National Capital Masters Inaugural Volleyball Tournament
April 2, and 3, 2011
Ottawa.
The winners – Caracjou from Montreal and surrounds. This is one very good team.
For players born in 1961 or earlier.
Success is usually spelled with three ‘S’s and a couple of ‘C’s. The National Capital Masters Volleyball Tournaments success should be spelled with all ‘A’s. It was an unqualified success. In all sporting events that this writer is aware of, only one team goes away the winner. Not this time. While there were only five teams involved in this first Ottawa Masters event, all players went away happy. Every player that I spoke to or that members of our tournament committee talked to was most impressed with all aspects of this event. Quality of play, attitude, refereeing, venue, pub time (indeed!): all were seen as top notch.
The following from a Windsor player:
“This is just a short message to let you know how much we appreciated all your hard work and how much we enjoyed the tourney on the weekend. Please send my thanks along to all the folks involved who may have been instrumental in the organization of the tournament. I have been telling the guys here all day at volleyball about its success – they are determined to come next year.”
Frank Fog versus Hamilton Aches and Pains
Teams came from Windsor, Hamilton, Montreal and Ottawa. In the world of Masters play, it is not uncommon for players not part of set teams to get a chance to be involved. This was the case here. While teams came from the towns noted above, extra players also came from, Guelph, Deep River, Toronto and Asbestos, Quebec. To provide an indication of the level of play there were at least three former national team players in this event as well many players who have been involved at a very high national level in the past. In my own case, I have played in the national championships on two separate occasions.
The tournament began on Friday evening with a ‘meet and greet’ at a local pub, which allowed all teams to become familiar with the necessities of life for their next two days. Every team played eight sets in four matches on day one. It is important in volleyball at the Masters level that teams not be physically depleted on day one because day two, the playoff day, looms large. In fact there was the possibility of many more sets the following day. Indeed, my team played nine sets on day two.
There were very few blowouts in this tournament. The level of play was such that even the very best team was in tough in a couple of sets. Many of the players were so impressed that they wondered why this kind of tournament had not happened in Ottawa before. This augurs well for the future of this event. With luck it will continue and prosper.
