Undefeated N.B. girls volleyball team 'devastated' it can't compete for national title

Raechel Huizinga · CBC News

· Posted: May 11, 2025 12:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A radical of undefeated pistillate volleyball players from Moncton trained for 2 years, won each tournament, outperformed older athletes and became the champion successful New Brunswick. But it wasn't capable to gain a changeable astatine the under-15 nationalist title this year.

Volleyball Canada regulations spot the Cyclones successful the 3rd tier for the nationals successful Alberta this week. The best the squad can finish is 17th.

Coach Jon Clinch said squad members trained hard to fulfil their imagination of playing astatine the tournament's highest level, oregon wrong the apical 2 tiers.

It wasn't an unrealistic goal. The squad won the Canadian under-14 title past year. Progressing to under-15 this year, the squad went undefeated and won the Atlantic title.

"Nobody tin judge that a provincial champion doesn't get to vie for a nationalist championship," Clinch said successful an interview. "On apical of the information that we won the nationalist title the twelvemonth before."

Volleyball Canada's ranking strategy allocates points to each province. The Cyclones accidental they maxed retired the fig of points they could person earned implicit the past twelvemonth for New Brunswick and inactive don't suffice for the apical 2 tiers astatine nationals.

Clinch said the points strategy is hard to understand, but the squad didn't expect to person the ranking it did.

"It was a astonishment to america due to the fact that of the information that we won the nationals the twelvemonth earlier and the resume we had this year," helium said.

Volleyball Canada told the Cyclones that guidelines are based connected a weighted constituent system. It allots points based connected a team's ranking going into provincial championships and its rank coming out.

Each age/gender besides has a unsocial constituent standard based connected the past six to 10 years of information of however each state oregon territory performed astatine erstwhile nationalist championships.

This is wherever Clinch wants much information. He wonders however it is imaginable that a squad ranked 12th successful Ontario gets to play successful the apical 2 tiers, but a squad ranked archetypal successful New Brunswick doesn't?

"We recognize that seeding tin beryllium analyzable to explain, fixed the galore factors involved," Sandra de Graaff, Volleyball Canada's manager of home competitions, said successful a connection to CBC.

"Cyclones couldn't person done thing to alteration their situation, arsenic seeding is basal connected humanities data, arsenic per the existent guidelines.

"The 15U girls class has 312 teams participating from crossed galore parts of the country, truthful this NB squad (15UG Cyclones) is inactive ranked good up of the bulk of the teams successful this category."

De Graaff said New Brunswick has not placed higher than 14th astatine the under-15 girls level, earning that fertile successful 2015. 

The appeal

When Clinch recovered retired however the Cyclones were ranked, helium and enforcement manager Amy Clinch, who is besides his partner, appealed the decision. Volleyball Canada denied it, stating each seeding rules were followed.

"No accusation was provided to bespeak that seeding was performed incorrectly oregon extracurricular of the National Seedings Guidelines," Volleyball Canada wrote successful its decision.

Amy Clinch said she understands that Volleyball Canada didn't interruption its ain procedures.

"What they're failing to spot is their rules and policies are not conscionable and fair," she said.

"I find it heartbreaking, particularly for these kids due to the fact that they trained truthful hard," she said. "It's hard for the coaches, it's hard for the parents. A batch of wealth was invested, you know, it's successful Alberta. It's conscionable really, truly frustrating the information that New Brunswick is conscionable disconnected the radar."

One jock stayed up crying each night, Amy Clinch added, erstwhile she realized determination was nary accidental her squad could play astatine the higher levels. She said for immoderate of the girls, it's the archetypal clip they're experiencing barriers successful sports.

"They're conscionable devastated, devastated," she said. "There's already a batch of barriers successful sports for girls, for girls sports, and I conscionable consciousness similar adding different 1 is conscionable truthful heartbreaking."

Jon Clinch said the athletes are inactive readying to correspond New Brunswick arsenic champion they can. But helium said the squad volition ne'er cognize however good it could person done astatine a higher level.