National Secondary Schools Volleyball Champs come to Palmerston North

Arguably New Zealand’s biggest annual secondary school event is returning to Palmerston North for the second year running.

The 2009 National Secondary Schools’ Volleyball Championships will take place at Arena Manawatu from Sunday March 29 to Friday April 3 when finals occur.

The championships will see 145 teams from around the country play throughout the week to find this year’s champions.

With participant numbers expected to exceed 1800, along with coaches, managers, supporters, and spectators, the event is estimated to bring approximately $1.8 million into the local economy.

Sport Manawatu’s event coordinator Thomas Buchanan says “it is fantastic to see this year’s championships come back to Palmerston North to utilise our first class facilities, it would be great if this event returns in future years as it does so much for our economy and for volleyball in our community.”

“Entry to the event is free so we are expecting Arena to be jam-packed with supporters. We’re also encouraging local primary and secondary schools to come down and watch the next generation of top New Zealand volleyball players compete.”

Thomas says with this population surge for the week there is certainly going to be a positive volleyball buzz around Palmerston North during the tournament.

Volleyball New Zealand and Sport Manawatu would also like to thank the support they have received from local businesses in helping make this year’s championships a success.