Soaring Eagles begins beach volleyball program

The weather was perfect as the Soaring Eagles beach volleyball organizers Kayla Skidders, Kuylynn Chaussi and Tommilee Thomas opened their weekly league this past Tuesday night. These organizers have been hired through the Akwesasne Area Management Board summer programming to oversee the construction of a beach volleyball court and to setup a summer league.

A callout was made to anyone interested in submitting a team to this program and the response was enough to start a regular league. Four women’s 2-on-2 teams, along with four co-ed 4-on-4 teams registered before the start of the summer season. There was also a youth interest in the league with four youth 2-on-2 teams traveling to compete in the OVA beach volleyball in the 12U, 13U, 14U and 16U division. These tournaments have over 60 nets setup for teams to compete, with teams from all across the province of Ontario attending.

Locally, the process of reconstructing the newly dubbed Kawehno:ke Sand Courts included dismantling the old one and bringing in new materials and sand. Fundraising was done in order to purchase the new nets and guides on the court with assistance from the Kawehno:ke Recreation Committee.

Upcoming programming for the Soaring Eagles Volleyball program includes a trip to Ottawa to watch Team Canada play against Slavakia in a qualifying match for the world tournament in beach volleyball. Kuylynn is organizing this event which costs $10 for adults and $8 for children under the age of 12. Children must be accompanied by an adult on the trip. At the actually event local volleyball players Chelsea Sunday and Kayla Skidders along with Mike Labelle will be participating as leads for the Volleyball Info System (VIS).

Chealsea Sunday is planning on hosting a beach volleyball clinic on August 15-18 at the Kawehno:ke Sand Courts for players interested in learning more about the game. More information will be released in the coming weeks as their plans come together.

Longtime Recreation Road residents are excited to see the development of this program, as the area hadn’t really been used for recreation programming in a very long time.

This fall the Soaring Eagles program will begin fundraising efforts for their next step in developing a strong beach volleyball program here in the territory. They plan on working with the A’nowara’ko:wa Arena to develop four sand courts on their property. The process of constructing these courts will be more complex than at the Kawehno:ke Sand Courts, as the area will need to be dug out in order to fill with sand so that the courts are level with the surrounding ground.

The drive and determination of our local athletes to promote this new sport within the community has paid off. The cooperation of the MCA in allowing access for parking via the old CBSA compound has greatly helped in allowing spectators to watch this interesting sport. Children of all ages were able to play in the adjoining tennis court as the games were being held as part of the league, the overall experience was a great showing of the Akwesasne community.