Canada men's national volleyball team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Canada

[[File:|180px|frameless|Flag]]
Association	Volleyball Canada
Confederation	NORCECA
Head coach	Vacant
FIVB ranking	15 (as of September 2014)
Uniforms
Home 　 Away
Summer Olympics
Appearances	6 (First in 1976)
Best result	4th (1984)
World Championship
Appearances	12 (First in 1974)
Best result	7th (2014)
FIVB World Cup
Appearances	5 (First in 1977)
Best result	7th (2003, 2015)
NORCECA Championship
Appearances	28 (First in 1969)
Best result	(2015)
Website	Volleyball.ca

The Canada men's national volleyball team plays for Canada in big international volleyball games. Volleyball Canada is the group that manages the team. They help the team get ready for competitions.

The team finished fourth at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. They also won three bronze medals at the Pan American Games in 1979, 1999, and 2015. Canada has played in six Olympic Games. Most recently, they finished fifth at the Rio 2016 Olympics. This was their first time back at the Games in 25 years!

In 2015, Canada hosted the Pan American Games in Toronto. The team won the bronze medal there by beating Puerto Rico. Canada also played in the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup in 2015. It was their first time in 12 years, and they finished seventh. They had also finished seventh in 2003. In the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, they tied for seventh place.

History of Canadian Men's Volleyball

How it All Started

In 1953, the Canadian Volleyball Association (CVA) was created. It joined the FIVB in the same year. The first national volleyball championship was also held then. Canada's first big international game was at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago. Canada finished 6th in that tournament. In 1968, Canada joined NORCECA. They played in their first NORCECA championship in 1969, finishing 4th.

The 1970s: First Medals

In 1973, Canada won its first bronze medal at the NORCECA championship. A year later, they played in their first FIVB World Championships in Mexico. Canada finished 20th overall in that tournament.

Canada played in their first Olympic tournament in 1976 because they were the host country. They finished 9th overall. In 1977, Ken Maeda became the new coach. Under him, the team won bronze at the 1977 NORCECA Championship. In 1979, Canada won a bronze medal at the Pan American Games.

The 1980s: Olympic Success

In 1981, Canada finished 3rd at the NORCECA championship. In 1982, they played in their third FIVB World Championship in Argentina. They finished 11th in that tournament. In 1983, they won a silver medal at the NORCECA Championships.

In 1984, Canada played in the Olympic Games for the second time. They reached the semi-finals for the first time ever! They finished 4th, which is still their best Olympic result.

Canada won bronze at the NORCECA Championship in 1985 and 1987. They then won silver in 1989.

The 1990s: More World Play

Canada played at the 1990 FIVB World Championships in Brazil. They finished 12th in the tournament. The next year, Canada joined the FIVB World League for the first time. They finished in last place.

In 1991, Canada hosted the NORCECA Championship in Regina. They finished 3rd and qualified for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. At the Olympics, they finished in 10th place.

In 1993, Canada finished 3rd at the NORCECA Championship. At the 1994 FIVB World Championships, Canada finished tied for 9th place. They won bronze at the NORCECA Championships in 1995 and 1997. In 1998, Canada finished 12th at the FIVB World Championship.

Canada returned to the World League in 1999, finishing 8th. They also won bronze at the NORCECA Championship and the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg.

The 2000s: New Challenges

In the 2000 World League, Canada finished 11th. In 2001, they won bronze at the NORCECA Championship. At the 2002 FIVB World Championship, Canada finished 17th.

In 2003, Canada won a silver medal at the NORCECA Championship. In 2005, they won a bronze medal. In 2006, Canada played in the FIVB World Championship in Japan. They finished 11th overall. In 2007, Canada finished 13th in the World League. In 2007 and 2009, they finished 4th at the NORCECA Championship.

2010–2016: Back to the Olympics

At the 2010 FIVB World Championship, Canada finished 19th. The next year, Canada played in the World League again, placing 12th. In the same year, Canada won bronze at the NORCECA Championship. Canada finished 5th in the 2013 World League. Later that year, they won silver in the NORCECA Championship.

In 2014, Canada played in the FIVB World Championship in Poland. They finished in 7th place, which was a new record for the team.

