Canada’s elite volleyball commandos will challenge the world’s best this week at an international military sports throw-down at CFB Edmonton.
About 300 athletes from 10 nations are set to spike it out this week at the Edmonton Garrison field-house for the 36th Men’s and 19th Women’s World Military Volleyball Championships. It’s the first time these tournaments have ever been held in this region.
The tournaments are part of a series of annual sport contests organized by the Conseil International du Sport Militaire, an international military sports organization with 136 member nations that aims to promote peace through sport, said Christine Charron, the Canadian contact for this tournament.
The tournaments start with an opening ceremony this Sunday afternoon, where athletes from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Kenya, South Korea, the Netherlands, the U.S., and Venezuela will march into the field house in full military uniform, said Charron, who works for the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services.
Nine men’s and seven women’s teams will face off in a round-robin tournament over the next week, playing on twin courts specially assembled for this event. Winners of the June 3 championship matches will earn bragging rights and points towards qualifying for the CISM World Summer Games (basically the Olympics for military athletes) next year in China. Visiting teams will also tour Fort Edmonton Park and learn about Indigenous culture.
Heading up Team Canada is the gigantic Maj. Tom McMullen of CFB Kingston, who, at 6’9”, is almost as tall as the men’s court net.
“I’m really tall,” he said, with a chuckle, when asked how he got into volleyball, and it definitely helped him in his role as middle block.
McMullen, who joined the military in 2001 and did a tour in Afghanistan, said he started playing volleyball back at the Royal Military College in Ontario. He’s been on the Canadian squad for about a decade, having flown the flag in Brazil, Arizona, and the Netherlands.
Team Canada members are typically scouted from other base teams and have maybe three chances a year to practice together before the annual tournament, McMullen said. That puts them at a serious disadvantage compared to other squads, who often train together for months and sometimes count Olympic athletes amongst their members.
“Volleyball’s a tough sport. You need that team chemistry to be able to do really well.”
Having the home field advantage has helped this year, as the squad has been able to train together twice a day in Edmonton for the last week, McMullen said. They also have a secret weapon in the form of outside hitter Officer Cadet Dale Towe of the Royal Military College.
“He’s a power hitter,” McMullen said, and won the tournament MVP award at last year’s contest in the Netherlands.
Canada typically places in the bottom third in this tournament, but still manages to stick it to the Americans on occasion, McMullen said. Brazil and China are the strongest squads, but France could be one to watch this year as well, as this was the first time in about a decade that they’d made an appearance at the tournament.
The tournaments give you a chance to travel the world and meet new friends, said McMullen, who had forged bonds with players in Germany, the U.S., and the Netherlands through volleyball.
Visitors should expect to see some intense, high-level play on par with what you can see at national tournaments, McMullen said.
“The level of competition will be outstanding.”
The tournaments run Monday to Sunday at the CFB Edmonton field-house. Games are free to attend and will also be streamed live online. Visit www.cafconnection.ca/cism-volleyball for details.
