2020 was obviously a total non-event for VX - everything was cancelled. All the events we were due to attend, all our own events, club sessions, school sessions, everything. Obviously this was the same for all sports but as such a young sport this hit us particularly hard. Basically we had to rebuild and this was the year we had to start.
As we got into 2021 things carried on much the same but then in mid year junior sections of clubs started to get back and finally the senior sections, too.
A lot of damage had been done though - we found we had lost quite a number of players who had drifted away over the 18 months. For a young sport, this is a big hit. Schools still weren't taking external people in and none of the events we normally attend were running again.
Much of our own competition was also still being postponed. Some local V2 (VX) leagues took place but the VX League and knockout are being postponed whilst we rebuild. Even the World Cup was still postponed and it still remains to be seen whether this will take place in 2022.
There are good things to report though:
Back to VX. Carl Alsop of VX England organised a VX tournament with a difference to get people playing again. Normally VX is played by teams of 5 and get 5 points for a win, 3 points for a draw and 1 point for getting over half the opponents' score. On this occasion there was a handicap in place. Different players were worth different point values. A team could be made up of 4 points (with bonus players in some cases - eg very new players or younger players). The final positions were calculated purely on how many points you scored over the tournament.
There is a video of the event and Carl explains it in more detail. You can find the video here:
Back to VX
VX International managed to obtain some equipment to donate to VX Kenya and VX Uganda and that was shipped over - the guys over there have big plans for growing the sport and we are preparing to welcome David Atayo across early in the New Year (Covid permitting). David is head coach of the Canaan VX Club, Assistant Head Coach of the Ugandan VX squad and a member of the VX Uganda Executive Committee) .
We hope to welcome other players from Uganda and Kenya, too, to further their VX education. We also look forward to going back to visit out friends over there.
We have also developed other links with Africa - the Ripon VX Club have twinned with the Canaan VX Club - our first international twinning. Ripon also donated some equipment for the Canaan VX Club and it was shipped across with the donation from VX International! We have also partnered with the Sports Aid Network based in Lugazi.
We do have other news in the pipeline - we are working on changing the status of Global VX and we have a partnership to announce in the New Year - watch this space.
We were delighted to win the 'Sports Organisation of the Year' Award in the Yorkshire Prestige Awards. The judges were impressed by the professionalism evidenced in this rapidly growing sport. There are already independent clubs, leagues and tournaments and strong international growth too. The judges applauded the diversity of players; welcoming those of all ages and abilities is a testament to the nature of the sport and its organisation. The impact of the pandemic has meant many cancelled tournaments, leading to limited income used to keep the game going. Despite this, VX International has still provided support for VX
The nest thing was - we have sadly had to say goodbye to Carl as Head Coach of the York VX Club due to pressures of work. Happily Carl is going to continue to compete and to maintain his role as Head Coach of the England VX squad. Many thanks to Leigh Branton who is going to take over the running of the York Club. Carl has been a big part of VX. He's been part of it for many years and has many achievements. He has built the York club to be the most successful VX Club ever. He was instrumental in developing the squash court versions of VX and was the first V2 World Champion. He has travelled and competed abroad with the sport. When we look back at what he has contributed, it is nothing short of amazing.
Finally - we were able to get back to exhibiting at a conference. AfPE ran a one day conference and, as Business Associates of AfPE, we were delighted to be there in attendance, to see some old faces and meet some new ones.
And that's about it for this year. All that remains is to wish you all a very happy New Year and a healthy and successful 2022 and hope that we can make great strides with the rebuilding of VX!