USA Volleyball Coming to Greater Columbus Convention Center

USA Volleyball and the Ohio Valley Region (OVR) will host one of 16 qualifiers held across the country for high school’s top volleyball players. The Girls’ Junior National Qualifier in Columbus will be held January 29-31 in Hall D of the Greater Columbus Convention Center. This brand-new event will utilize four hotels downtown (the Crowne Plaza, Drury Inn, Hilton, Hyatt) totaling 2,400 room nights for the weekend.

Columbus  will  join  Anaheim,  Atlanta  (twice),  Boston,  Chicago,  Dallas,  Denver,  Fort  Lauderdale, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Mateo and Spokane. In hosting this first-time qualifying tournament for the girls 18 and under age group, close to 80 teams will compete (approximately 32 teams will compete for one bid in the Open division, USA Volleyball’s highest level, while 48 teams will play in the USA division for three bids) on 8-12 courts that weekend in the convention center. The bid winners will qualify for the Girls Junior National Championships in Milwaukee from April 29 through May 1, 2016. Columbus hosted this national event in 2012.

The qualifier is one of many high-profile volleyball events being held in Columbus in 2016. In addition to the many annual OVR tournaments held at the Convention Center throughout the year, Columbus will be hosting the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Finals on December 15-17 at Nationwide Arena. In conjunction, the American Volleyball Coaches Association and Professional Association of Volleyball Officials will hold their Annual Conventions on the same dates in Central Ohio.

USA Volleyball, founded in 1928, is responsible for both the Olympic disciplines of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. USA Volleyball has 300,000 registered members, 12,000 teams and 5,300 clubs nationwide. With an annual budget in excess of $20 million dollars, USA Volleyball supports the USA men's  and  women's  senior  national  team  programs,  youth  and  junior  national  teams,  national championship events, coaching education and certification programs, grassroots development, and programs     for     the     disabled     and     Paralympic     Teams.          For     more     information,     visit www.usavolleyball.org.

The Ohio Valley Region of USA Volleyball (OVR) is one of the largest regional volleyball associations (RVAs) of USA Volleyball.  Geographically, the Ohio Valley Region includes the states of Ohio and West Virginia, and bordering counties (Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Lawrence, Beaver, Washington, Green) of Western Pennsylvania. OVR is an amateur athletic sports association to promote and establish quality volleyball through participation by both adults and juniors, according to the standards set forth by USA Volleyball and the Amateur Sports Act of 1978.

The Greater Columbus Sports Commission is a catalyst, driving the collaborative efforts of the Central Ohio region, in attracting and hosting a wide variety of sporting events. The Columbus region has been established as a premier sports destination, hosting more than 350 new sporting events that have generated close to $380 million in visitor spending, while retaining annual events that have generated an  additional  $250  million  to  benefit  our  local  economy.  For  more  information,  visit columbussports.org.