In 2015, Canada hosted the Pan American Games. They won their third Pan-American bronze medal.

In the 2016 World League, Canada won Group 2. This meant they qualified for Group 1 in 2017 for the first time. After this, Canada played in the Olympic Qualifiers. They finished 4th, which qualified them for their first Olympics in 24 years!

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Canada started strong by beating USA. They finished 2nd in their group and played against Russia in the quarterfinals. Canada finished the tournament in 5th place. This was their highest Olympic finish since 1984.

2017–Present: A New Era

After coach Glenn Hoag retired, Stephane Antiga took over. At the 2017 World League, Canada had a younger team. They finished 5th and qualified for the final round.

Canada lost to Brazil but then beat Russia to reach the semi-finals. They lost to France but won the bronze medal match against USA. This was Canada's first-ever World League medal! Graham Vigrass and Blair Bann were named tournament all-stars.

Canada's Competitive Record

Olympic Games

Here's how the Canadian men's volleyball team has done at the Summer Olympics:

Summer Olympics record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1964	did not qualify
1968
1972
1976	Preliminary Round	9th	4	0	4	0	12	Squad
1980	did not participate due to US-led boycott
1984	Semifinals	4th	6	3	3	10	9	Squad
1988	did not qualify
1992	9th–10th places	10th	6	1	5	11	15	Squad
1996	did not qualify
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016	Quarterfinals	5th	6	3	3	10	10	Squad
2020	Quarterfinals	8th	6	2	4	9	12	Squad
2024	Preliminary Round	10th	3	0	3	3	9	Squad
Total	0 Titles	6/16	31	9	22	43	77	—

World Championship

Here's how the Canadian men's volleyball team has done at the World Championship:

World Championship record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1949	did not participate
1952
1956
1960
1962
1966	did not qualify
1970
1974	19th–24th places	20th	10	5	5	18	20
1978	17th–20th places	20th	9	3	6	12	18
1982	9th–12th places	11th	9	4	5	16	18
1986	did not qualify
1990	9th–12th places	12th	6	1	5	3	16	Squad
1994	Final Round	9th	4	1	3	5	9	Squad
1998	9th–12th places	12th	12	4	8	15	28	Squad
2002	First Round	17th	3	1	2	4	7	Squad
2006	9th–12th places	11th	11	5	6	18	24	Squad
2010	First Round	19th	3	1	2	3	7	Squad
2014	Second Round	7th	9	6	3	18	13	Squad
2018	Second Round	9th	8	5	3	18	14	Squad
2022	First Round	17th	3	1	2	3	6	Squad
2025	Qualified
Total	0 Titles	13/21	87	37	50	133	180	—

World Cup

Here's how the Canadian men's volleyball team has done at the World Cup:

World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1965	did not participate
1969
1977	Final Group	12th	5	0	5	3	15
1981	did not participate
1985
1989
1991
1995	Round Robin	9th	11	3	8	11	27
1999	Round Robin	8th	11	5	6	17	24
2003	Round Robin	7th	11	5	6	18	23	Squad
2007	did not participate
2011
2015	Round Robin	7th	11	5	6	18	22	Squad
2019	Round Robin	9th	11	4	7	19	28	Squad
Total	0 Titles	6/14	60	22	38	86	139	—

World League

Canadian team at 2012 World League

Here's how the Canadian men's volleyball team has done at the World League:

World League record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1990	Did not participate
1991	Intercontinental round	10th	16	2	14	17	45
1992	Intercontinental round	7th	12	6	6	22	24
1993	Did not participate
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999	Intercontinental round	8th	12	5	7	19	25
2000	Intercontinental round	11th	12	3	9	15	32
2001	Did not participate
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007	Intercontinental round	13th	12	2	10	10	32	Squad
2008	Did not participate
2009
2010
2011
2012	Intercontinental round	12th	12	3	9	15	30	Squad
2013	Intercontinental round	5th	12	9	3	29	16	Squad
2014	Intercontinental round	13th	12	6	6	25	23	Squad
2015	Intercontinental round	15th	12	6	6	29	21	Squad
2016	Group 2 final round	13th	11	10	1	32	7	Squad
2017	Semifinals	3rd	13	7	6	26	27	Squad
Total	0 Titles	11/28	136	59	77	239	282	—

