Sitting volleyball hadn’t been standing still in recent years.

A net built specifically for use in the sport was purchased in 2017 for a group that played out of Halifax. In February 2020, the Canada Games Centre hosted a women’s qualifying event for the Tokyo Paralympic Games to near-capacity crowds.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“I thought we had built up a fair bit of momentum in shining a light on a sport that is not well known,” said Jason Trepanier, executive director of Volleyball Nova Scotia. “And then we couldn’t play for a couple years.

“We tried to resurrect it last year but didn’t have any luck, but this fall we were able to do it with some returning and some new players.”

The Canada Games Centre makes a lot of sense as a home base, said Trepanier, citing the facility’s accessibility levels and location near mass transit shelters. He estimates participation has grown about 25 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, and with support from Parasport Nova Scotia, there is an active social media presence on Facebook for members to co-ordinate, exchange ideas and information, and to use as a recruiting tool.

Trepanier says the group is able to accommodate players with differing skill sets and tailor the experience accordingly.

“We modify the games to people’s levels,” said Trepanier. “We have visually impaired people playing, so sometimes we let the ball bounce a couple times before they hit it. We have able-bodied people who play, and sometimes we’re a little stricter with them, but overall it’s a very casual setting.”

There have been inroads made to expand the sport across the province, with some clubs incorporating sitting volleyball training into their coaching clinics. St. Francis Xavier University’s human kinetics department offers skills courses that include a sitting volleyball component, and Volleyball Nova Scotia has assisted in those sessions.

“We’re still working toward getting to a size in other areas of the province where we can establish something on a regular basis,” said Trepanier. “We’ll offer a few more sessions through the winter and now that we have that Facebook group, it’s not just sending emails to people you’ve never met. It’s a little more welcoming.

“But for right now, people are happy with the time we play and the amount we play and how we play, so I wouldn’t change too much about that. Just keep slowly growing.”