User:Chris Todd/Is V-League better than AVL

What is V-League
V-League - Chris Todd

For those who are not familiar with V-League or volleyball in generall there is a short video with some footage of the competition.

An athletes Opinion of V-League
An Interview with Simon Hone

An interview with one of Australia's up and coming volleyball players explores the opinion of athletes surrounding v-league. The focus is on the improvement of volleyball in Australia as V-League is now taking over from AVL. It is run by the clubs and the clubs determine the outcome of the competition. Instead of focussing on the AVF requirements V-League is hoping to improve volleyball as a whole.

Goals of V-League
The V-League has been founded by volleyballers, for volleyballers, in order to:

1/ provide an opportunity to play volleyball at an elite level,

2/ enhance the ability for clubs and teams to develop a strong supporter and funding base

3/ facilitate the development of volleyball players, coaches, officials and volunteers,

4/ help promote the sport of Volleyball in Australia.

(www.v-league.net)

Simons answers
Below are the answers to questions Simon was provided before the interview.

V-League is new in 2011, do you think that V-League is providing an elite level of volleyball in Australia stronger weaker or the same as AVL in the past? V-League is definitely providing the best level of volleyball in Australia. In AVL there was only 1 team per state and often some of the best players didn’t play because of the cost. This year there are 3 states with 2 teams each. We have the talent in Australia we just needed a competition to expose it and V-League gives us that opportunity. This year we have prize money for V-League, which has been attracting the big names as well. Former Australia player and long running captain, Ben Hardy, was lured back to Australia to participate in this lucrative competition. He played over 10 seasons in the best league in Europe. Its good to see Aussies returning to play in the national competition

Do you think that there are going to be more spectators watching V-League games than there were at AVL games? For sure, we have lots of home games because of the V-League format, plus in AVL we often had games where there was nobody from that state playing in the game, so nobody would come to watch, like when we flew to Perth and then would have to play the AIS, another Canberra team. This was frustrating as it meant we had to spend a lot of money on plane flights that we didn’t need. Most of the games I have played in this year have had bustling grandstands and support, which is great even if half of them are supporting other teams.

'''One of the goals of V-League is to develop players, coaches, officials and volunteers. Do you think this is happening, and how do you think this is this different to what was occuring in AVL?''' we often had young kids doing the lines at AVL last year and in crucial games or points, when there was a close call it was frustrating when the obvious decision was not made. V-League has a lot more support from officials to referee, plus with twice as many teams playing there are coaching opportunities as well. I’ve noticed most teams have two or three coaches at their games, compared to AVL last year where teams would only have their head coach travel away to matches.

What do you think will happen next year with V-League? I think it will continue to flourish moving into other states such as Queensland and South Australia. Both these states had good teams in the past but due to costs and inefficient running of AVL they have been absent for the last couple of years, V-League will be their opportunity to rejoin. Sponsors such as Testra have also shown interest in supporting V-League in the future.

Now most importantly, is V-League in 2011 better than AVL was in 2010? Yes for sure, more teams, better competition, and better coaching staff on all levels. Its provides a better base for volleyball in Australia for players, officials and fans. With sponsorships coming in and more teams wanting to join, this league could quickly become a talking point at dinner tables around Australia.

Acknowledgements
www.v-league.net

Karl Pearce Photography for images of Simon Hone

Les Young - Canberra Heat Volleyball for video footage used in the v-league video

Ella-Rose Ward & Simon Hone for their contributions to the interview

VVI - Volleyball Victoria Melbourne-Monash Uni Blues Australian Institute of Sport Canberra Heat Academy UTS-Sydney Uni Volleyball State Volleyball NSW Volleyball Western Australia