Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba and Sport Manitoba welcome Volleyball Canada’s National Excellence Program to Winnipeg
WINNIPEG, MB (May 19, 2026) – The Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba (CSCM) and Sport Manitoba, along with Volleyball Canada and Volleyball Manitoba, are pleased to announce that the Men’s National Excellence Program (NEP) will be based out of Winnipeg, MB for the upcoming season, starting in September 2026.
Training at Sport Manitoba, which is also the home of CSCM, the NEP athletes will have access to sport science professionals from CSCM and Sport Manitoba, including nutrition, mental performance, physiology, strength and conditioning, and sport medicine. These sport scientists will work as an Integrated Support Team with the Volleyball Canada coaching staff and professional team, ensuring that these young athletes receive top-tier support.
The Volleyball Canada NEP is designed to prepare Canada’s most promising high school athletes to perform at the highest level of sport and to continue their development towards the National Senior Team Program and/or playing professional volleyball. It offers individual technical and tactical skill development as well as team play refinement.
“Since its inception in 2022, the men’s National Excellence Program (NEP) has grown into an important launching point in our high-performance development pathway, ensuring athletes have the support to progress and excel at the highest level,” said Julien Boucher, Indoor Men’s High Performance Director (Volleyball Canada). “This next chapter for NEP, with the dedicated assistance of our partners in Manitoba, will provide a solid foundation for these promising young athletes as they work toward competing at the National Team level and launching professional careers. “
“We believe that the facilities and performance staff provided by Sport Manitoba and the Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba will provide the perfect venue and ideal staff to help the young men taking part in the program to develop into elite players,” shared Matt Barr, CSCM Executive Director. “Volleyball is of great importance to the sporting community in Manitoba and we look forward to partnering with Volleyball Canada for the National Excellence Program and hopefully other national team programs in the future.”
“We are incredibly excited to welcome the Men’s National Excellence Program into our high-performance environment this upcoming season,” said Evan Andrew, Sport Manitoba Interim President & CEO. “This partnership represents an important step in developing the next generation of Canadian volleyball talent, and we are proud to provide an environment where athletes can pursue excellence every day. We look forward to contributing to the continued growth of high-performance volleyball in Canada.”
Coralee Dolyniuk, Executive Director of Volleyball Manitoba, added, “We’re excited to welcome this program to Manitoba and provide our athletes with a high-performance opportunity that is much closer to home. Having access to this level of training and competition in our province will strengthen athlete development, support our high-performance pathway, and allow more Manitoba athletes to pursue excellence while staying connected to their families and communities.”
CSCM and Sport Manitoba congratulate the athletes selected for this elite program and look forward to welcoming the NEP student-athletes to Winnipeg this September.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba
Carolyn Bronsdon, Marketing and Communications Coordinator
EMAIL: media@cscm.ca
Sport Manitoba
Sam Cortes, Communications Manager
EMAIL: sam.cortes@sportmanitoba.ca
Volleyball Canada
Jackie Skender, Director, Communications
EMAIL: jskender@volleyball.ca
Volleyball Manitoba
Coralee Dolyniuk, Executive Director
EMAIL: coralee@volleyballmanitoba.ca
