Volleyball is one of the most gender diverse sports in the world and all of us involved with Volleyball Horsham would like to say a big “thank you” to all the girls that make our association such a successful one as our way of recognizing female participation on International Women’s Day.
An example of this gender diversity was demonstrated for all the world to see when in 2021 top male and female players wore “Equal Jerseys” for the first time at the finals of the Volleyball Nations League.
The special edition jerseys were showcased during the finals to celebrate how the entire volleyball community – being the sport itself, the players, and the fans – strives to close the gender gap in all sports globally.
Volleyball is a sport with a longstanding commitment to gender equality, where 84% of fans have a strong interest in both men and women volleyball, making it the world’s most gender equal sport. In fact, in 2019 the highest paid volleyball player in the world was female.
In 2023 Volleyball Horsham has 46% participation rate by female volleyballers across all grades. This rate has been boosted by the introduction of our women’s competition.
All other grades of competition have mixed teams with no restriction on team composition. Unfortunately, due to lack of court space we had to knock back some all-female teams into the women’s competition, but lucky we were able to accommodate them in our “C” grade competition.
Nine of our best female players participate in our “A” grade competition and they equally contribute when it comes to playing.
Kara Johnson has been the association’s leading female setter for 10 years now, while players like Delaney Bray, Laelah Robertson, Tamikah Dockrill, Cleo Baker and Emily Hannan make it just as tough on their male counterparts as they do on them.
And they do it all with a big smile on their faces and as much enjoyment as any player on the court.
So tonight the ladies will kick off a celebration of female participation with Molly Carter’s Heidelberg taking on the Academy team, followed by Emily Hannan’s Tsunami up against giant killers Kara Johnson’s Bingo Biddies, who will be on a high after recording an upset win over Rangers last week.
In between these two games will be a special ceremony recognizing female participation with all female players associated with Volleyball Horsham invited to attend.
PHANTOMS TO WARRNAMBOOL
Volleyball Horsham will be well represented in Warrnambool this weekend when Phantoms Volleyball Club participate in the annual Seaside Tournament.
A record 94 teams have entered the event, with Phantoms represented in Men’s and Women’s Honors and women’s division two and men’s division three.
Nathan Berry, Jack Hannan and Jack Exell will play men’s honors, Kara Johnson and Tamikah Dockrill will play women’s honors, Paige Hemley and Mercedes Arnott will play in the women’s division two team while Sebastian Maggs will play in the men’s division three team.
The time honored event is a traditional starting point for Phantoms teams as they build towards the start of the State League season, which kicks off on April 15.
The next opportunity to gain valuable match practice will be on March 25/26 when Ballarat conduct their annual Skins Tournament.