Inaugural volley day to promote sport

The UAE Volleyball Association (UAEVA) will be organising its first-ever \'Volley Day\' under the patronage of Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on Saturday. Organised with the ultimate aim of spreading the game at the grass-roots level, the entire day will have an array of activities centred around making volleyball popular among boys and girls at the school level. “We realised we needed to make a start somewhere, and so we came up with this idea of a Volley Day where the entire focus will be on attracting young players into the volleyball fold,” said Amer Ali, President, UAEVA. The day-long activities will see all volleyball clubs and schools sending in children to participate in a fun atmosphere of introducing the sport. “Our aim is to attract children under-12 years at Al Ahli for a whole load of fun activities while we will have a separate set of games for girls at the Sharjah Ladies Club,” Ali disclosed. One of the most important parts of the day will be an exhibition match involving former international players along with members of the UAE national team to be hosted at Al Wasl Club’s indoor hall later in the evening.  The day will end with a felicitation function for important personalities and supporters of volleyball in the UAE like media, organisations and international referees at Al Bustan Rotana Hotel at 7.00pm. “The entire day is meant to have a carnival atmosphere so that the kids experience the fun side of volleyball and get attracted to the sport,” Ali said. “While this experiment is meant to have new beginners for our sport, our actual task will be in keeping these kids interested in volleyball after that,” the UAEVA president added.