The BOV Marathon in aid of Dar tal-Providenza is back again with 53 hours of non-stop games at the home’s car park in Siġġiewi. The 13th edition of the marathon starts today, Friday 30th June at 6pm and ends at midnight on the 2nd of July.

An added attraction this year is sitting volleyball which is an adaptation of the discipline of volleyball in which even persons with disability can take part. Athletes that play for the national sitting volleyball  teams in Slovenia, as well as other athletes that take part in the National Championships and beach paravolley in Slovenia are in Malta to take part in sitting volleyball games during the 3-day Marathon.

Press conference focused on sitting volleyball

ParaVolley Malta, together with Birkirkara Volleyball Club and id‑Dar tal‑Providenza, will be organising a Sitting Volleyball side event at this year’s BOV Volleyball Marathon which is held annually at id‑Dar tal‑Providenza in Siġġiewi. 

During a Press Launch held at Id-Dar tal-Providenza itself, Nello Calleja, General Secretary of ParaVolley Malta, gave some more information about this activity.  He said that for this year’s event, Slovenian athletes who are either members of the National Slovenian Sitting Volleyball teams or else play Sitting Volleyball in the different clubs in Slovenia have been invited over to Malta.  These athletes include male and female persons with or without disabilities, and the main objective of their visit to Malta is to play demonstration matches between themselves, as well as matches against local Maltese teams. 

In fact, volleyball players as well as the general public have been invited to take part in these matches which will take place in the evening during the same weekend and at the same venue where the Volleyball Marathon will be held, that is from Friday 30th June until Sunday 2nd July at Id-Dar tal-Providenza in Siggiewi.  The Sitting Volleyball activity will be held from 8pm until midnight on each of these days, whilst the Volleyball Marathon will start on Friday 30th June at 6pm and will continue til midnight on Sunday 2nd July, for a total of 53 hours continuous volleyball.

The sitting volleyball activity is open to male, female, or mixed local teams, and teams can be made up of athletes with or without disability.  We firmly believe that a discipline like Sitting Volleyball gives the opportunity to everyone to play the same sport in the most inclusive way, since the moment the athletes sit down on the floor to play, they all become equal. We hope that such activities continue to promote the fact that sport is really for everyone, whatever the level of ability. 

The Minister for Inclusion, Voluntary Organisations and Consumer Rights (MIVC) Julia Farrugia Portelli said she was overwhelmed with the enthusiasm shown by the participating athletes both Maltese and Slovenian and expressed her hope that this weekend’s Volleyball Marathon will achieve the best results on and off the court. She also promised her support for an international Sitting Volleyball tournament organised in Malta which was the wish expressed by Nello Calleja.

Also present for this launch there were Mr Charles Azzopardi, Head CSR Dept tal-Bank of Valletta, Mr. Stefan Decelis, President of Birkirkara Volleyball Club as well as one of the organisers of the Volleyball Marathon, Ms. Nadine Camilleri-Cassano and Mr. Tony Sammut representing id-Dar tal-Providenza, together with the Slovenian athletes, and the captains of the teams taking part in this year’s Volleyball Marathon.

For more information on this activity you may contact Mr Nello Calleja on [email protected].

Participate during the BOV Volleyball Marathon in aid of Dar tal-Providenza

Apart from the volleyball marathon, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings between 9.00pm and midnight there will live entertainment on the main stage purposely built in the car park. On Friday, the guests will be Band Zone 5 accompanied by singers Jasmine and J. Anvil. On Saturday, the Malta Police Band under the direction of Mro. Anthony Cassar will take the stage with local singers participating. On Sunday it will be the turn of the Spiteri Lucas Band with singers Ludwig, J. Anvil, Ivan Spiteri Lucas and Layra Bruno.

The public may make a donation by calling on the following numbers, use the BOV Mobile Banking or PayPal or make a donation online through the Home’s banking accounts. For more information you may visit the site: www.sabihlitaghti.org.

€10         5160 2011
€15         5170 2012
€25         5180 2013
€50         5190 2070
€100   5130 2044
Pledge Line: 2146 3686
BOV Mobile  7932 4834