CRAIGAVON’S South Lakes leisure centre provides a new venue for the St Patrick’s Challenge international volleyball event featuring Northern Ireland Volleyball and Volleyball Ireland on Saturday, March 15 at 10.30am.
International fixtures between the two federations go back many years but since 2022 they have competed for the St Patrick’s Challenge trophy with each match victory counting as a point in a bid to gain the most points over the course of day and win the trophy.
In 2022, the trophy was shared after a 2-2 draw in Dublin.
In 2023, Northern Ireland won following a 3-1 match victory in Newry.
In 2024, Northern Ireland retained the trophy with a 3-2 victory in Dublin, notable for three female teams competing – the U18 Women winning 3-2, U20s losing 3-0 and Senior Women winning 3-0.
2025 will see Northern Ireland host once again at a new international location, South Lakes Leisure Centre,and returning to a 4-team format with the U18 and Senior Women in action at 10.30am and 3.00pm respectively.
The squads are comprised of players from teams competing in ther Northern Ireland Premier and Division 1 leagues and they will be hoping to help the federation retain the trophy for a third consecutive year as they start to prepare for European Volleyball competitions coming up in Spring 2025 in Malta and Dublin.
Rebecca Connor, U18s Assistant Coach, said: “Coaching for my country is an incredible honour and a responsibility I don’t take lightly.
“As a female coach in volleyball, I want to create opportunities for young girls to see that they belong in sport, not just as players but as leaders. I do this because I believe in the potential of female athletes and the impact that strong role models can have.
“I’m not just coaching a team… I want to show them that barriers can be broken, and dreams can become reality. Watching the young girls step onto the court with confidence, knowing they have a future in sport, is what drives me to do what I do and to get better with each opportunity.”
Hope Ballantyne, U18 captain, added: “It means a lot to know I have the trust of my teammates and coaches. I’m confident I can play an important role in the upcoming St Patrick’s Challenge against Ireland. We are hoping to emulate our success we had had last year, but it would be even more special in front of our home support at South Lakes.”
Claire Dowey, Senior Women captain, commented: “It is an absolute honour to captain the Senior Women’s Volleyball Team and to represent our wee country with these amazing girls beside me on court.
“The St Patrick’s competition is one that we really look forward to each year as a squad. We have been training hard together as a team, and we are ready to fight for each point on court to reach the goal of lifting the trophy again this year!
“We are excited to be playing on home turf at South Lakes Leisure Centre where a lot of hard work has gone into organising what will be a great event at a great venue. Everyone is welcome to come and support us – the more noise the better!”
As a growth sport, NI Volleyball is keen to offer multiple opportunities for players to progress and develop as they guide their way through the player pathway from juniors to seniors, with international tournaments at home, in the UK and across Europe.
With the newly appointed president of European Volleyball, Roko Sikiric, attending the international series as a guest of NI Volleyball, the home teams would love to see a large crowd in attendance to support them across the day.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/nivolleyball/st-patricks-volleyball-challenge-festival/e-ajbgea
