A ceremonial serve from several North Bay Youth Volleyball Club Junior Lakers helped officially open the Education Centre Beach Courts.
The club, Nipissing University, and Canadore College partnered to create the courts at 100 College Drive.
“We have four full-size courts,” says Sylvie Laperriere, club president. “We also have a foot-washing and water filling station. We have lights so we can play later in the evening so we could host any of the national events.”
It also features Olympic-grade sand.
With the new facility just opening, she says they’ll be looking at options for hosting events next year.
“I’m working with Tourism North Bay and Volleyball Canada to see if there are any opportunities for us to be able to host those events in the future,” she says. “We’re just opening up, so baby steps so far but we are trying to see if we can look into those things for next summer.”
Laperriere says right now they have over 150 athletes that use the courts weekly and run tournaments bringing in out-of-town players.
She also says the new courts are in addition to the downtown beach courts, helping add to the city’s summer sports venues.
“It’s in addition,” she says. “It’s not taking away from anything. It’s another location we can use, and we thought the campus was a really good spot so the students can also make use of it, including out athletes.”
With the opening of the courts, she says both Canadore and Nipissing would be ready to go if the OUA expands into varsity beach volleyball.
Officials say the partnership between the club, Nipissing and Canadore is all about promoting youth engagement, athletic development, and community collaboration through sport.
