WomenÕs Volleyball Loses Interlock

Courtesy Glenn MacDonald, The Chronicle Herald

Atlantic university women’s volleyball teams will not play interlocking matches with its Quebec conference counterparts next season.

A motion was passed during last week’s meetings of AUS athletic directors in Halifax to cease the women’s volleyball interlock schedule for the 2011-12 campaign.

A simple majority was only needed to pass the motion. John Ryan, AD at Cape Breton University, said the vote wasn’t unanimous but he was in favour of eliminating the interlock based on a number of reasons.

"With an eight-team league, it wasn’t something of a necessity for us," Ryan said Tuesday. "Our women’s volleyball league is pretty strong with eight teams. I can understand it with leagues like men’s volleyball where there’s only three teams and football where there’s only four.

"The Quebec conference has indicated in the past that when they do travel they don’t want to go any further than Moncton," he added. "Was it fair that CBU wouldn’t have a chance to host an interlock game? And this season, both (sets of interlock games) were held in Quebec so there wasn’t equal travel.

"We’re travelling 14 hours by bus to go up there and play five games in a run of a 12-hour window and then hop back on the bus and drive back. That’s not really fair to the student-athletes."

The 2010-11 campaign was the fourth season for interlocking schedules in the Quebec and Atlantic conferences.

The AUS found a little success this season than in years past. After only one win by Atlantic conference teams last season — and three the previous year — AUS squads won six of 32 matches against the Quebec conference in 2010-11.

It’s likely the Atlantic conference will go to a 14-game schedule next season.

Acadia Axewomen head coach Joffre Ribout was not pleased with the decision to eliminate the interlock.

"I’m very disappointed," Ribout said Tuesday. "I’ve been here for nine years and when I came out here, this league was really weak. It seems with the interlock challenge our conferences were able to see where they needed to be with the rest of the country. We had caught up to the other conferences a little bit. We’re not there yet but we compete very well with Ontario and (the AUS) had started to win some of our interlock matches.

"It’s very frustrating. I think we have taken a step back."

AUS executive director Phil Currie said the interlock could be revisited next year, "if Quebec puts up a decent proposal."

The decision doesn’t affect the AUS men’s volleyball interlocking schedule.

Currie said next season’s schedule is close to being solidified.

"We’re just working out some details on who’s hosting and when," Currie added.