2010 Volleyball National Cup Finals

The turnout at the National Cup Finals was inspiring to say the least. It was reported that 700 people turned up to watch the pinnacle event in the volleyball calendar. The Under 16s, Under 18s, Sitting Volleyball Grand Prix, Shield and Mens and Women’s Finals all took place over two days in South London.

The highlight, of course was the Men’s finals between London Polonia and Malory Eagles. Don’t get me wrong as a female volleyball player I respect women’s volleyball – duh. But let’s face it – the men hit hard. And when there’s a good block – you can feel it up in the stands. The crowd was definitely at its largest when the men set foot on the court.

Unfortunately for the volleyball fraternity, both sides seemed to be playing reservedly which was a bit of a let down for those who have seen the teams play phenomenally before crowds of 10 people.

It was, however, great to see the implementation of the three ball system, buzzers, paddles, floor wipers AND floor sweepers which are quite standard in other countries. It’s a shame we in the UK can only do it for the finals, but hopefully the sport will grow to a level where these things become standard.

Congratulations are in order to the winning teams:

Men's Shield - University of Birmingham 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-15)
Most Valuable Player was awarded to: Nikolai Nikolov (University of Birmingham)

Women's Cup - Polonia Ladies - Polonia Ladies won 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-13)
Most Valuable Player was awarded to: Jevgenija Livca (Polonia Ladies)

Men's Cup - Malory Eagles Won 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-22)
Most Valuable Player was awarded to: Richard Dobell (Malory Eagles)

Women's Shield - MIddlesbrough College won 3- 1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-10, 25-22)
Most Valuable Player was awarded to: Victoria Swindells (Middlesbrough College)

Sitting Volleyball Grand Prix Series Top 4 Playoffs - East London Lynx 3-0 (25-10, 25-5, 25-10)
Most Valuable Player Awarded to Jabbar Mustaffar (East London Lynx)

U16 Girls - Tameside 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-20)
Most Valuable Player: Jodie Gregson (Tameside)

U16 Boys - Wessex 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-22)
Most Valuable Player: Ryan Stout (Wessex)

U18 Women - Ashcombe 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12)
Most Valuable Player: Isobel Fumagalli (Ashcombe Dorking)

U18 Men - Newcastle Staffs 3-2 (25-16, 23-25, 25-16, 24-26, 15-5)
Most Valuable Player: Roman Neveykin (Newcastle Staffs)

Sitting Volleyball - England Vs Wales
England beat Wales 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 28-26)
Most Valuable Player: John Munro (England)

Obesity IS a Disease

The residents of Brookhaven Rehabilitation Centre – also known as the Half Ton Hospital – are morbidly obese and suffer from a variety of obesity related ailments which could result in the loss of limbs or even more soberingly – death.

I’ve been accused of being a lipophobe – a term my brother-in-law made up in response to my reactions to obesity. I think it's a bit extreme but maybe there is some truth to his observations. For me watching the Half Ton Hospital is like having a fear of snakes and deciding to stroll through the Amazon. I find it uncomfortable to see people struggling to do simple tasks like walk or even bathe. And it’s equally frustrating because apart from those who struggle with a health issues such as underactive thyroid, obesity is totally preventable.

One thing people fail to realise is that the body has a remarkable ability to store fat and you don’t need to be a nutritionist to know when you’re eating unhealthily. So why is it that some people are able to exercise restraint and others can’t? A destructive obsession with food.

Most of the patients at the Half Ton Hospital are dealing with underlying issues and use food for comfort.

With this in mind, how messed up is it that the latest addition to KFC portfolio is the KFC DoubleDown Sandwich. On their website they claim that the burger only has 540 calories but you don’t need to be a licensed dietician to query that statistic. As a matter of fact the Vancouver Sun did an independent calorie analysis and found the ‘sandwich’ to contain 1228 calories. Unreal.

‘This one-of-a-kind sandwich features two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce. This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!’

Cigarette firms put a disclaimer on their products so where is the disclaimer for this sandwich??? What scares me is that people who are nutritionally ignorant will assume it’s a part of the Atkins diet and people who suffer from the obesity may see it as comfort food.

With obesity rates rising in the UK, I hope our government steps in to prevent this sandwich from becoming available on the high street.


*Vancouver Sun study based on 2,000 calorie diet