Volleyball SA Charity Round

Volleyball SA
Volleyball South Australia (VSA) has been organising and running the South Australian Volleyball League since 1955, when the first premiership final was held. There are currently 11 different clubs that are operating at a competitive state league level, with 42 men's teams competing across 5 different divisions and 27 women's teams between 4 divisions.

2022 marks the year with the most people and players involved in volleyball since the sport started in SA. This is also the first year that Saturday morning competition has been expanded to various venues across Adelaide. There are now weekly competitions ranging from Mt. Lofty Community Sports Centre, the Lights Community and Sports Centre, Brighton Secondary School, and two new recently completed venues at Reynella East College and Mitchell Park.

Volleyball SA Charity Round - Saturday 23 July 2022
With such a rapidly growing volleyball community, VSA are utilising their new members to bring some good to the world! Every year, for the past few decades, there has been one weekend during the winter competition where all the clubs work together to raise money for a specific charity chosen by VSA. Every year brings a new charity, with no charity chosen twice. In 2022, VSA decided to raise money for the Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation, by having a gold coin donation box at the door of each of the 5 playing venues. All volleyball clubs worked in unison to reach a goal of $500, and many of our South Australian players were very willing to contribute.

Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation 
Breakthrough supports ground breaking research that will help to transform the lives of those affected by mental health issues. Mental illness is going to be the biggest health challenge in our lifetime. One in five Australians has a diagnosed mental health condition, and more people between 15-44 years are dying from suicide than any other cause. This is not acceptable. The foundation's key focus areas are that of Aboriginal Mental Health, Eating Disorders, Youth Mental Health, and Depression.

Their mission is to create a life free from mental illness. Last year alone, Breakthrough provided more than $1MM in funding for research projects across Flinders University, University of South Australia, SAHMRI, and Sydney University.

South Adelaide Volleyball Club
We spoke to the Club President of the South Adelaide Volleyball Club (SAVC), Trent Woodward, and asked about his interest in volleyball, his clubs' activities and Volleyball SA's charity round. 

Mr. Woodward said that he was happy with the great contribution that VSA's annual charity round brings and felt the choice of charity this year was apt. "With mental health issues being on the rise, I understand the necessity and am aware of how much benefit this research can bring to the community"

We also discovered that Mr. Woodward and other members of his club have been instrumental in transforming SAVC into having a supportive, positive, and competitive sporting culture. Mr. Woodward mentioned that "the social culture [at the club] is stronger and healthier than ever".

Interested in playing Volleyball in South Australia?
Visit Volleyball SA https://www.volleyballsa.com.au/ to find a club near you.

SAcommunity also lists a number of services offering this popular activity >>here