Spike or strike?: Possible WestJet strike could bump volleyball teams from nationals

It’s up in the air whether hundreds of athletes will be bumped out of a national competition with a possible WestJet strike looming.

The under-15 girls Canadian volleyball championship is set to be played in Regina this weekend. About 5,000 people — an estimated 2,000 of which are athletes — are supposed to be descending upon the Queen City for the competition over the long weekend.

The 2019 Volleyball Canada nationals in Regina. (File photo by Volleyball Canada/Submitted)

qualified by competing at the provincial competition level across Canada. It’ll involve about 160 teams across 20 courts at REAL District.

The looming possibility of a WestJet pilots’ strike, however, means some athletes could be prevented from making the competition.

“I think we’re just squeaking into the safe zone for everybody being able to attend,” de Graaff said of the competition, as well as a concurrent under-18 national championship happening in Calgary.

Though she’s expecting a strong regional representation — and quite a few teams have the capacity to drive — de Graaff said many teams do fly to the competition from most corners of the country.

“You cross your fingers in this case that a lot of them have been flying with other carriers than WestJet,” de Graaff said.

She noted that Volleyball Canada was working to try and keep track of teams flying with WestJet, knowing what situation they could be facing to support them in getting to the competition, but the organization can’t know every team’s air carrier.

“We don’t want the teams to come in stressed or worried … This is the end of their competition season. They’re all having a lot of fun,” de Graaff said.

If teams aren’t able to find alternate travel accommodations in case of a strike, they’ll likely have to miss the competition.

“If the teams are here, there’s only a certain amount of time we have in the facility,” de Graaff said, calling it unfortunate.

That would also require some adjustments on the part of the organization, adjusting matchups for the competition at the last minute.