• Some 34 Emails have been sent to team secretaries during the last year mainly informing them on
  - training courses available from sportessex.
  - progress in competitions and the need to advise results.
  
• I have attended Essex NGB Forum on behalf of Essex sharing information and views from a county perspective with other sports on issues such as safeguarding children, facilities strategy, Community Sports Networks, SportAid, Competitions managers, Volunteer Centres and the work of sportessex..
  
• I have responded to consultations on
  - Essex events strategy
  - Olympic & Paralympic preparations in the county
  - Player pathways
  - Club SX accreditation review
  
• Working with the Essex Senior Competitions Manager a heavily subsidised MiniVolley course and Sitting Volleyball workshop for 40 people, mainly teachers was run at Sandon School followed up by a £100 starter kit offer to schools. The overall financial support to volleyball in the county was c£1,800.
  
• Attempts to establish volleyball either standing or sitting as part of the school based Essex Youth Games has been unsuccessful as no one has come forward to lead the administration and organisation.
  
• Essex remains strongly involved with East region with three Essex based Regional Executive members
  
• Essex now has 3 accredited clubs – Chelmsford, Tendring and more recently Brentwood, This is 50% of those playing in Essex competitions
  
• Essex again hosted JUVO organised and run by Tony Pennock as part of Volleyball England’s ‘Lets Play Volleyball’ series. With over 100 teams and a new u11 competition, Tony and colleagues continue to run a successful, popular and continually evolving event.
  
• I am encouraged by the increasing appetite in schools to try volleyball in the Brentwood/Shenfield and Chelmsford areas to add to the existing strength in depth in Tendring. I have attended a number of events to discuss introducing volleyball mainly with Partnership Development Managers.
  
• During the year Essex ran 8 coaching courses (1 Minivolley, 2 CSLA, 5 level 1). Thanks go especially to Steve Rosser for this. The increased numbers help us meet the demand from education. We currently have 54 on the coaching register (26 last year) which is over one third of those in the region.
  
• There are 5 registered referees in Essex. This is insufficient to support the increasing number of National League teams in the county. During the year Tending hosted a new pilot Junior referees course.
  
• 226 players are registered for Essex competitions, 50 female. (Totals 200 in 2006-7, 288 in 2005-6)
  
• There has been sound progress in establishing sitting volleyball with club based sessions at Brentwood and Chelmsford plus several outreach sessions mostly at schools and gifted and talented festivals. Essex remains in the forefront of the game’s development as a participation sport. However attracting disabled players remains a challenge.
  
• Boswells and Tendring continue to achieve schools based success on the national stage with this season Boswells being champions at boys u18 and runners up at boys u16 and Tendring again represented England in the international schools competition.
  
• During the year Essex was asked to support a new Regional Academy based in Tendring College bringing to fruition long standing aspirations of Mark Harris.
  
• The website www.volleyball.co.uk continued to carry information of potential help and interest for secretaries and players in Essex. Match results are not always being advised which has hampered it in being a current and reliable source of competition information.
  
• The development plan for the county has made limited progress during the year due to the attention of the executive being mainly devoted to current competition matters, their own clubs and general development . However the return of a club based in Southend active supported by Charlie Hedgecock and Rob reynolds and family, now with two teams, has been a welcome development. This leaves North Essex/Harlow as the remaining target area for a new club.
  
• Essex is proud to have in its president Paul Bohannan, the first winner of the East Volleyball Federation Volunteer of the Year award.

I have based this report on personal experience and knowledge plus reports received from others. It is certain that others are developing the sport across the county at many levels and I here pay tribute to all those either mentioned below or unsung here that support volleyball in all its forms within Essex.

Ken Edwards

Secretary

29 June 2008