People of all ages playing volleyball together on a mini-court outside the World League Finals venue, the Arena da Baixada stadium in Curitiba, Brazil
Curitiba, Brazil, July 9, 2017 – The best volleyball players of the planet showcased their talents in Curitiba last week during the FIVB World League Finals, but they were not the only ones to have fun with a ball and a net. Over 7,500 people had the opportunity of playing volleyball in some capacity through FIVB’s Volleyball Your Way programme.
Created to celebrate volleyball in all its shapes and forms - regardless of how it is played - the Volleyball Your Way movement aims to bring people of any age together, to play volleyball and have fun. The programme featured a wide array of activities before and during the Finals in Curitiba.
In the week before the event, a group of Volleyball Ambassadors composed of Brazilian Olympic champions Gilberto ‘Giba’ Godoy Filho and Emanuel Rego and Olympic medallist Elisangela Oliveira, all Curitiba natives, visited 15 local organisations, including schools, hospitals and social programmes to interact and play with local kids and promote the sport and the event.
“It was an amazing experience to receive love and be in touch with all these kids and teenagers,” Giba said. “With the FIVB, the Brazilian Federation and the State Federation working together on this programme we believe volleyball can grow a lot in the state of Paraná.”
During the five days of competition, three mini-courts were set up outside the Arena da Baixada stadium, allowing fans to play before they entered the arena to watch the games.
“It was really fun to play for some minutes with my friends before we watched the matches,” commented 18-year-old student Gustavo Ribeiro. “I wish we had more actions like this in other sports events.”
