Scottish Volleyball Members' Meeting 2026: A Sport Continuing to Grow
Scottish Volleyball’s Members Meeting was opened with a welcome from Margaret Ann Fleming MBE, our CEO who provided an opportunity to reflect on our current “We Are Volleyball, Strategic Plan 2023-2027 and on another successful year for the sport. Margaret Ann highlighting significant growth in participation, historic performance achievements, strengthened partnerships, and a clear vision for the future. With 42 people in attendance and 11 clubs represented including new club Inverness Eagles, the meeting was well represented also with Board members and staff.
Continued Growth Across Scotland
Volleyball continues to grow across the country, with the number of affiliated clubs increasing from 39 in 2023-24 to 59 in 2026-27. Membership has now exceeded pre-COVID levels, supported by growing engagement within schools, colleges and universities, alongside increased opportunities for recreational and competitive play.
To further support this growth, it was announced that sportscotland has invested £270,000, over the next three years, into its Club Support Programme, helping clubs strengthen their structures, improve sustainability and create more opportunities for players.
Success On and Off the Court
One of the standout moments of the year was Scotland becoming the first UK volleyball federation to qualify a team for the European Championship Finals, with the Men’s U20 team earning a place in Greece. This achievement represents years of commitment from athletes, coaches, volunteers and staff, and marks an important milestone for Scottish Volleyball.
The meeting also highlighted the continued success through the Tartan Talent Programme, expanding national team pathways, and increased participation across both indoor and beach volleyball.
The Articles and Bylaws
New Articles and Bylaws were announced and voted on at the meeting. With both being approved by the members in attendance including proxy votes received.
Developing the Volleyball Workforce
Investment in coaches, referees and volunteers remains a key priority. Over the past year Scottish Volleyball has:
- Completed a restructuring of the coach education programmes.
- Increased referee recruitment and development opportunities.
- Continued the rollout of the SV Learn online learning platform.
- Expanded support for club leaders and volunteers.
These developments are helping create a stronger workforce to support the growing demands of the sport.
Bi- Annual report 2024-2026
This two year report was presented by Margaret Ann and was shared with all members and clubs present. This report has now been published on our website on our Governance page.
Financial Stability Creates Opportunity
Members received a positive financial update, from Ailien Pallot, SV’s Finance Manager and Grant Guthrie, SV’s Interim Finance Director, with Scottish Volleyball remaining in a strong and stable position. Partnership support from sportscotland, increased funding from the FIVB and with a reported surplus to the end of the fiscal year 2026, has strengthened our reserves and created greater flexibility to invest in future opportunities.
This stability allows the organisation to continue supporting clubs, developing athletes and modernising services across the sport.
Grant Gutherie was presented to the members present and was duly elected as Scottish Volleyball’s Finance Director for the next four years.
Club Dev Scotland Developing Clubs Workshop
Andrew Jenkin from Club Dev Scotland presented two workshops around how clubs can structure themselves to support their participants, keep committee members safe and keep the club growing. Clubs were guided towards funding streams, how to make applications and how to monitor/evaluate success to support activities delivered by the club.
Major Partnerships for the Future
Several exciting partnerships were announced during the meeting. With new partners announced and the continual collaboration with existing partners.
We will share more exciting information around this in coming weeks.
Members also heard updates on new technology initiatives aimed at improving competition management, live scoring, statistics, streaming and member services.
Looking Ahead
Blair Pettigrew, SV’s Head of Development, announced the organisation is in the process of creating the next strategic plan focusing on four key priorities: People, Promotion, Participation and Performance.
Future plans include increasing opportunities for young people, enhancing support for clubs and volunteers, expanding recreational volleyball programmes, improving digital engagement, and continuing to pursue success on the international stage.
Recognising Outstanding Service
The meeting concluded with heartfelt thanks to several individuals whose dedication has made a lasting impact on Scottish Volleyball.
Special recognition was given our current Finance Manager Ailien Pallot, for Ailien’s 23 years of service, who is now moving on to a new role as the Head of Operations for Sport Disability Scotland.
Jean Bruce has served on the SV Board for the past 8 years in her capacity as HR Director and more recently Vice-Chair. Jean as a volunteer brought exceptional skill and expertise to the Board and our sport and Jean shall be very much missed.
Paul McPate was awarded a life member award for his years of service to student sport and the University of Dundee. We will still see Paul around the game as he going back to his roots and getting back on the sidelines and focusing on his coaching!
We thank all members who attended and look forward to seeing you throughout the 2026/27 season!