Changlimithang will have two fully furnished synthetic floored volleyball court and a beach volleyball court with proper lighting, locker rooms for players and bathroom facilities by the end of June next year. For now, the sport is played on dry and dusty earth during the winter and in mud puddles during the monsoon. To resolve these issues, the Bhutan Volleyball Federation (BVF) started redeveloping the entire volleyball court near the Changlimithang National Stadium.
The BVF was one of the first and oldest federations that the Bhutan Olympic Committee had created. However, anyone can see that the outdoor court does not even have a proper toilet yet. With support from the Government of India, works to reshape and rebuild the entire structure began early this month.
“We are constructing a volleyball court with proper synthetic flooring. There, we will have locker and bathroom facilities together with a small storeroom and office space. The volleyball court will have synthetic flooring with lighting. The synthetic flooring will be imported all the way from Germany and then the pole systems will be imported from France. It is going to be high end,” said an excited Sangay Tempa, the Program Officer of the BVF.
He also said, beach volleyball, where two players team up and play would also be introduced after the completion of the new courts. Beach Volleyball, usually played on a sand court, is a new sport in the country. With the developments, the BVF hopes that it will enhance and develop volleyball in the country.
“We have seen the same volleyball courts in the entire nation. So this is going to change the way we see volleyball and the outlook of volleyball. Because we are going to see a facility that is at an international standard in terms of an outdoor facility, we believe that this will encourage people to take up volleyball,” he added.
Once development works are complete, the federation plans to make the courts available for use by the public on an hourly booking system. Meanwhile, there will be no major tournaments and competitions until June next year owing to the current construction activities. The Nu 12 M project is supported by the Government of India.
Tshering Dendup
