Congratulations to all of the Hunter Juniors who participated in the extended NSW Phoenix Trials process which started in April/May, featuring multi-week Trials Phase, a shortlisted multi-week Squad phase, and then selection of Teams.   For the Australian Youth Volleyball Championships in Perth in September, Gemma Weeks, Charlie Neill, Asher Safaei, and Abby Gordon have been selected to represent NSW and are destined for the experience of their life in the week-long tournament featuring the best junior volleyballers from across Australia.

Shoutout also to Charlie who competed at the recent Australian Youth Championships in Adelaide.  His team finished 5th in the tournament, and Charlie picked up a personal MVP Award for his team after a stellar week of competition.

We're excited to host the Finals of our Premier Volleyball League at the NUSport Stadium, University of Newcastle.  This year we saw four men's and four women's teams compete in a double round-robin season and we're now at the pointy end where teams are vying for the inaugural PVL Championship.  Join us at NUSport on Sunday 3rd August (Men's) and 10th August (Women's) from 10am-2pm each weekend for the Bronze & Gold medal matches and presentations!  We'll head to Bar on the Hill after each day's finals for a refreshing ale and tales of triumph so join us if you're free.  

The NUSport Stadium charges spectators $3.50pp entry to their venue on Event days such as PVL Finals.  However shoutouts to the Newcastle Uni Volleyball Club for working with Hunter Volleyball to cover the cost of spectator entry fees, so that HV and NUVC community members can attend both PVL Finals FREE!

Thanks to the crew of 18 volunteers who helped out across multiple shifts on Saturday 12th July at Bunnings Kotara for our fundraising BBQ.  We raised over $2,300 on the day, cooking and selling over 800 sausages plus drinks.  It was a glorious, sunny Winter's day with some tunes and happy customers.  Our next fundraising BBQ is booked on Saturday 9th August at Kotara again, so please message Michelle if you would like to join us for a two hour shift at 12-2pm or 2-4pm, as we raise much-needed funds for our future HV HQ.

This month in Maitland we have new competitions kicking off including a Women's Competition, and an expanded Adult Mixed Recreational Competition.  Having 10 teams competing across both nights is such a great start to the growth of this participation hub, which is drawing players from Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Singleton and Maitland together for volleyball and social networking also!  Shoutout to Maitland High School for the recent floor lacquering over the holidays, making the venue supremely safe and comfortable for competitive volleyball in the second half of 2025!

Now that we've completed two Terms of our Ready Set Spike! skill development program in Maitland, it's time to get into junior competition! We're transitioning juniors into weekly modified competitions on Mondays (girls) and Wednesdays (boys) so that they can put all of their skills work into practice and learn how to play and referee games, ahead of the 2026 Junior Social Competitions and Junior Volleyball League trials.  It's not too late to join these programs, with registration days happening next week at Maitland High School from 5pm on both Monday and Wednesday.   

We hope to have access to the venue in Term 4 (around exams and graduation events) when we can run some introductory skill programs again for new players getting started in volleyball for the first time.

HV is expanding our service delivery team, as we host programs at three different venues over four nights a week.  We are recruiting Casual Event Assistants to join Michelle, our part-time Operations Manager, helping to grow volleyball in our region.  The roles are expanding every year, and are a pathway into careers in sports administration, marketing, and events management.  Our current paid opportunities include:

• Mondays at Maitland (5.00 - 9.30pm)
• Tuesdays at Broadmeadow (5.45 - 10.15pm)
• Wednesdays at Maitland (5.00 - 9.30pm)

If you are interested in supporting HV in one of these Casual, paid roles please contact Michelle today for more information.

Over the next few months our Fundraising Subcommittee will be reaching out to the community for support of some great initiatives we hope you'll get behind.  Our MONSTER RAFFLE will be drawn at the Awards Night & Christmas Party in December, so if you have capacity to support with the donation of goods, services, or products from your family businesses - or from businesses within your personal networks - we'd be so grateful! Please email Jordan, Fundraising Subcommittee Chair, with details of any items you may be able to donate to the Raffle.  The team will also be organising a social TRIVIA NIGHT and details will be shared shortly about how you can join us for a fun evening of drinks, snacks, random trivia, and games!

This past Quarter, the Facility Subcommittee has been working with local real estate agents to visit warehouses and for a volleyball space. Balancing suitable internal space, ceiling heights and amenities, along with physical location, parking, public transport and 'neighbours' is quite the process, but the team continues the search with the view to activating a space in 2026.  The Subcommittee is preparing a Member Survey to gain your feedback and insights into current and future access to volleyball venues, including methods and duration of travel, essential amenities, and services alongside playing volleyball.  The Survey will come out via email shortly, and your responses will help to inform our decision-making for the future of HV.

Are you aware about the intended redevelopment of the suburb of Broadmeadow rolling out over the next 30 years?  The Newcastle Basketball Stadium must be vacated by 2028 because that parcel of land is within the first stage of Development, as described in the Broadmeadow Place Strategy.  The current Development Application for the 12 court Hunter Indoor Sport Centre (HISC) proposed on Wallarah & Blackley Ovals at Lambton is a State Significant Development and is before the Department of Planning, Industry & Environment for review. Newcastle Basketball has recently provided formal responses to community submissions about the proposed development.  Within the next few weeks, Newcastle Basketball's formal responses will be made public and there will be a short window for final review and final community responses, before the Department makes its determination about the Application and whether it will proceed on this site or not.  You can follow the Development Application, Submissions and Responses, and make your submission to this critical piece of indoor sporting and recreation infrastructure online here.