The weather
Love it or loathe it, UK weather is unpredictable, even up to the last minutes in a precipitation radar, it can evade or confront us.
As a team, we spend way too much of our personal time monitoring the Met Office information and rain radars in the weeks before the tournament - 99% of the time these early predictions are different to reality - but we do it anyway. Holding out that speck of hope that you will see a smiley sun icon and the magic <5% risk of precipitation symbol; sometimes we are lucky, sometimes we are not.
However, we know from last year that even if we say rain stops play, you crazy bunch didn’t care and played in some of the maddest rain we have seen… all day!! It still makes me smile. We had so few injuries, but like a fearful parent we watched and hoped, and you all had a blast.
Thanks to some hard work by our dedicated team, we have the technology to stop and start our new timed games system so if rain stops play (as it has for a jolly good proportion of the last 48 years we have run), we can accommodate the delay. We can adjust match durations if needs be to allow for a shorter window of play, we can extend the day if it is gloriously sunny - or at least not emptying the heavens on us - we can run a one day event if needs be, or two half days.
What we will do is work out the best plan based on what is ahead of us at the time and action that plan. Asking us what we will do two to three weeks ahead of the event because it is currently forecast on some tabloid website to be the worst weather ever for the tournament, is not only futile, but an extra job for us to do when we are already pretty maxed out. Therefore, we would appreciate it very much if you could trust us to do the best we can for you, as we promise that is what we are doing.
As with nearly every tournament the team and I have attended over the years, small amounts of rain never stop play. We have all played at some point when the rain is in your face, the wind is blowing the ball sideways or the sun is blinding you. It’s the nature of British summers; it’s the nature and the beauty of playing our favourite sport all year round, out with our friends and the amazing volleyball community.
When you enter a summer tournament in the UK, you know the risks and you are prepared for them. You hope that only in the very worst case of a grim weekend of wet greyness that the organisers will cancel the whole event. Camping with your friends, dancing, belly laughing, meeting volleyball chums you haven’t seen for years, or that you see in the season but don’t get to socialise with, eating amazing food and playing volleyball whenever Mother Nature permits - that is what we strive for and it’s what we know the majority of you love.
This year for the first year we will be tensioning the nets on Friday evening so you can have a knock about and get the most of the weather if it’s good enough, a few people played last year on loose nets that we then tensioned, so we thought we would encourage that as it makes sense to play when you can. Although, there will be no official first aid provision on site so you will play at your own risk on that front; no crazy moves that might risk injury please!
We will continue to monitor the weather services, probably hourly for the next few days and we will plan the days to maximise the volleyball and the enjoyment, but with your safety at the front of our minds.
We are in the hands of the weather gods and you lot doing your sun dancing to encourage the sun to shine!
You can view our statement on the weather on our website on this page, at the bottom is a Weather section, but it pretty much says what I have here.
We look forward to seeing you at the weekend with your suncream, hats, wellies, rain coats, flip flops and brollies! And of course your infectious appreciation of volleyball life.
Tania
