A message from the Athlete Development Staff:
Greetings,
The Athlete Development Team at the OVA sends healthy and safe wishes to you all. Here is another update on the Athlete Identification Process and the 2020 High Performance Programs.
Athlete identification for all programs to be done through video
A decision was made to cancel plans to host final tryouts in late May and early June. The selection of athletes for Team Ontario programs will be based on athlete evaluations done through our athlete identification process.
About half of all athletes registered to be identified for beach and indoor programs have already been evaluated during OVA indoor events, Winter beach tour events and King/Queen of the beach events. All outstanding athlete evaluations for indoor and beach volleyball programs will be done through observing game film. The intention of this adaptation is to continue to provide the opportunity for athletes to be identified by evaluation through competition, as well as to respect the restrictions that we currently find ourselves in.
Athletes registered for the Indoor/Integrate program evaluations will still receive their feedback once all evaluations are done.
Team Ontario Program Updates
We are planning for all of our programs to run as planned, however there are a few changes being made. The main one is that none of our teams will be travelling this summer. Due to the high level of uncertainty surrounding travel recommendations in the foreseeable future, the OVA has decided to focus its efforts on delivering the local portion of each program. At this point, we want to focus on what we have most control over and avoid unnecessary risk to maintain our participants health and safety.
We have also pushed the dates of some programs further in July to allow more time for restrictions to be lifted and therefore increase the probability that they will run. The new program details are listed below:
Indoor/Integrated Programs:
· Team Ontario White
o July 5-11, 2020 (no extra training dates)
· High Performance Center/Team Ontario Red
o July 4-12, 2020
o There will be no additional Team Ontario Red training and competition following HPC
o We are adding one extra day to HPC to host an official best-of-5-set tournament during the last days of the camp
· Team Ontario Black
o Both the boys and girls’ groups will train from July 11-24, 2020
o Competition opportunities will be available within the groups and against Team Ontario alumni athletes
· Tall Maples
o July 16-22, 2020 at Nipissing University
o If you are interested in the Tall Maples program, send your application to lbreadner@ontariovolleyball.org by April 30th 2020. Application must include:
Your height (cm), standing reach (cm) (standing with one arm fully stretched above your head), birthdate and club team the athlete plays for
A picture of the athlete and their standing reach standing next to a standard interior door 80”
A Tall Maples Motivation Letter. We would like to hear from the athletes and why they would like to be a part of the Tall Maples program this summer. In this one-page letter, the athlete should answer the following questions:
· Why the athlete would like to be a part of the program
· What skills the athlete would like to improve upon
· The athlete’s volleyball goals
For more information on the Tall Maples program, visit: https://teamontariovolleyball.org/tall-maples
Beach Programs:
· Team Ontario Beach
· July 16-22 2020 at Nipissing University
· July & August – Full-time Training Group
· Further activity dates confirmed as clarity around the current situation progresses
As always, we are committed to providing an evaluation process that is fair during this new reality and obstacles that we are facing. We hope that everyone understands the circumstances we are in and that you trust us in selecting the best option to allow for athlete selection and training programs this summer. We will keep you all posted on new development as the current situation evolves.
If you have any questions, please contact lbreadner@ontariovolleyball.org
All program updates can also be found on our website: teamontariovolleyball.org
Stay safe OVA!