The following is being distributed at the request of Sport Newfoundland and Labrador:

Pepsi Junior Boys Provincial Championship

On February 14 and 15, the town of Conception Bay South will host the Provincial Junior Boy's Volleyball Championships. Games will be played at Queen Elizabeth High School, Frank Roberts Intermediate School, Fred Kirby Intermediate School, and St. Georges Elementary School. The tournament will see 20 teams from around the province battle it out for the championship. The teams will be divided up into four divisions of five teams with a round robin format to be played within each division. The top two teams in each division will earn a spot in the quarter-finals. Divisional play will get under way on Friday at 4 p.m. and will continue on Saturday at 9 a.m. The playoffs will start with quarter-final and semi- final rounds, and finish off with the bronze and gold medal matches. The playoffs will take place on Saturday at approximately 2 p.m. with the bronze and gold medal matches at 5 p.m. The bronze medal match will be played at Frank Roberts Intermediate and the gold medal match will be played at Queen Elizabeth High School.

The host Conception Bay South Sabres Volleyball Club will be represented by three teams. They will have a team from each of Grades seven, eight, and nine. The Grade seven Ravens will be taking part in their very first provincial tournament. Their goal will be to gain valuable experience for future years. The team is coached by Greg Skinner, a former high school player with Harbour Breton and currently a member of the Guards senior team.

The Grade eight Ravens are quite experienced for their age. The team has been together for two years and has competed in various provincial championships in the past two years. The highlight for this team was a fourth place finish at last year's Bantam Championships which consisted mainly of teams a full year older. The Ravens 8's team are using this tournament as a warm up for the upcoming Bantam Championships in April. The team is coached by Rex Hiller, a teacher at Booth Memorial High School where he coached for 18 years, and is currently a member of the Guards senior team.

The Grade nine Sabre Bulldogs are ranked among the top eight in this 20 team tournament. Last year this team won the bronze medal at the Bantam level. This team has had a great deal of success this year to date and has been working hard to improve on last year's finish. The team is coached by Richard Harvey, principal of Queen Elizabeth Regional High School.

Other teams that will be making the trip to compete in this tournament are Mary Queen of Peace Panthers of St. John's, R.K. Gardner Scorpions of Sunnyside, St. Peters Academy of Benoit's Cove, Gill Memorial of Musgrave Harbour, Beaconsfield Saxons 7's and 9's of St. John's, Clarenville Volleyball Club, St. James Flames of Port aux Basques, Catalina, Riverwood Loopers of Wings Point, Windsor Collegiate Bears, Discovery Collegiate of Bonavista, G.C. Rowe Crusaders of Corner Brook, St. Mark's Diggers of Shearstown, Carmanville, Presentation of Corner Brook, and the Lumsden Eagles. With all of these teams meeting to compete for this championship it will no doubt prove to be an exciting weekend for everyone involved.

Contact: Craig Neil, (709) 576-0817.