Volleyball Canada – March 07, 2017: Volleyball Canada is excited to announce that the U21 Men’s Volleyball Pan American Cup will be held in Fort McMurray, Alberta, from May 16 to 21.
 
Two teams from this tournament will qualify for the FIVB U21 World Championship in Czech Republic in June.

“This is a very important tournament for several reasons. Not only will this event provide a ticket to the Worlds for two teams – with Canada in the mix – but also this is the first international sporting event held in Fort McMurray since the devastating fire last year,” explained Alan Ahac, Volleyball Canada Director of International Events. “Having a major event will certainly contribute to the re-building process and we’re looking forward to hosting our teams from across the Americas to showcase this region of Alberta.”
 
Top teams including Brazil, Argentina, Cuba and U.S. are expected; although the U.S. and Argentina are already qualified for the World Championships based of their previous performances at qualifying events. Hosting in Fort McMurray will give Canada home-court advantage in its attempt to qualify for the prestigious World Championship event.
 
“This is a great opportunity for our community to play host to an international sporting event and highlight the best of our region,” said Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Mayor Melissa Blake. “We look forward to welcoming athletes and coaches from across the Americas and hope you enjoy your stay with us.”
 
The round robin portion of the tournament will run May 16 to 18, and the playoffs will be held May 19 to 21 at Keyano College, Fort McMurray.
 
“We are pleased to welcome Volleyball Canada and the other nations to Fort McMurray this May,” said Jean-Marc Guillamot, Chair of the Board for Fort McMurray Tourism. “We are proud to let the sport world know that Fort McMurray is open for business and showcase all that the Wood Buffalo region has to offer for sport events, sport-related meetings and training camps.”
 
Volleyball Canada – the governing body of the sport in Canada – donated $10,000 to Red Cross fire relief last year when it held one of its National events in Edmonton.
 
“Now we’re very pleased to continue to support the area by showcasing the next generation of athletes in an action-packed format in Fort Mac,” said Ahac. “We are also excited to be working with the local organizing committee, volleyball community and volunteers to make this event at success.”

The event will be webcast exclusively on CBC Sports www.cbc.ca
 

Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender
E-mail: jskender@volleyball.ca
Phone: 613.794.7676