22K competitors from 1,500 teams descend on BMO Centre for youth national volleyball championships

Over 22,000 athletes are participating in the Youth National Volleyball Championships in Calgary

For the next few weekends, Calgary will host a huge volleyball tournament.

Volleyball Canada’s 2026 Youth National Championships are taking place at the BMO Centre.

Twenty-two thousand athletes from across the country are competing in divisions from U14 to U18. Overall, there will be nearly 1,500 teams and 56 volleyball courts inside the BMO Centre.

It made perfect sense for Volleyball Canada to come back to Calgary for this championship.

“Events are growing so much that we need to do this on a regular basis year over year in multiple locations,” said Volleyball Canada COO Linden Leung. “So we’re really happy --with this brand new facility -- to come back to Calgary.

“Previously, the maximum was 30 courts and now when we’re back up over 50 courts, this is what we’re looking to do,” Leung added.

It’s one of the largest sporting events in Canada, with an estimated economic impact on Calgary of $68 million.