Welcome to PHANTOMS VOLLEYBALL!
Phantoms are a regional State League Volleyball club based in Western Victoria. Our oath is to support and grow volleyball pathways in Country Victoria!
2020 VVL Season over for Phantoms
It is with great regret that Phantoms announce the withdrawal of all team entries for the 2020 VVL Season! The Committee, after consultation with coaches and Volleyball Victoria, felt the decision not to participate was the only responsible one to make in the current circumstances.
With a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Melbourne in the last week and the number of unknown factors impacting on individual players and the Club as a whole, the potential risk to the health of members and their communities was deemed unacceptably high.
You can read the Club’s letter confirming the withdrawal and detailing the reasons to Volleyball Victoria Phantoms Committee letter withdrawing from VVL
You can also check out the FAQs page for many of the unanswered questions that influenced our decision. While the VVL season itself is now done for Phantoms, we will monitor the situation as it continues to unfold in the Victorian community, and should we be able travel and access Bendigo Stadium and safely and appropriately, we will look at an Club event day to celebrate our 10th birthday later in the year. If any Melbourne based player would like to explore opportunities to play any modified season that might occur with another Club, please email us or contact Damon directly to discuss your options.
We will also be looking to enter teams into our Affiliate Association tournaments – Bendigo, Ballarat and Horsham – if they can go ahead and will keep you all updated on our plans.
Associate Memberships
A reminder that $50 Associate Memberships are still available for this year. If you have yet to purchase one and are in a financial position to do so, we would strongly encourage you to help the club meet ongoing expenses that we have already incurred for the 2020 season and help us keep 2021 fees down. We set a target of 100 Associate Members and have currently signed up just under 50% of that!
You can sign up by downloading the 2020 ASSOCIATE Membership Form permissions and making a direct debit payment to the Club using the information on the form. Please put your name(s) on the DD transfer and email the completed form to info@phantomsvolleyball.com.au.
PHANTOMS 10 YEAR CELEBRATIONS
Our Club celebrates it’s 10th year of providing elite level opportunities to all volleyball athletes in Western Victoria. From it’s infancy as a single Men’s team in 2011, Phantoms has grown to become one of the biggest State League clubs in Victoria, fielding teams in all Men’s and Women’s Divisions and creating a sustainable pathway for development in regional Victoria. The Club is committed to commemorating this milestone when it is safe and responsible to do so and will continue to plan for the opportunity when it arises. Watch this space!
2020 REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS
Like all aspects of Volleyball in 2020 Regional Tournaments will both be affected by COVID-19 and any modification of the VV Calendar. More information will come out once the situation becomes a bit clearer but all Associations will need our support to ensure these tournaments remain a viable, vibrant and relevant part of the annual volleyball landscape, so please get involved.
2020 EVENTS CANCELLED
In accordance with Government advice regarding COVID-19 many regional Association competitions have been suspended indefinitely or cancelled. There is a possibility that new seasons can start up from late July but this will be contingent on whether Victoria as a state can contain recent outbreaks and avoid a seciond wave of infections and resultant increase in restrictions.
The Victorian Country Volleyball Championships were cancelled on the June long weekend and the VCVC are now in discussion regarding the 2021 and 2022 events with a decision to be made on the host of those events soon.
The Australian Junior Volleyball Championships due to be held in Bendigo in September have been cancelled, a real blow to the ambitions of many of our young players ready to test themselves at the national level. To our own Phantoms players impacted by this, we feel your disappointment in losing this opportunity but know we will support you as best we can to keep improving and be ready for 2021.
Bendigo Volleyball Association have also cancelled their Junior Dragon City Tournament.
A reminder of useful resources on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
:
Australian Institute of Sport
Department of Health & Human Services
World health Organisation
2020 SEASIDE TOURNAMENT RESULTS
The Warrnambool Seaside tournament is a crucial pillar of the Clubs preseason and this year there were some great performances from teams and individuals. In particular we would like to acknowledge the Division 1 Men who went through the tournament undefeated and our players who were recognised in the Most Valuable Player Awards:
Michael Mayes (Premier Men Joint Winner)
Kade Zrna (Division 1 Men Runner Up)
Gabby Lougheed (Division 2 Women Winner – playing for Warrnambool)
Hilary Hannagan (Division 3 Women Joint Winner)
For all the results, match reports and photos, check out the TEAMS page.
2020 MEMBERSHIPS
Our Full 2020 Membership forms are now available to download from our ATHLETE RESOURCES page. Please note that these must be completed and returned to the Club with payment prior to any commencement of the State League season or you will be ineligible to play. Any players who have purchased the Associate membership to help the Club in the interim will have their playing membership reduced by the equivalent amount.
There are also a number of other documents on this page that all players must familiarise themselves with, especially the Player Expectations. Our coaches are currently reviewing the 2019 version of these and an updated 2020 version will be uploaded shortly.
MEDICAL INFORMATION
Phantoms utilises the online Care Monkey system which also come with a phone app for collecting and storing all members medical details. This ensures that coaches and responsible persons have immediate access to important information in the case of an emergency. if you are already on Care Monkey and connected to the club, please ensure your details are up to date and correct. If you are new to the club or haven’t completed the process, then you will receive an email invitation during the month of February. Please ensure you activate this as NO players will be permitted to take the court either at Warrnambool or during the VVL season if we do not have this information.
UNIFORMS
The Club will be purchasing new sets of playing tops over the coming season that will then belong to the club rather than individual wearing them. This will be phased in over time beginning with our lower division teams that have largest influx of new players. If you have been named in a Premier / Reserves squad and you do not have a playing uniform from either of the last 2 seasons, please email us and we will find you one.
All players going forward will need to purchase their own playing shorts, club polo and club hoodie. Our expectation is that members will attend games in club attire and do duty in non playing club uniform. Details, pricing and order forms will be posted on our UNIFORMS page in the coming days.
PHANTOMS SCHOLARSHIPS
Phantoms offer scholarship opportunities designed to assist athletes who have potential to achieve highly with the club but the cost of playing maybe a prohibitive factor. Anyone attending trials that considers costs associated with VVL a barrier to participation can apply for financial support through this program. Details of the application and assessment process can be downloaded here Phantoms Scholarship Fund. There is currently no template form so an application in the form or a written letter or email addressing the key criteria will be accepted.
TEAMS, RESULTS AND FIXTURES
All weekly information will be available throughout the season on the website by clicking on the appropriate tab in the header or footer menu.
