The following is issued on behalf of School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador:

School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador five provincial girls volleyball championships this weekend

The first high school provincial volleyball champions of the 2005-06 school year will be crowned this coming weekend. School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador will sponsor five girls volleyball tournaments involving 30 schools from all over the province.

The very first �small schools� championships will take place at Main River Academy in Pollards Point. In order to be eligible for this event, schools must not be playing another division and have a student population in Level 1 - 3 of less than 40 students. In addition to Main River Academy, Hampden Academy, St. James School (Lark Harbour), Our Lady of Labrador (West St. Modeste), Mary Simms All Grade (Main Brook) and Sacred Heart School (Conche). The tournament will be run in a round robin format with the first matches starting 9:30 a.m. on Friday and continuing throughout Saturday. The top four teams will advance to the playoff round with the top two teams meeting in the championship game, Saturday afternoon.

The Fair Play Girls Volleyball continues to be a very positive alternative for many schools. This year�s fair play tournament is being hosted by Discovery Collegiate in Bonavista and will feature 10 teams playing in a two-division format. Playing in Division 1 will be the host, Discovery Collegiate, Heritage Collegiate (Lethbridge), St. Michael�s High (Bell Island), Stephenville High and Holy Cross High (Eastport). Division 2 will see action between Bishop White High (Port Rexton), St. Marks School (Kings Cove), Baccalieu Collegiate (Old Perlican), Smallwood Academy (Gambo) and Marystown Central High. Two courts at Discovery Collegiate will be used starting 8:30 Friday morning and continuing throughout the day. Semi-final action is scheduled for 12 p.m., Saturday followed by a 1:30 p.m. championship game.

Gill Memorial in Musgrave Harbour and Lumsden School Complex are co-hosting the Provincial Girls 2A Volleyball Championships. Eight teams will compete in a two-division format vying to advance to the playoffs. The opening ceremonies get underway at 11:30 at Gill Memorial followed by matches at both venues. Division A will take place in Musgrave Harbour and will feature Gill Memorial, Grandy�s River Collegiate (Burnt Islands), J.C. Erhardt Memorial (Makkovik), Fortune Bay Academy. Division B played in Lumsden will see action from Lumsden School Complex, St. Annes School (Conne River), St. Peters Academy (Westport) and Cloud River Academy (Roddickton). The top team from each division after the round robin, will receive a by. The second and third place teams will meeting in cross over action, with the winners of those games playing the first place teams. The top two teams advance to the championship game at Gill Memorial Academy.

Random Island Academy will host the six team Girls 3A Volleyball Championships. A round robin format will be used to determine the top four teams, who will advance to the playoff round. Teams competing for the 3A title include Random Island Academy, Menihek High (Labrador City), Glovertown Academy, St. James Regional High (Port aux Basques), Baie Verte Academy and King Academy (Harbour Breton).

Exploits Valley High in Grand Falls-Windsor is the host school for the Girls 4A Provincial Volleyball Championships. Ten teams are set to begin play at 1:30 p.m. Division A will feature Exploits Valley High, Bishops College (St. John�s), Stephenville High, Queen Elizabeth High (Foxtrap) and Clarenville High. Facing off in Division B will be Pasadena Academy, Ascension Collegiate (Bay Roberts), Holy Spirit High (Manuels), Gander Collegiate and Prince of Wales Collegiate (St. John�s). The provincial champion will be determined Saturday afternoon.

In its continuing effort to emphasize sportsmanship, School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador, is sponsoring the Sportsmanship First Program. In addition to the Team Sportsmanship Banner, each team will nominate an individual player to receive an individual sportsmanship medal.

The top teams will be rewarded with gold and silver medals, while the winner of the championship game will also receive the coveted Championship Banner.

Convenors:

Small Schools Volleyball - Michael Rogers 482-2422 (Tel) 482-2129 (Fax)
Girls Fair Play Volleyball - Sheldon Stringer 468-2323 (Tel) 468-1116 (Fax)
Girls 2A Volleyball - Gerald Wheeler 655-2022 (Tel) 655-2037 (Fax)
Girls 3A Volleyball - Jason Lane 547-2380 (Tel) 547-2549 (Fax)
Girls 4A Volleyball - Bruce Andrews 489-4374 (Tel) 489-1477 (Fax)

Contact: Karen Richard, Phone: (709) 729-2795, Fax: (709) 729-2705

2005 12 07                       10:40 a.m.