History

Volleyball in Bendigo commenced as a competition conducted by the YMCA around 1962, in the upstairs dance hall of the old YMCA building on the corner of Mundy Street and Lyttelton Terrace. The Bendigo YMCA Volleyball Association was formed on 16th April 1964 with Tom Stevens as the first President, Leighton Rawlings as Secretary and Ted Beattie as Treasurer. The competition consisted of eight mens teams.

In 1966, Peter Frylink took over as President and contact was made with the Victorian Amateur Volleyball Association for a copy of the latest rules.

In 1967, the Bendigo competition moved into the new YMCA stadium (still men only). International rules were implemented locally and Bendigo formally affiliated with the VAVA.

Over the next two years, the competition grew steadily to two divisions and local by-laws were progressively developed, forming the backbone of the new constitution. Bendigo competed in the first YMCA Championship in Warrnambool and accepted Geelong’s invitation for some social matches.

In 1969, Bendigo hosted the YMCA Championships and participated in a round-robin tournament in Latrobe Valley.

The year 1970 was an exciting year for Bendigo Volleyball. The late Joe Hiller conducted Bendigo’s first referee course, a Bendigo team competed in the last YMCA Championship in Morwell, several teams competed in the Latrobe Valley round-robin tournament and the first ever Victorian Country and All-Victorian Championships were hosted in the new YMCA stadium.

In 1994, the competition severed ties with the YMCA and transferred its entire competition to the new West Bendigo Stadium.

Since that time, Bendigo has developed a strong reputation, with multiple senior, junior and mini divisions, competing regularly in junior and senior tournaments around the State and contributing significantly to the development of the sport across the nation.