National women’s beach volleyball team players excel and emerge as role models for community projects in Vanuatu
While the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme was established to help national teams reach their full potential, the support often has a more wide-reaching impact on the communities it touches, and there is no better example of this than Vanuatu.
The FIVB has invested CHF 150,000 in coach support for Vanuatu’s beach volleyball teams, but the sport has developed as a sport for all in the small Pacific Ocean Island nation.
Vanuatu Volleyball Federation (VVF) President Debbie Masauvakalo has applauded the significant impact of the FIVB’s investment, with more and more young women taking up the sport. Volleyball Empowerment also seamlessly complements the country’s long-standing Volley4Change community project.
“The vision of FIVB President Ary Graça through Volleyball Empowerment is consistent with our Volley4Change project. By raising the standards of our national teams, this helps us to create role models and ambassadors for our community project who are national team players.
“When our team won bronze at both the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022, we shared this triumph and joy with our local communities, displaying our medals to inspire young children and people in the villages. This helped in transforming the mentality of community leaders who now support the idea that women can be professional athletes as well as mothers and wives back home,” said Masauvakalo.
Vanuatu women’s national player Sherysyn Toko (left) coaches the U16 boys team of the After-School Programme under the Volley4Change community project (Photo credits: VVF)
In view of the increasing popularity of the sport due to the ongoing success of the national team, the VVF has developed an After-School Program (ASP) for children, where they are coached by past and present national team players. This unique mentorship opportunity has furthered the community’s passion for the sport.
“We are trying as much as possible not to lose our national team players and keep them within the sport, even after they stop playing. We identify their passions when they are still playing so that we can empower them to build careers in retirement. We provide training workshops in areas like media, leadership, computer skills and of course coaching, so that we can bring them back to volleyball in a new role,” explained Masauvakalo.
A legendary figure within volleyball in Vanuatu, Miller Pata has become a permanent fixture in the sport’s landscape. Having contributed to the team’s triumph in securing bronze medals at two editions of the Commonwealth Games, she now serves as an assistant coach for the national team. She plays a key role in guiding former and current national team players in taking up coaching roles across various age categories in the ASP.
Sitting volleyball programme under Volley4Change community project has helped build the reputation of volleyball as a sport that promotes inclusivity. (Photo credits: VVF)
“Miller has been there with the national team and seen it all. She has learnt a lot by working with coaches from the Volleyball Empowerment programme as a player and also now as an assistant coach.
“She loves sharing this knowledge as a coach through our community projects which include the ASP and sitting volleyball – our Volley4Change inclusion programme for people with a disability. All our current national team players are deeply involved as coaches in the ASP which has now been running for 10 years. They are not only role models for young people, but they also do it as a way of giving back to the community.
“As a result, a lot of girls are now taking up volleyball as their preferred sport in Vanuatu especially in our two major cities of Luganville on Espiritu Santo and in the capital Port Vila. Having our national team players involved in the delivery of the Volley4Change project has helped them appreciate the impact of volleyball beyond being professional players,” remarked VVF President Masauvakalo, who also singled out current national team player Majabelle Lawac as a beneficiary of the Volley4Change project.
Masauvakalo added that the sitting volleyball programme has also helped build the reputation of volleyball as a sport which promotes inclusivity and healthy living in the whole community.
“Volleyball is also a source of hope for people with disabilities who feel inspired by playing sitting volleyball. It is a version of our sport that gives them a chance to enjoy volleyball and feel included as part of the whole community. Older people also see volleyball as a sport that can help them to keep fit and lead healthy lives,” said Debbie.
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: www.twitter.com/AsianVolleyball
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation