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Calgary Herald

National youth volleyball tournaments 'set' to bring 45,000 visitors to Calgary next spring

Calgary is 'set' to host the Volleyball Canada Youth National Championships next spring — a series of tournaments that will attract roughly 45,000 visitors, according to the city's top tourism official. Article content Alisha Reynolds, president and CEO of Tourism Calgary, said the 2026 national youth volleyball championships will take place over three weekends from May 15 to 31. The tournaments, hosted at the BMO Centre, will feature around 1,450 boys' and girls' club volleyball teams from across the country for the 15U to 18U age divisions. Article content Article content Article content Article content The BMO Centre will be adapted to house temporary volleyball courts in the trade show area, Reynolds said, adding the tournaments will bring 18,000 players and approximately 27,000 spectators to Calgary, spread out across 17 days. Article content An official from Volleyball Canada said the event is expected to support 1,150 businesses and generate an estimated $22 million in direct economic impact. Article content 'Calgary has long been an important partner for Volleyball Canada, and we're incredibly excited to bring our flagship national championship back to the city,' said Sandra de Graaff, Volleyball Canada's director of domestic competitions. Article content Article content 'When we host these events, we tend to take over the city and leave an impact.' Article content De Graaff added Volleyball Canada hosted a tournament in the BMO Centre back in 2015 and is excited to see what the convention centre looks like now, after its $500-million expansion. Article content 'For us, the expansion has given us space for even more courts to bring a bigger tournament,' she said. Article content Hosting events of such magnitude will help Tourism Calgary achieve its goal of doubling the value of the city's visitor economy from $3 billion to $6 billion by 2035, Reynolds said. Article content With recent large-scale tourist draws in the rear-view mirror, including the Global Energy Show, G7 Leaders Summit and Rotary International convention in June, and with the Stampede set to welcome north of one million people this year, Reynolds said Calgary is on track to welcome a record 8.7 million tourists in 2025. Article content In May and June, Tourism Calgary brought in 48 meetings or conventions, she said.