29 Aug 2024
Case study: How HEVO Steven set up a new league for Edge Hill
After taking on a HEVO role at university, Steven realised in his second year he would like to set up his own league at Edge Hill University, rather than running individual tournaments, as he had done in the past.
After his initial idea, he began planning its execution, carefully considering all the elements needed to bring it together while keeping costs in check.
The idea was implemented in his fourth and final year at university.
“Since I began as a HEVO I have been running three tournaments a year but really wanted to start my own league,” said Steven. “With our participation numbers increasing dramatically this year, I believed it was the perfect opportunity to make it happen.
“To begin with we settled on a single league where each team faced off twice, the teams were drafted based on their own rankings when signing up. Additionally requests from BUCS teams within the university, meant we had six teams of between 7 and 12 players competing.
“Club referees were used to provide the players with the experience and prevent any unnecessary spending.
“We also hosted a grand finalé (following the conclusion of the tournament). This event, which was live-streamed, featured a match between the teams that finished first and second to determine the inaugural champion.”
Building on the success of the first league competition, interest in the event has grown, leaving a lasting impact on the recreational volleyball community.
Steven added: “Following and during the tournament, we received requests from other BUCS teams to join the league next season, guaranteeing its sustainability moving forward.
“I constantly checked in with individuals on game days (while the league was running), but we also had an open feedback form and a recreational representative (someone from these session who isn’t on the team to provide their point of view to the committee) who they could talk to.
“Additionally in a follow-up questionnaire, the majority of those who competed wanted to find clubs close to where they live to continue playing six-a-side volleyball.”
Edge Hill University has continued to host annual volleyball tournaments and last year they hosted three themed tournaments for Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day, in addition to the new league.
Steven understands that some universities might be hesitant about organising and running their own tournament, but he firmly believes that doing so presents a valuable opportunity for advancing recreational volleyball at university level.
“I would highly recommend organising some form of a recreational league to help bridge the gap between the social/recreational sessions and progress into the BUCS team,” he said.
Any Universities wanting to discuss any further questions they have about organising their own league can contact Steven via snicklin55@gmail.com
