2005 Results

Scottish Power and Russian Resolve!

The May weekend of the 29th 2005 witnessed a tremendous festival atmosphere in and around the North Inch as 1,073 volleyball players descended on Perth from all over Europe for the twentieth Scottish Open Volleyball Tournament.

A late sponsorship deal from Scottish Power renewables started the weekend on a positive note but the cold and wet weather on Saturday put a slight dampener on the standard of volleyball which could be played outdoors due to the fact that players were unable to gain a grip on the slippery surface of the North Inch. This of course did not detract from the fun as teams adjusted their game to suit and tactics changed accordingly.

Sponsors.
The Scottish Power cash injection along with support from Ramada Jarvis, Strathmore Water, St Johnstone Football Club and the Trophy Shop helped keep this year’s tournament afloat financially.

The organisation by a small group of local volunteers was again commendable with almost all games being underway by the back of 10 o’clock on the Saturday playing on thirty four outdoor courts on the North Inch.

Local teams.
A number of local teams were again in the fray with the Ben Nevis Beaters, Kintronics, Perth Pool, See Me Scotland and Motley Crew all competing in the mixed divisions with Campus Sports, Net Chaos Crieff, Rodney’s Trotters and Kelty competing in the men’s divisions.

Best Dressed.
The best dressed team was undoubtedly The Saggy Aggies with their “granny costumes” complete with baffies, cardigans and shopping trolleys.

International.
Foreign interest was mainly in the women’s sections with the Faroe Islands women’s side along with Pskov Academy for Tourism from Perth’s Russian twin town. Many other nationalities were represented throughout other teams with Americans, Dutch, French and Belgian all playing their part.

Men’s Division 2.
Of the local teams only Campus Sports and Kelty qualified for the final stages of men’s division two on Saturday only to be drawn together in the same section for Sunday’s games. The opening fixture paired the two and the game went to three sets with the Kelty lads just pipping Campus 18-25; 25-22; 15-6.

Both Kelty and Campus lost in close three set encounters to Nuvoc of Edinburgh who went on to win the men’s division two trophy.

Men’s Division 3.
In men’s division three, Net Chaos Crieff qualified for the final stages only to be pipped by the narrowest of margins losing 25-23; 21-25; 17-19 to Team Shameless. Rodney’s Trotters also lost out in very close encounters with X-Men and Bob Selecta on the Sunday after qualifying well on Saturday.

Men’s division three consolation tournament saw four Fife teams qualifying for the semi-finals with Leuchars beating Sydney Shambles 25-11; 25-12 and Fife Olympiad (Glenrothes) beating Dunfermline side “Six Men from All Angles” 25-1; 25-22.

In the final it was Leuchars who triumphed 25-13; 25-17.

Women’s division 2.
In women’s division two the Pskov team completed the weekend undefeated to win the trophy.

Mixed Division 2.
In mixed division two the Ben Nevis Beaters made up mainly of the tournament committee, qualified for the final stages on Sunday only to lose out to Liquid Sunshine who themselves lost in the final to Hot Doggies.

Mixed division two consolation saw Kintronics win one and lose one to ‘Ave It who eventually won the consolation trophy for that division.

Mixed Division 3.
In the mixed division three consolation qualifiers Motley Crew, Perth Pool and See Me Scotland qualified for the knockout stages with both Motley Crew and Perth Pool being paired against each other in the semi-finals.

In what was a very close match the Motley Crew ran out eventual winners 25-23; 25-22.

Motley Crew then met Mr G’s All Stars in the final with the Crew running out consolation trophy winners 25-21; 25-19.

Another successful tournament, despite the weather with one spin off being the possibility of new teams participating in the Perth District League when the season re-starts in September.

Let’s hope we have a real “beach volleyball” summer ahead of us!