Twenty teams, from Liverpool, St Malo – who produced last year’s winners – , Portsmouth, Ashcombe, Jersey and Guernsey will compete in men’s, women’s and mixed competitions.
The games will be officiated by ten National League referees under the chief official, Olympic referee Jeff Bréhaut.
Denis Le Breuilly, who founded the Jersey Open, said: ‘When we started 20 years ago, volleyball was a comparatively new sport in Jersey.
It was designed to give local players the opportunity to see and learn from some of the best players in the UK, and to pit their skills against them.
The fact that National Lisague officials need to be appointed is testament to the quality of the entries.’ Le Breuilly is one of the organisers of the event, and his passion for his sport remains undiminished.
‘I think we’re losing out a bit to other sports – we have no develeopment officer to go into schools and attract the youngsters, although Paul Adamson (current JVA president) runs a juniors section.
It’s all down to the volunteers and we are always looking for more people to help.’ He added that he is encouraged by the increased number of teams which have entered the Open this year, but said that the cost of getting teams to Jersey is becoming more expensive every year.
‘We just have to keep persuading them that the good level of competition and the support and friendliness makes it worth them coming.
It seems to be working – we already have several teams pencilled in for next year.’ And last year’s men’s competition winners, St Malo, are bringing a women’s and mixed team with them this year but all three will face stiff competition from Montana, Liverpool, whose men’s side have won twice before.
Meanwhile the Island’s men’s side will be aiming for a semi-final place, the final having eluded them to date.
In the women’s competition, Ashcombe, a National Division I side, will be looking for their tenth title, although both the Island sides and the two from Guernsey have improved tremendously over the years.
All games are at Fort Regent and start at 9.30 am Saturday.
Finals start from 2 pm Sunday.
