The Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) kicked off 2026 with a bang, combining with Visit Mississauga and International Centre to host the inaugural New Year’s Open.

OVA threw open the doors January 16th to 18th, welcoming most of it's 18U teams, and a few 17U teams, into the vast halls of of the International Centre in Mississauga, bringing an exciting new competition opportunity. Through the two tournaments and three days of competition, 592 matches were played across the 24 courts.

Though some extreme winter weather threatened to upset the opening day of competition, all 192 competing teams were able to get to the venue safely over the three days of competition.  From Thunder Bay to Ottawa, down to Windsor and everywhere in between, the tournament brought together athletes, coaches, officials, and families for a vibrant weekend that showcased the depth and passion of the OVA volleyball community.

The OVA was extremely pleased with the success of its first-ever event at the International Centre and looks forward to many more years of delivering premier volleyball tournaments at this outstanding convention venue. The OVA is also extremely grateful for the support of Visit Mississauga, whose partnership was instrumental in making this inaugural event possible for the OVA community at the International Centre. 

The OVA would also like to extend a big shout out to Pakmen Volleyball Club for their hard work in set up and teardown of the sport court and net systems, you were great to work with and hopefully will come out next year.

"The inaugural New Year’s Open at the International Centre exceeded our expectations and set a strong foundation for what we believe will become a marquee event on the Ontario volleyball calendar. We are incredibly grateful to Visit Mississauga and the team at the International Centre for their tremendous support, collaboration, and shared commitment to delivering a first-class experience for our athletes, coaches, officials, and families. Their partnership played a critical role in making this event a resounding success, and we look forward to building on this momentum in the years ahead." - Alisha Lidums - OVA Director of Operations

Tournament results are available online through Advanced Event Systems, and full event photo galleries can be viewed on the OVA’s Flickr page.

As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, the OVA is seeking member feedback to help make the event even better in 2027. All participants are encouraged to complete the post-event survey.

The Division 1 tournament was held Friday January 16th and the morning of Saturday, January 17th. In 18U Girls division, Pakmen Gold Jeff winning a close three set matchup (22-25, 25-23, 15-10) against Venom Vipers, . In 18U Boys, Durham Attack Blast won in straight sets (25-19, 25-16) over Leaside Knights.

Ottawa Maverick Volleyball Club dominated the Division 2 tournament, held January 17th and 18th. Maverick Colts won the girls division, showing grit after a bad first set to come back and beat Ottawa Valley Vikings Marauders in three sets (13-25, 25-20, 17-15), while Maverick Marshalls  took home the gold in the boys division in yet another three set match beating REACH Elevate (20-25, 25-22, 15-11) to take the trophy.

Congratulations to all competing teams over the weekend!

Tournament results are available online through Advanced Event Systems, and full event photo galleries can be viewed on the OVA’s Flickr page.

Courts 5, 13 and 17-20 were recorded and uploaded to CBC Local, Just search for Ontario Volleyball and watch them for free.

As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, the OVA is seeking member feedback to help make the event even better in 2027. All participants are encouraged to complete the post-event survey.