Madam, – The great Olympic sport of volleyball was introduced to Ireland in the last century by many men who had served in the Defence Forces during the Congo emergency. While in Africa they had engaged in outdoor volleyball with soldiers from Sweden, Ghana and Nigeria among others.
Many on their return home went into the education sector and introduced schools volleyball and that line of volunteer-led excellence stretched from Cork to Derry and Donegal. The highlight of their work will be the London Olympic 2012 Games when, if all goes well, three Ulstermen, David Hamilton, Mark Fulton and Patrick Crooks will be in the GB squad.
The decision by the Minister for Defence and Defence Forces commanders to ban volleyball from recreation is wrong and needs to be urgently addressed.
In 2013 the World Police and Fire Games will be hosted in Belfast and every one of those national services will be represented in the volleyball section – this despite a similar ludicrous ban on volleyball in the Northern Ireland services until recently.
Monique Berlioux, formerly director of the International Olympic Committee, once described volleyball as “that great sport which entered the Olympic Games in 1964 with competitions for both men’s and women’s teams, at the same time as no other sport had before.”
Equality is a rich tradition, as is fair play in volleyball, where the two teams are separated physically by the net but united in the sport.
There are occasions when Ireland’s reputation is placed under ridicule in various areas of life and business. This is one of them.
As one who has proudly represented Ireland in volleyball around the world as player, referee and delegate, in the spirit of equality and fair play, I earnestly urge the Minister to reverse the decision on volleyball.. – Yours, etc,