So we’ve arrived at the end of the volleyball season and it’s been a great year to be a Spiker! Let’s have a look at all the things we have to be proud of and (inevitably at some point) celebrate.

A Spikers National Team?!
Yes that’s right, I’m very pleased to announce the club will see its first very own Men’s National team, the team will be in Division 3 South East which will see competition from the likes of Bedford, Peterborough, Newmarket, Milton Keynes and more! On behalf of the entire team and myself I’d like to say a huge thank you to club Secretary Ann-Marie Matthews for organising this, believe me when I say “you don’t know how much she has done”.

Men's Eastern Regional Tournament
The winners of the Men’s Eastern Regional Tournament were, Norwich Spikers! I’d like to say a big thanks to all the teams that took part, the competition was immensely fierce and I look forward to playing you guys again next season!

Men's Local League
Full results: https://sites.google.com/site/norfolkvolleyballassociation/men-s-2013 

The Spikers Men's 1st team came 2nd in the men’s local league, by managing a win against usual league champions Pirates for the first time ever, in a spectacular end of season face off. Impressively this is the only match Pirates have lost this season! So we say congratulations on winning the league this season Pirates, but next season Spikers are coming for YOU!

This year also saw the formation of the Spikers Men’s 2nd team. After some teething trouble early on in the season, the team began to unify and started winning sets here and there, before long they had bagged their first victory. Despite finishing 8th the team has looked stronger with each passing month and I look forward to seeing how they do next season.

Spikers Juniors finished 3rd this season a mere 2 points behind Spikers Men’s 1st team proving that just because they’re young – they’re not to be taken lightly! How will they fair next season now that two of their players have come of age and left for university? 

Women's Local League
Full results: https://sites.google.com/site/norfolkvolleyballassociation/ladies-2013

The Spikers Women’s team had a very respectable season, finishing 4th in the table, just 2 points behind 3rd place and long term friendly rivals Medusa. This year has seen the women’s team double in size, and now they've gained some experience as team, I think they’ll be keen to show off what they can do next season.

Mixed Local League Division 1
Full results: https://sites.google.com/site/norfolkvolleyballassociation/mixed-division-1

Spikers Mixed 1st team had an up and down season, but due to a reasonable start they just managed to avoid relegation. With a new mid-season signing from Canada and other changes to the team for next season, they will no doubt do much better.

Spikers Juniors Mixed 1st team had a lot of trouble fielding enough players throughout the season, this means they will drop down to Division 2. There they would normally join Spikers Juniors Mixed 2nd team who have also been struggling with numbers, so instead they will be amalgamated into one team for next season.  

Mixed Local League Division 2
Full results: https://sites.google.com/site/norfolkvolleyballassociation/mixed-division-2

10 New Coaches!
As some of you will be aware, it’s been a year since the Polish former National League player and all-round super coach, Tomasz Morawski, left for London. Those of you who have been with the club since then will have noticed the big hole left by him on the Wednesday sessions. But while his quality will likely never be seen in these parts again, maybe we can make up for it with quantity, as Spikers have gained a massive 10 new coaches. Big thanks to all those who helped fill the hole he left!

Saturday June 7th 2014, the city of Gloucester hosts the SportBeat festival, a full on 2 day music festival with sport competitions. Little do the staff, opposition or festival goers realise, that waking from their tents after a long drive from Norwich the night before, is, the Orange Army – SPIKERS!

Norwich Spikers sent 3 teams to compete against other teams from around the country, 1 men’s team and 2 women’s teams. Arriving at the courts early Saturday morning, the first thing that was really noticeable was our kit, a few other teams also had their kits on, but none stood out as much as us. This proved useful throughout the weekend as you could find your fellow Spikers from a mile away, and we received many compliments about it from the other teams and spectators. One member of one of the opposition commented on how big our club is, obviously seeing the sea of orange. I think someone did mention that only about one third of our club actually came to Gloucester.

The weather, apart from a couple of showers was really kind as you see, in fact it was so kind, quite a few people got very nicely burnt – myself included. If we weren’t playing then we were sat court side, supporting our fellow Spiker teams with the traditional chant “2,3 SPIKERS”. So not only were we the brightest and most visible club there, we were also the loudest!

I’d like to thank Men’s Captain for the trip Ben Stek, for doing such a great job. We had a large team consisting of varied ability levels, balancing the amount that individuals played against a healthy attitude to win can’t of been easy. I’d also like to mention that our team came third overall and managed to take a set off National League team Peterborough Harriers. Both Women’s teams played some great volleyball, and from what I saw they did us proud. One last thank you to all the Spikers who made the Gloucester SportBeat weekend so awesome, especially Ann-Marie for organising the trip.

It was a smashing event, and while I didn’t recognise much of the music, it did create a really great atmosphere. I’d highly recommend keeping a weekend or two free for next year if you missed out on this, I’m sure we’ll be looking to go back. 2,3, SPIKERS!!!

Scott Beech Publicity Officer