Active Living: Rec Team - Bump, Set, Spike!

Purpose


Playing volleyball with my staff is not only an active living pursuit; it is also a positive atmosphere for building relationships amongst my staff team. It is always refreshing to see coworkers in a different light than the work environment. The purpose of this practice is to relax, have fun and ‘play’ with each other.

Applications to other Practices and Pursuits

The wider purpose and meaning of staff volleyball is not only to team build, but to walk the walk as a department. We work in Recreation, so should be participating in recreational pursuits ourselves. All too often, this is not the case. We are Recreation Coordinators, but in the end, we work in typical managerial jobs, with meetings, deadlines and pressing matters. All too often, those of us working in Recreation don’t even participate in the activities we are programming. Participating in volleyball once a week together shows our students and staff that we actually believe in what we are promoting.


Enabling conditions


1) Vball is free for me because I work in Recreation


2) My supervisor supports it because it is team building


3) The gym is a 2 minute walk from my office.

4) I have the skills to play as I had the means as a child to play volleyball in elementary and high school; something not all children have.

Life Course Factors – Social Determinants


1) Someone is not able to just ‘go play volleyball,’ as they might do for a run. Volleyball is typically an organized sport where someone has to be in charge of getting gym or beach or grass space (depending on where you play), of having a net and ball and ensuring the required tools are there to set this equipment up.


2) Spatial resources are usually limited when it comes to gymnasium sports. There are only so many community centres or high school gyms running drop-in volleyball or organized volleyball leagues. If they do run them, there is usually a cost associated. At Harry Jerome centre in Burnaby, the cost is over $100 per person for eight 1.5 hour sessions.  This is not cheap.


3) If someone does not possess the skill to play volleyball, it may not be an enjoyable active living practice. Unlike walking, where most everyone (except for those with disabilities) knows how to do it, volleyball is a learned sport that is difficult to play unless you have been taught.


I have found that in the summer, Vancouver is a city that encourages people to participate in volleyball:


1) There are at least 4 different organizations that run outdoor volleyball leagues at Kits, Jericho or Spanish Banks beaches, or at Urban Rec beach, a manmade beach made just for summer volleyball.


2) The logs at Jericho beach are designed to enable volleyball nets to be set up. At Spanish Banks, there are posts in the ground meant for someone to set up their volleyball net for no charge. This helps with the issue of limited spatial resources that occurs with the sport of volleyball.


3) The many leagues that run every summer in Vancouver are available for players of all skills and abilities .They offer beginner, intermediate and advanced leagues and have the option of 6 player, 4 player or two player volleyball. This helps to encourage the player who has never played before to go out and have fun and not worry that they don’t quite have the skills down yet.

Volleyball is one of my favourite team sports to play. Not only am I pursuing an active living practice that I love, but I am interacting with others, team building with my fellow players, and enjoying the beauty of the outdoors when playing on the beach in the summer.