Whitehorse Daily Star

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GROUP PIC – Watson Lake sent a large contingent to the DIVT this year.

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GOING FOR GOLD – The junior boys Dawson Knights play for gold against a combined junior boys and girls team from Carmacks. Dawson claimed gold in the showdown.

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GOLD MEDAL WINNERS – The Dawson Knights celebrate winning gold in the junior boys division.

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SECOND PLACE FINISH – The Carmacks combined junior boys and girls team finished second in the junior boys division.

Volleyball alive and well in rural Yukon

After an absence of over two years, the gym at Robert Service High School was once again filled with the trill of whistles, the booming of spikes, and screams of excitement. DIVT has returned.

By Freelancer on November 2, 2021

After an absence of over two years, the gym at Robert Service High School was once again filled with the trill of whistles, the booming of spikes, and screams of excitement. DIVT has returned.

The Dawson Invitational Volleyball tournament (DIVT) has been a highlight of  the school volleyball season for 42 years. With COVID-19 canceling the event last year, anticipation was high as teams prepared to travel to Dawson and compete with each other for DIVT bragging rights. Tournament organizer David Rawlings was faced with many challenges in putting the tournament together, including new COVID restrictions, and almost daily changes in registrations. In the end, although high schools from Whitehorse chose not to attend, the tournament went ahead, much to the delight of coaches from rural schools. 

Darian Meadows is the volleyball coach from Pelly. He said his team has been looking forward to this since April. 

“This year’s DIVT tournament is a tremendous opportunity for us to build on the momentum that was  started last spring” said Meadows. “Carmacks hosted a rural schools volleyball championships, and the kids were just so excited to keep playing ever since then. They have been practicing hard three times a week.”

The Eliza Van Bibber Wolverines’ hard work paid off. For the first time in recent memory, the school team recorded a win on the volleyball court.   

“Yes, the kids were thrilled with the win,” said coach Meadows. "But this tournament means so much more than that. It’s an opportunity to develop life skills, like time management, working as a team member, and a measure of independence. For others, it was an opportunity to meet other athletes, and see volleyball at a higher level. It gives them something to work towards. They are already working toward next year. I am so proud of these young men and women.”

Also bringing a large contingent to the tournament was Watson Lake High School. Volleyball features prominently in their school culture, and coach Tiffany Picketts said attending this year’s DIVT was especially important. 

“Our community has been through so much in the last year,” said Picketts.

“We were devastated when events were cancelled last year, and we are so grateful to Dawson for hosting this event”   

Picketts went on to say that the teams fundraised over $5,000 to be able to attend the tournament.   

“The whole community got behind our efforts. They supported our car washes, our carnival day, bottle drives, dinners, etc. They all knew it was really important for us to have this positive experience.”   

Over 30 students and staff made the long trek from Watson Lake to Dawson. 

Other Rural volleyball teams attending were Haines Junction and Carmacks.

Both teams showed a very high level of play, and look forward to competing in the YSAA Schools Championships. The Junction finished second in the Senior Girls category, and Carmacks captured second in Junior Boys.

The host school, Robert Service, won the Senior Girls category, as well as the Junior Boys. They also had four teams entered in a grade 7-8 jamboree. I caught up with tournament organizer, David Rawlings, as he was leaning on a broom during clean up. He had these reflections.

“I’m so glad this tournament happened,” said Rawlings. “Not only does it provide a competitive atmosphere for teams to test their skills, it is an opportunity for our staff and students to show what they are capable of pulling off. I am especially proud of our senior students, who were instrumental in ironing out the many details, as well as all the younger students who helped as linesmen and scorekeepers. 

“This year, with schools from Whitehorse not attending, the tournament had an all-rural vibe. The moment that defined the tournament for me this year, was when the song YMCA came on the loudspeaker during the warm up. All four teams stopped playing, and broke out into a spontaneous line dance. It was a moment of pure joy.”

 With reviews like that, we can only hope this tournament lasts another 42 years.

–Submitted by Peter Grundmanis

Comments (1)

Up 3 Down 0

Greg Storey on Nov 2, 2021 at 6:24 pm

Great to see you still supporting Rural sports Peter Grundmanis! Love the Dawson tourney.

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