5 Jun 2024

National Cup and Shield entries open

National Cup and Shield entries open

The new-look National Cup and National Shield competitions for the 2024-25 seasons are now available to enter.

Teams have until Sunday 21st July to register for either of the two competitions, which will now run separately and now have no overlap.  

Previously, teams who were knocked out of the early rounds of the Cup could move forward to contest the Shield, but this will not happen under the new format that is being implemented following a review by the Competitions Working Group.  

Cup or Shield? 

The National Cup is open to Super League and NVL Division 1 teams, the 2023-24 National Shield Finalists, BUCS Premier tier teams, and London Premier teams. 

The main draw for this will consist of a maximum of 32 teams and, if entries exceed this, a prelim round for BUCS and London Premier teams will take place. 

The National Shield will be contested by teams from NVL Divisions 2 and 3, as well as all other teams from Volleyball England affiliated clubs. 

A total of 64 teams will be in the main draw, with prelim matches for non-NVL teams, should this number of entries be exceeded. 

New, randomised draw 

Another change will see a randomised draw made between each round. 

Teams in the National Shield will be drawn from pools based on their regions, while teams in the National Cup will be drawn from the same pool. Pools will be confirmed once the entries have been received. 

Further details... 

For more information on the format, player, and team eligibility, please refer to Section J of the NVL regulations

For more info on the time frames for the competitions, please see the NVL Timeline for 2024-25. 

To register for the National Cup or Shield, please follow the instructions in this video guide here.