Red Deer will play host to Canada’s best female collegiate volleyball players next spring.
Red Deer Polytechnic was successful in its bid to host the 2024 Canada Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Volleyball National Championship, which will take place from March 6-9 next year.
“Red Deer Polytechnic is thrilled to host the Women’s Volleyball National Championship in 2024 and welcome Canada’s top teams to our amazing facilities,” said Stuart Cullum, President of Red Deer Polytechnic in a media release.
RDP last hosted volleyball nationals in 2019 at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, when the RDP Kings were the host side. They were the runner-up in that event, capturing silver after a gold medal match defeat against the Fanshawe College Falcons.
“Building on our institution’s success in hosting the 2019 Men’s Volleyball National Championship, RDP is well-positioned to host the event and we are excited to showcase our outstanding Queens Volleyball program on the national stage,” added Callum.
Queens head coach Talbot Walton explained he gets goosebumps thinking about hosting the national championship next year.
“The country saw the event we put on, what we had to offer here, and the level of support that we received through the community,” he said.
“For this group of student-athletes, it is going to be a massive opportunity for them as they play in nationals and gain that experience which will benefit the program for years to come.”
The Queens already have a long history of success at the national level as well.
They have won a total of 20 CCAA medals, with three gold, nine silver, and eight bronze.
In 2020 and 2022 the Queens won back-to-back bronze medals after the 2021 championships were cancelled due to the pandemic.
“RDP continues to produce talented and competitive teams in the CCAA as proven by last year’s bronze-medal finish at Nationals,” said Beth Clark, CCAA Women’s Volleyball Convenor.
“This history paired with an eager athletics department, solid foundation of community support, partnerships and a state-of-the-art facility makes it an easy choice to host the CCAA Championship in 2024.”
Not only will the Queens host nationals next year, but they will also play host to the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference women’s volleyball provincial championships later this month.
The CCAA National Championships will have all five conference champions from across the country and the RDP Queens.
In addition, there are also two wildcard teams who will compete.
The last time the Queens won gold at nationals, they won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.
Later this spring, the 2023 CCAA Women’s Volleyball National Championship will be hosted by Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo, B.C., from March 8-11.