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   ESSEX VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION

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This document is the 2005-2010 Development Plan.  This was revised to create the 2007-2013 Plan which was approved at the 2007 AGM on 10th June

The annual reviews of the 2005-2010 plan for the years to march 2006, Mrach 2007 can be found using the links on the left.

This plan takes as its start point the English Volleyball Association’s Whole Sport Plan. It is based on a workshop held on 5^th April 2005, an action planning session on 12^th December and a first annual review. The plan seeks to be a simple document that recognises the current position of volleyball across Essex and the need to consolidate that base as well as develop it further; it sets out a series of practical actions to achieve both.

Background

Volleyball is a world, Olympic and Paralympic Sport invented just over 100 years ago in USA and has become one of the most popular participant and spectator sports worldwide. It is strong in all continents apart from Africa and strongest in Europe. However the Home nations are weak internationally. In addition to the indoor game, there are outdoor variations including beach volleyball as well as sitting volleyball where able and disabled players can often compete on equal terms. It can be played by almost all ages and by both sexes.

All forms of volleyball in England have as their governing body the English Volleyball Association (English V.A), based in Loughborough. The EVF (East Volleyball Federation) covers 6 counties including Essex and is the regional arm of the English VA. The Essex Volleyball Association (EssexVA) was formed in 1972 and is traditionally a strong county within EVF. In addition to winning county championships, Essex junior volleyball is strong, based traditionally at schools in Tendring and St Edwards (Romford) with Boswells (Chelmsford) having recently achieved prominence. Tendring and St Edwards have represented England in International competitions. School sides have often relied heavily on the interests of one teacher. Essex players have always heavily populated EVF junior regional squads and the county have also provided the lion’s share of regional coaches for many years. The county also hosts JUVO, founded in 1987 and the largest outdoor junior tournament in the country, with some 80 teams. The county currently hosts two clubs with National Volleyball League teams in Brentwood (2 men’s, one women) plus Tendring who re-entered a men’s team in 2005/6 season. The Veterans (over 40) team have consistently performed well in the EVF annual tournament. Volleyball at regional and county level is supported entirely by volunteers. Notwithstanding this success, the number of teams playing in EssexVA organised competitions continues to fluctuate and recent years has seen a decline in teams and player numbers. Parts of the county which have previously been strong e.g. Southend, Thurrock, Colchester and Braintree are no longer so and other areas such as Harlow and Chelmsford have seen previously strong clubs decline. . Volunteer numbers (referee and admin) are also under pressure at both club and county levels although Essex continues to provide many EVF post holders.

Essex as a county has a population of 1.5m, which has risen from 750,000 in 1951. The biggest centres are Basildon (166,000), Southend (160,000), Chelmsford (157,000) and Colchester (156,000). It is set to grow significantly under proposals for East England by 2021 and in Thames Gateway (Thurrock/ Castle Point/Southend) and M11 (Harlow) includes two of the three national planned spatial development areas. Its southern part continues to be heavily influenced by the proximity to London for employment and social activity whilst its more remote northern areas such as Tendring and Maldon are more rural. It is broadly affluent, but with pockets of deprivation, some significant. It has generally good radial communications through road and rail and a booming international airport at Stansted. It remains broadly successful economically.

Vision

To make volleyball in Essex an accessible sporting choice

Aim
To nurture a thriving network of clubs that provide access and enjoyment irrespective of age and ability. We will achieve this by:
- encouraging and supporting the recruitment, retention and development of volunteers
- widening access to a wide range of potential customers
- organising and offering an integrated competition program
- working with organisations and groups which can assist us achieving this aim
- taking advantage of the opportunities the successful London bid for the Games will bring

- increasing access to facilities and equipment

- operating in an efficient and effective manner.

To achieve this we will seek to focus on youth development and the retention of social enjoyment in our programmes. With this in mind the primary focus of the plan in early years will be to consolidate on the existing base of volleyball activities in Brentwood, Chelmsford and Tendring so that each centre has a successful community based club competing in Essex Leagues linked to a firm base in local schools which have volleyball activity.

Key indicators

We will measure our performance against the following:
- number of active clubs/teams
- number of active participants (players, administrators, referees and coaches)
- geographic coverage

Working with partners

Most county resources are in the form of volunteer time and expertise and this is mirrored at regional level. However through the Whole Sport Plan there may also be opportunities to harness Community Sports Coach and other monies to bring a wider range of resources to volleyball development in the county. Using these resources, Essex Volleyball Association will seek to work with selected partners in an open, collaborative and constructive manner to achieve mutually shared aims. We particularly recognise the importance of junior development working with School Sports Partnerships and the County Sports Partnerships/Community Sports Networks as they are established.

In order to achieve our aim we envisage a number of key activity areas. Alongside this we need to continue to operate effectively and efficiently our existing activities and this is considered in the Good Operations strand noted below. In view of the volunteer nature of our people resources the speed of travel will often be dictated by the breadth and depth of that resource.

The following depicts the development activity areas

This picture seeks to show that activity is founded on the development of volunteers. These volunteers will lead the development of clubs and juniors both within clubs and often in most other settings such as education. The exception is where volleyball is undertaken by paid staff, usually within an educational setting either by PE staff or by Community Coaches. Some clubs will have juniors integrated into their structures whilst others will be more predominantly adult. There will be a competition structure offering development opportunities for clubs and a player pathway for juniors.

1. Volunteer development (Lead – President, Paul Bohannan)

2. Junior development (Lead – to be agreed following Tony Pennock standing down March 2006)

3. Club development (Lead Vice – President, Ken Edwards)

4. Competition development (Lead Competitions Secretary, Ian Johnston)

Other programmes for consideration on an annual basis based on available resources are

(Lead Chairman, Brendan Osborne)

Vice President, Ken Edwards will continue as lead for the overall plan and its development. It is expected that in addition to a comprehensive annual review, there will be section reviews on an ongoing basis.