Nations League

Canadian team at 2019 FIVB Nations League

Here's how the Canadian men's volleyball team has done at the Nations League:

Nations League record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
2018	Preliminary round	7th	15	8	7	29	24	Squad
2019	Preliminary round	9th	15	8	7	29	29	Squad
2021	Preliminary round	8th	15	7	8	27	26	Squad
2022	Preliminary round	15th	12	2	10	10	33	Squad
2023	Preliminary round	12th	12	3	9	15	31	Squad
2024	Quarterfinals	6th	13	8	5	29	22	Squad
Total	0 Titles	6/6	82	36	46	139	165	—

NORCECA Championship

Here's how the Canadian men's volleyball team has done at the NORCECA Championship:

NORCECA Championship record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1969	Semifinals	3rd	5	3	2	9	9
1971	Did not participate
1973	Semifinals	3rd	5	3	2	9	9
1975	Semifinals	4th	4	1	3	3	10
1977	Semifinals	3rd	6	5	1	16	6
1979	Round Robin	2nd	6	4	2	14	8
1981	Semifinals	3rd	6	4	2	14	7
1983	Final	2nd	5	4	1	12	5
1985	Semifinals	3rd	7	5	2
1987	Semifinals	3rd	7	5	2	16	6
1989	Final	2nd	7	6	1	18	5
1991	Round Robin	3rd	8
1993	Semifinals	3rd	3	2	1	6	3
1995	Semifinals	3rd	5	3	2	12	6
1997	Semifinals	3rd	5	4	1	13	5
1999	Semifinals	3rd	5	4	1	14	7
2001	Semifinals	3rd	6	3	3	13	10	Squad
2003	Final	2nd	4	3	1	10	6	Squad
2005	Semifinals	3rd	6	3	3	11	9	Squad
2007	Semifinals	4th	6	3	3	11	9	Squad
2009	Semifinals	4th	6	3	3	12	12	Squad
2011	Semifinals	3rd	5	4	1	14	4	Squad
2013	Final	2nd	4	3	1	9	3	Squad
2015	Final	1st	4	4	0	12	3	Squad
2017	Semifinals	3rd	4	3	1	9	4	Squad
2019	Semifinals	3rd	5	4	1	13	3	Squad
2021	Final	2nd	7	4	3	9	11	Squad
2023	Final	2nd	5	4	1	9	5	Squad
Total	1 Title	27/28	146	93	45	285	166	—

Pan American Games

Here's how the Canadian men's volleyball team has done at the Pan American Games:

Pan-American Cup

Here's how the Canadian men's volleyball team has done at the Pan-American Cup:

America's Cup

Here's how the Canadian men's volleyball team has done at the America's Cup:

The Team

Current Players

This is the team roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Head coach: Tuomas Sammelvuo

Coaching Staff

Here are the people who coach and manage the team:

Name	Position
Tuomas Sammelvuo	Head coach
Joao Paulo Bravo	Assistant coach
Mike Hawkins	Assistant coach
Schad Richea	Athletic Therapist
Michael Cook	Strength Coach
Jelle Koijman	Mental Performance Coach
Julien Boucher	General manager

Coach History

Here are the head coaches who have led the team over the years:

Name	From	To
Bill Neville	1972	1977
Ken Maeda	1977	1984
Brian Watson	1985	1992
Clement Lemieux	1992	1996
Garth Pischke	1996	2000
Stelio DeRocco	2001	2006
Glenn Hoag	2006	2016
Stephane Antiga	2017	2018
Glenn Hoag	2018	2021
Ben Josephson	2021	2022
Tuomas Sammelvuo	2022

Team Gear and Sponsors

Kit Provider

This table shows which companies have made the team's uniforms:

Sponsorship

The main sponsors for the team include Inter Pipeline. Other companies that support the team are Lululemon Athletica, Wilson Sporting Goods, and UNIGLOBE Travel International.

See also

In Spanish: Selección de voleibol de Canadá para niños

• Canada men's junior national volleyball team
• Canada women's national volleyball team