A local volleyball team, part of the FOG volleyball club in Edmonton, is in Orlando to compete at the United States national championships.
This is a 2,400-team event played at a convention centre in the Florida city for age groups ranging from U12 to U18. The convention centre will hold 150 volleyball courts in a single room.
“They take down all the walls that splits them up,” said head coach Lenore Chenard. “It’s bigger than the Olympics.”
Chenard, who grew up in the Orlando area, knew about the tournament and applied for her team to compete. The group held numerous bottle drives across the city to raise the money to attend.
Chenard, who just moved back to Edmonton for university, has played in the tournament seven times. She even won it.
It’s a daunting task when you consider that this U14 team she’s now coaching has 130 teams in its division at the tournament and there are four divisions in the U14 age group.
“Teams from all over the U.S. come,” Chenard said. “So I’m just going to have to convince them they’re not the only ones feeling the shock.”
The opening ceremony for the tournament is Wednesday, with games starting on Thursday in Florida.
Comments