2023 - Sitting Volleyball at DTP
ParaVolley Malta, together with Birkirkara Volleyball Club and Id Dar tal Providenza, will be organising a sitting volleyball side event at this year's BOV Volleyball Marathon, which is held annually at Id Dar Tal Providenza in Siġġiewi.
During a press launch held at Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Nello Calleja, General Secretary of ParaVolley Malta, gave more information about this activity. He said that for this year's event, Slovenian athletes who are either members of the National Slovenian sitting volleyball teams or else play sitting volleyball in the different clubs in Slovenia have been invited to Malta. These athletes include male and female persons with or without disabilities, and the main objective of their visit to Malta is to play demonstration matches between themselves and against local Maltese teams.
Volleyball players, as well as the general public, have been invited to take part in these matches, which will take place in the evening during the same weekend and at the same venue where the volleyball marathon will be held, that is from Friday 30th June until Sunday 2nd July at Id-Dar tal-Providenza in Siggiewi. The sitting volleyball activity will be held from 20:00 until midnight on each of these days, whilst the volleyball marathon will start on Friday 30th June at 18:00. It will continue till midnight on Sunday 2nd July, for a total of 53 hours continuous volleyball.
The sitting volleyball activity is open to male, female, or mixed local teams, and teams can be made up of athletes with or without disabilities. "We firmly believe that a discipline like sitting volleyball allows everyone to play the same sport most inclusively, since the moment the athletes sit down on the floor to play, they all become equal. We hope that such activities continue to promote the fact that sport is really for everyone, whatever the level of ability," organisers said.
The Minister for Inclusion, Voluntary Organisations and Consumer Rights (MIVC) Julia Farrugia Portelli said she was overwhelmed with the enthusiasm shown by the participating athletes, both Maltese and Slovenian and expressed her hope that this weekend's volleyball marathon will achieve the best results on and off the court. She also promised her support for an international sitting volleyball tournament organised in Malta, which was the wish expressed by Nello Calleja.
Also present for this launch were Charles Azzopardi, Head CSR Dept of Bank of Valletta, Stefan Decelis, President of Birkirkara Volleyball Club and Technical Director of the Volleyball Marathon, Nadine Camilleri-Cassano and Tony Sammut representing id-Dar tal-Providenza, together with the Slovenian athletes, and the captains and Vice-Captains of the teams taking part in this year's volleyball marathon.
Birkirkara Volleyball Club is the only club in Malta actively involved in the sitting volleyball game. It is the sole club with registered players with disabilities within its ranks playing in the national league.
Posted in Local on Jun 30, 2023
