The North West Champions Trophy was run for the first time on the 28th June 2026. It was staged at Birchwood Warrington and saw the top two men’s teams and top two women’s teams from the Merseyside Volleyball League play against their counterparts from the Greater Manchester Volleyball Association.
Representing the MVL were Wigan Seahawks and Royals for the women’s competition, up against Warrington and North Manchester Bees representing GMVA. In the men’s competition, Royals and the Isle of Man represented MVL and they were up against Oldham VC and Preston Panthers.
The format for the day was to play semi finals, a 3/4th playoff and then the final.
In the women’s competition, GMVA had two strong teams in attendance. The semi finals for the MVL teams were very difficult matches and neither team could secure a result in order to progress to the final. The 3/4th playoff between Wigan Seahawks and Royals resulted in a Wigan victory, winning in two sets 25-18, 25-21. The final was won by North Manchester Bees, beating Warrington 25-17, 25-12. In fairness to Warrington they did suffer an injury to one of their best players during the final, however, the Bees were worthy winners.
In the men’s competition, the opening semi final was a very competitive game. Royals took on Preston Panthers. The standard of volleyball throughout the match was high and the game ebbed and flowed between the two sides. The first set went to Royals 25-16, however Preston came back in the second set to win 25-20. The deciding set went all the way with Royals winning 15-13. The second semi final was also a close affair. The Isle of Man took on Oldham VC and there was very little between the two. Oldham ran out eventual winners 25-20, 25-23 in a match that could have gone either way.
The 3/4th play-off was won by Preston Panthers in another tight game, 25-23, 25,19, however, the Isle of Man team gave a very good account of themselves and looked in good company against both of the GMVA teams.
The final was won by Oldham VC, 25-23, 25,19 in an exciting and fiercely contested match. Every point was hard fought and many times the referee had to speak to players to calm things down. From a MVL point of view both Royals, Wigan Seahawks and the Isle of Man did our league proud, participating in a very good standard of volleyball. Our women’s teams found it tough going and competed hard throughout. The men were highly competitive and showed a lot of character in turning round points deficits on several occasions. Not a great deal separated our men’s teams from the actual winners which will, I hope, encourage our teams to do better next season.
Gratitude must be given to the independent referees that turned up on the day to officiate the matches. This was key in keeping the matches to the time schedule and the officiating was of a high standard that kept the teams honest on the day.
It is intended that this competition will be staged every year, with each area taking it in turns to host the competition. The GMVA will host in 2027 and are proposing to run it in the September of that year.
Some photos from the day:
