School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador (SSNL) hosts its first volleyball tournament of the season this coming weekend. The Island Small Schools Girls Volleyball tournament is scheduled for this Friday and Saturday at Southwest Arm Academy in Little Hearts Ease. Small schools tournaments are held in volleyball and basketball. They are tournaments for schools with a population of 45 students or less. The provincial Small Schools Boys and Girls Volleyball is being held in Labrador this year. Whenever SSNL holds a provincial tournament in Labrador, an island tournament is needed to determine which school will represent the island portion of the province. The island winner will compete against the small schools from Labrador.

Six teams will be competing for the trip to the provincials in Labrador. Division A will see action from the host, Southwest Arm Academy, Mary Simms All Grade (Main Brook) and Our Lady of Labrador (West St. Modeste). Competing in Division B will be Valmont Academy (Kings Point), Sacred Heart All Grade (Conche) and William Gillett Academy (Charlottetown). Division A teams will each play Division B teams in round robin play. First place in each division will receive a bye through the first round of the playoffs. In quarterfinal action, second place teams from each division will play third place teams. The winners of these matches play the first place teams in semifinal game. The winners of these games play in the championship game.

The tournament gets underway at 9:00 a.m. Friday morning. The playoff schedule begins at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, with the championship game set for Saturday afternoon.

In its continuing effort to emphasize sportsmanship, School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador is sponsoring the Sportsmanship First Program. Each team will nominate an individual player to receive an individual sportsmanship medal. The top teams will be awarded with gold and silver medals, while the winner of the championship game will also receive the coveted championship banner.

R.B.C. has joined as a major partner of School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador.

For complete schedule and game scores, visit our Web site at //www.schoolsportsnl.ca

- 30 -

Media contact:
Karen Richard
Executive Director
709-729-2795

Convenor:
Trevor Coates 709-548-2363, 709-548-2484 (fax)