eeinKelownawasabletobringallthreedivisions togetherfortherst me.Hos ng20AAA,16AAand12Aschools.FortyEightteamswereworkingtoward3dierentchampion ships.Thisprovidedforaveryexci ngChampionshipSaturdaywiththethreedierentchampionsbeingcrowned.In2013theA Divisionreturnedtoahostschool,butfortwoyearsitwasuniquetohaveallthelevelstogetherfortheirchampionships.

Wolfgang NeufeldwasanallstarasaplayerintheProvincials andin1982hecoachedGeorgePringletoaProvincial Championship.HealsocoachedatSpringvalleyandRutlandSen ior.Wolfgangservedfor20yearsontheKelownaChampionship commi eeandheisaRegionallevelocial.In2012Wolfgang Neufeld wasaddedasanHonorary Life Member. 2013 The End of an Era Thisisthe20thyearinarowthatKelownahasactedasthehostcityfortheBCBoysVolleyballProvincialChampionship.In 2014thetournamentswillmovetotheLangleyEventCentre.

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Volleyball History By the Rules

THE VERY EARLY YEARS Balltouchingtheroofonyoursidewasinthegameinthe50s. Playerscalledtheirowntouchesandnettouches.(Therewasevenasignalforthiscall"TheGoodSportsmanshipSignal") Serveanywhereontheendlinewaspartoftherulesinthe50s. Screeningontheservewasallowedandused. Intheearlyyearstheblockcouldnotreachoverthenet. 1962.Brandnewskill,theforearmpass.PreviouslyeveryballwascontactedusingaVolley. Late60sopenhand ppingisallowed. Coacheswerenotallowedtospeaktotheplayers,exceptduring meouts! Theantennaewasabigdealwhenitcamein. 1964automa ccallonservicerecep onunlessforearmpass. 1964VolleyballaddedtotheTokyoOlympics. THE TRANSITION YEARS Servingonlyfromright1/3oftheendline. Theblockisnotcountedasatouch.(Block+3allowed) Blockingruleschange. Coachings llnotallowedoutsideof meouts! Late70splayersallowedtoblocktheserve.(Un learly80s) Nooverhandservereceive. Servestyleoatbegins,sidearm,standingwindmill. THE 80S Notalotofchanges.Playersarenotallowedoverhandcontactsonanyrstball. FloatservingeithersidearmorAmericanStyleoverhandisused. Overhandcontactsonrstballareallowed,butverystrictrules. 1983serveblockingisremoved. Coachesareallowedtotalktoplayers,butonlyfromthebench.Notallowedtostand. EarlytoMid80splayersbegintousespikeserve. THE 90S S llonlyafewchangesinactualrules. Spikeservebecomesverypopular. Useofbackrowa ackingaspartofoense. Servinganywhereontheendline. THE 2000s BIG TIME FOR CHANGE Libero,thedefensivespecialistisadded. Rallypointandgamesto25. Serveisallowedtohitthenetandstayinplay. Overhandcontactisnowallowedonrstcontact. Firstcontactmaybeadoublehit. Coachesareallowedtostandonthesideline. Playersmayusetheirfeet. Netruleschange.Onlythetopofthenetisaviola on.