Sport
1 November, 2024
Cairns dominates cup comp
IN the battle for North Queensland pride, Cairns has emerged victorious after the volleyball Cairns Cup on the weekend, defeating Townsville in both the men’s and women’s categories.
With over 100 players and 19 teams from Cairns and Townsville, the volleyball Cairns Cup – disputed at Trinity Bay High School and the Cairns and Youth Recreational Centre – has culminated successfully after two full-on days of open volleyball matches for the bragging rights of the best in North Queensland and the return of the $300 registration fee.
This year, Cairns has emerged victorious against a dominant Townsville, which has reigned in the last couple of years with the female TOFTS team from Cairns winning for the second year in a row and the Vector team from Cairns ended Townsville's streak.
Cairns Volleyball Association secretary Jesse Martin said it had been a great year for the Cairns Cup.
“The Cairns Cup was very successful this year. We had 19 teams and over 160 people playing. In the last couple of years we only had 17 teams. This year we even had to turn a team away,” he said.
“We had two completely full courts at Trinity Bay State High School on the Saturday playing men’s and then at the Cairns Youth Centre we had females playing all Saturday. Then on Sunday we had the bronze and gold matches.
“It was very exciting for both Cairns men’s and women’s team to take the gold.
“Many teams drive from Townsville and the Cairns teams have been unsuccessful at defeating them the last couple of years, so it was great that both were able to beat them.
“It was also great to have the Townsville teams visit us. They expressed how much they loved the competition as well and how they wish to come up again.”
Mr Martin said after the success of the 2024 Cairns Cup, CVA was hoping to continue to grow the event.
“The Cairns Cup is one of the only opportunities where people don’t have to travel to Townsville or more likely Brisbane or Gold Coast to play competitive volleyball, and quite often you have to pay up to $1000 to be travelling to these places for a state tournament,” he said.
“This event makes things much easier and accessible for people, so we’re definitely looking to continue to expand. We’re looking for more help from the committee and we want to continue the growth in the juniors and, once we expand, we’ll look for more teams outside of Cairns.”
Cairns Cup podium
Men’s
Vector – Cairns team
Smash or Pass – Townsville team
Minions – Cairns team Women’s
TOFTS – Cairns team
Townsville Monsoons
Scarlets – Cairns team
