Capping off a successful career as a college volleyballer, Year 13 student Chloe Crichton (second from the left), was recently elected onto the New Zealand Volleyball Student council.

The council, which has 13 members nationwide, has been set up to provide a voice in the community about volleyball for young people.

The members are made up of college students and students in their first years of tertiary study. Chloe is the sole representative for the Nelson/Tasman region. Each member serves on the council for two years.

The council meets over Zoom, and then once a year will meet up in Auckland at the Volleyball New Zealand headquarters.

Chloe, who is a Tasman representative volleyballer, said the council had a variety of ideas around improving youth engagement and retention in the sport.

‘We’ve talked about getting younger kids involved and getting more college students into clubs and refereeing,” she said.

Of particular importance to Chloe was making it easier for school leavers to join their local club, to ensure they stay involved in the sport post high school.