Volleyball provincials return to RIM Park

WATERLOO — For the 11th consecutive year, the Ontario Volleyball Championships will take over the RIM Park Sportsplex for the month of April.

The tournaments begin Friday, Saturday and Sunday with teams competing in the U15 girls and U14 boys divisions and continue April 13-15 with U11, U12 and U17 girls. The April 19-21 weekend features U14 girls, U15 boys and U17 boys, followed by U13 girls, U12 boys, U13 boys and U16 boys from April 22-24. The tournament concludes with the U16 girls, U18 girls and U18 boys competing on the weekend of April 27.

When all is said and done, more than 830 teams will compete in the largest youth volleyball competition in Canada. The tournament, according to Ontario Volleyball, will inject more than $5 million into the local economy with more than 9,000 hotel rooms being booked in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and beyond.

“Waterloo is proud to have hosted this incredible tournament for the past decade,” Minto Schneider, chief executive of Waterloo Region Tourism Marketing Corp., said in a news release.

“We have a world-class facility for the game, and Waterloo Region offers some great restaurants, cultural attractions and family outings for visiting teams in between games or after they are done for the day.”

Every game of the tournament is free to watch, with complete tournament information available at www.ontariovolleyballchampionships.org.