Sports Notes - WOVD Phnom Penh Volleyball World Cup - September 2007

Christopher Minko the Secretary General of the Cambodian National Volleyball League (Disabled). - photo James Loving NR

James Loving - National Radio Text Service - Cambodian National Volleyball League Disabled (CNVLD)

Cambodia’s successful bid to host it’s first ever World Cup team sports event to be played from November 24th - December 2nd 2007.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Monday September 3, 2007

In July 2005 we covered a disabled volleyball tournament at Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium's Indoor Arena that featured Canada then and now rated the World's # 1 team in the sport against teams from the Southeast Asian region.

Since that time The MVP of that tournament Neil Johnson has retired from the team Canada. That's the bad news since Johnson was such an accomplished player who played with an able-bodied team in Germany he was a true example of what one can do to get the best out of one's abilities.

The good news is that team Canada is scheduled to return to Cambodia for a tournament to be played from November 24th - December 2nd 2007.

Christopher Minko the Secretary General of the Cambodian National Volleyball League has a web site that has information regarding the league in Cambodia as well as information for the forthcoming tournament. The following is some information from that site with Minko's permission.

The WOVD Phnom Penh Volleyball World Cup will help raise global awareness about the landmine issue and assist Cambodia to secure the nomination for becoming the ASEAN Canter for Disability Sports. Hosting the World Cup will also assist Cambodia to secure accreditation to bid for other world sanctioned sporting events in the coming years and provide impetus for ensuring a strong Cambodian presence in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Paralympic games.

Renowned for their Deter-Mined performances, the Cambodian National Volleyball Team (Disabled) have nothing less than World #1 in their sights and will take on the world’s best at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh to prove their caliber. The current World Champions, Canada have already confirmed their attendance with Germany, Slovakia, Australia, Poland, and Rwanda expected to attend.

Negotiations are also under way with Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar in order to support their efforts to participate and ensure a spectacular event to symbolize Cambodia’s successful return to the international sporting stage.

The 2007 WOVD Phnom Penh Volleyball World Cup will also draw the attention of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to Standing Volleyball as the ‘missing sport’ in the global Paralympic movement.

The Cambodian World Cup will demonstrate the importance of Standing Volleyball within the disability demographics of post-conflict nations ravaged by landmines and the IPC is strongly encouraged to return Standing Volleyball to its rightful place in the Paralympic Family.

Standing Volleyball is the ideal team sport for encouraging the rehabilitation of amputee survivors of the landmine, being cost effective, playable in all conditions and allowing athletes with a disability to compete with dignity and pride.

The 2007 WOVD Phnom Penh World Cup is to be organized under the Patronage of Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen, a reflection of the support provided by the Royal Government of Cambodia to this historic sporting event.

On behalf of the Royal Government and the People of Cambodia, the CNVLD looks forward to welcoming all athletes, officials, fans from over the world for the 2007 WOVD Phnom Penh World Cup.

© Copyright: National Radio. Any use of these materials, whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized in writing by National Radio. Contact: nationalradio@yahoo.com All rights reserved.