Providence ready to welcome the rest of Canada

The countdown is officially on for Providence College and the Niverville Resource and Recreation Centre, as the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association men’s volleyball national championship is only weeks away.

Action kicks off March 5.

Providence athletic director Joel Coursey said the planning process has been smooth so far, despite the chaos of replacing previous athletic director Russell Willms this summer.

“All the big pieces are coming together nicely,” Coursey said, underneath a banner proclaiming Niverville as the home of the 2025 CCAA nationals during a volleyball match Jan. 24.

“It will be just the final details that you need to put together as we get days and weeks away from the start of the tournament… We’ve got lots of supporters and lots of volunteers that are ready to help and ready to make this a big event.”

Coursey is the third person to hold the athletic director’s job since the bid for the tournament was made.

“We have an incredible committee that has some really strong connections and some great minds that are helping put this whole thing together,” he said.

“It’s far from all on me. It is a community of people putting (the tournament) together.”

The school just finished a push to recruit those volunteers for the tournament, with Coursey reporting strong support from the school, junior pilots club and community of Niverville.

“I think the town and businesses are rallying around us and helping support the event,” he said.

This is the first time any CCAA championship has been hosted in Manitoba. Collegiate volleyball will be centred in Manitoba this year, with the University of Manitoba and University of Brandon hosting the USports national championships as well.

The AMF Fieldhouse will look a little different than usual for nationals. While already completing a new coat of varnish on the floor, the school is also renting extra fan seating, adding 300 to the maximum capacity of the gym.

“We’ll be decorating this place to the nines with design and printing from the local businesses connected to Providence,” Coursey said.

“It’ll definately feel in some ways similar, but it’s going to be so much bigger with another 300 seats filling the space.”

The men’s and women’s matches Jan. 25 were extremely well attended, as Providence was celebrating their junior Pilots program and debut of their mascot, Otto the pilot otter. The mascot is named after the college’s home base of Otterburne, as well as playing off the term ‘Otto’-pilot.

The Junior Pilots program has grown from a single U17 women’s basketball team to a extensive development group, with nearly 20 teams in volleyball and basketball across all age groups.

Coursey is hoping that weekend will be an absolute whirlwind. If all goes well on the court, Providence could have both basketball teams competing at a tournament in Minneapolis and both volleyball teams playing at national championships, with the women’s team aiming to snag a berth at their tournament, which will be hosted in Ontario.

“If this works out, we’ve got three or four teams in national championships all within two weeks,” Coursey said.

On the court, the men’s volleyball team looks on track to not even need the automatic qualification that comes with hosting nationals. They’ve blitzed out to a 14-1 record to start the season, and have already clinched hosting the provincial championship in their home gym, with Assiniboine College and Canadian Mennonite University each trailing well behind their pace.