Oct 3rd was a huge day out at Homebush where over 270+ participants competed across 6 divisions including our first ever All Women’s Draw on a full day of activity that started at 8:30am and went right through til 6:30pm. It was wonderful to have so much interest in our tournaments as they have continued to grow and expand and this year we crossed a threshold for the first time, taking on extra zones to compete across 11 courts in total! With so many teams it was something of a logistical rubiks cube but thankfully the day went off without too many hitches and 40 teams competed for medals and placings in Freezones biggest tournament to date.
It was wonderful to welcome our interstate teams from Melbourne Spikers and the ACT Dragons who each brought teams in various divisions. Many new faces took to the courts and a high level of competition was experienced around the stadium. Teams that were supposed to be in finals, didn’t quite make it there which is always a good sign that every team had some challenging matches and no-one was assured of an easy run.
With our first ever Women’s Draw, we were so excited to have 6 teams competing including a few new teams from the Blue Bees and Sydney Vostok as well as teams made up from some of our own ranks of the Wednesday night squad and Sunday Trainings. This was a landmark draw for Freezone and one we hope to continue encouraging and building on. Thanks to the relentless insistence from Joe Sleiman at Baulkham Hills, it was a great day where the ladies finally got to play on a net that was ‘their height’ and we were thrilled to have our first ever complete womens draw.
The mixed division was very difficult to judge and so a pool approach sorted out our higher level teams against each other in the BB pool and saw some tight matches in the medal playoffs for the B grade pool. As always our mixed division continues to provide a wonderful opportunity for friends to play with friends and enjoy the cameraderie of a mixed tournament that stands our tournament in such high esteem across the local volleyball community.
It was wonderful to have such staunch support from our local clubs, especially as there are so many tournament on offer now and at this busy time of the year. So thank you to all the presidents and reps of our local Sydney teams that supported us and helped us achieve the goal of an ever growing tournament experience.
We look forward to 2016 with a renewed determination to provide a similar tournament in October with more courts resulting in more teams playing and more fun filled experiences for our growing family of teams. Our Mardi Gras Tournament is billed for Feb 27th in light of the recent changes made to the scheduling which will see the famous “Harbour Party” being replaced by a greater number of smaller parties on that weekend. This will mean our tournament will take place in the middle weekend of the Mardi Gras Festival. So make sure to bring your glam costumes and dancing shoes, and then have some going out gear to join the part afterwards.
Of course tournaments don’t happen on their own and so I would like to make a special mention to the fabulous Freezone Committee who did a wonderful job assisting and creating a seamless event. I would like to thank SVNSW, in particular Constantina Ladas for support in securing venue and assisting with set up. It was great to have such help on the day and support from our State Body. Also a big thank you to Yuthakarn Chakping, Somkhit Jartnoi, Julias Grant and Offie Chumsuwan for organising the lunch. Louis and Stuart who did a stunning job on the raffle and as always, our wonderful tournament director Bob Konakoff and the wonderful Kirsty Alexander who stepped in to help as Master Scorekeeper.
February 27th is our proposed date for the Mardi Gras Mixer 2016 and places will be limited. It may not be as big an event but it will definetly have some mardi gras spirit! We will be looking to make the Spring Fling 2016 just as wonderful an event and hope that you will all come back for more action and fun with Freezone.
RESULTS:
Men’s A Grade:
Gold: ASIMS
Silver MISS THAILAND
Bronze FREESPIRIT
MVP EVAN (FREESPIRIT)
Womens Grade
Gold CON AND THE GIRLS
Silver DIGGERS
Bronze BHV OMELETTES
MVP SUNNY (SALT)
Men’s B Grade:
Gold: SPIKED PUNCH
Silver LEGENDS
Bronze ITCHY BITCHY
MVP SEUL GI LEE (ITCHY BITCHY)
Mixed BB Grade:
Gold TEAM KAN
Silver QUACK
Bronze MFS
MVP NICK CAIRNS (QANTAS ROCKETS)
Mixed B Grade
Gold VOLLEY VIPERS
Silver PFC
Bronze BHV MU
MVP SUNNY (SALT)
C Grade
Gold CHAKA MO
Silver QANTAS SONICS
Bronze TERRY ANGELS
MVP ODIN CASTRO (CHAKA MO)