Volleyball event puts spotlight on organisation woes

The near collapse of a grandstand, huge demand for tickets from a vociferous crowd that packed The Mall Nakhon Ratchasima’s MCC Hall last week and the absence of live telecast of volleyball matches, I presume, have given the officials some food for thought. 

The Thailand women’s national volleyball squad, playing under the Chang banner, was gunning for their fourth straight title in the 18th Princess Cup Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship. They had competition from Chinese giants Tianjin Bridgestone and Japan’s V-Premier League champions Toray Arrows. Woebegone, the hosts were humiliated in straight sets by former three-time winners Tianjin in the semi-finals. Their performance was a big letdown. However, the players rebounded quickly in the third place play-off against Kazakhstan’s Zhetyssu. They gave the 4,300 spectators plenty of entertainment while seeing off their tall and towering opponents in three sets to finish third among nine teams.

Despite losing the crown, the Thai team qualified for the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament that will be held from May 19 to 27 in Tokyo. Only the top three and the best-ranked Asian team will get berths for the London Olympics. Only time will tell whether the Thailand women’s volleyball team is good enough for the quadrennial event scheduled for July 27-August 12. 

Last week’s Asian Women’s Club meet in Nakhon Ratchasima, however, has brought forth the fact that volleyball is fast taking root in the country. Watching volleyball games has become a fad, or should we say tradition, in the countryside.

The tournament was not a world-level event as only club teams from Asia were invited to participate in it. But to everyone’s surprise, a large crowd flocked to the 2,500-seater makeshift arena from the very first match of the tournament.

I saw old people with walking sticks, mothers carrying toddlers, teenagers and people of all walks of life turning up at the venue each day. They were cheering, applauding and yelling out loud from the grandstands. At the entrance, a large number of spectators waited patiently to check with the staff whether there is room for them to at least stand and watch the matches.

Tickets sold like hot cakes and many had to go back home disappointed after learning that seats were not available. Tickets were priced at Bt100 and Bt50, a steal compared to events held elsewhere in the world. The organisers confirmed that they received more than Bt1 million from selling tickets alone in the first five days.

Just a day before the final, the grandstand started bending precariously during the 7th-8th play-off between Burma and Malaysia. Spectators had to flee for their lives. Later, we were told that overloading caused the stands to bend. Just imagine what would have happened if the stand had come down. Precious lives would have been lost. Luckily, no such thing happened but there is a lesson for organisers to get their act together in terms of crowd management and putting up a proper infrastructure.

That takes us to the next question about live broadcast of future volleyball tournaments. Supporters of the game have been crying for telecasts of at least the matches involving the Thai team by the main television channels. The well-to-do and die-hard fans, for example, have decided to spend their own money for the trip to Japan later this month. The less fortunate have no other choice but to watch it on television. Reporters from all domestic TV channels plus a few dailies want to give full coverage of the competition that determined which team qualifies for the Olympics. 

Thousands of volleyball fans have posted comments on the webpage, volleyballthailand.com, demanding live telecast from Japan. But their requests have not been met so far by any local broadcaster. Volleyball is a team sport where there is stress on unity of purpose. It imparts many lessons to an average spectator. Furthermore, if the Thai volleyball team wins an Olympic berth, imagine the impact it will have on aspiring players in the country. At least for that sake, the fans’ requests should be fulfilled.