St. George 2nd Volleyball Tournament 2025

Report on the Second St. George Volleyball Championship

As part of the sports activities organized by the Sports Committee at St. George Chaldean Church, Melbourne, the committee—attended by Msgr. Fr. Paul Mingana, the respected parish priest, and Fr. Saleem Goga, the respected assistant priest—held a meeting with team leaders and the refereeing staff for the Second St. George Volleyball Championship on Sunday, 9/11/2025. Twelve teams participated in this championship, representing our church teams and community teams in Melbourne.

The parish priest delivered a speech at the meeting, thanking the Sports Committee for organizing these sporting tournaments and various activities that bring our youth and families together in a church atmosphere filled with love and respect. He also welcomed the teams’ participation and encouraged them to adhere to sportsmanship, which would contribute to a successful tournament at all levels.

Afterwards, a draft of the tournament rules was read and discussed to gather the teams’ opinions and adopt the proposed suggestions after voting on them.

Then the draw was conducted to distribute the teams into groups, resulting in the following:

Group (A):

St. George Team

FOC Team

Syriac Youth Team

Our Lady of Deliverance Team

Group (B):

St. George Veterans Team

Syriac Stars Team

Holy Spirit Choir Team

St. Ephrem Team

Group (C):

St. Peter Team

Mar Sabresho Team

Zakho Team

Sacred Heart Team

The first week of matches kicked off on Sunday, 23/11/2025, with six matches. This week marked the start of the group stage, which lasted three weeks. A total of eighteen matches were played in this round, resulting in only eight teams qualifying for the second round (the quarterfinals).

Sunday, 18/1/2026, marked the conclusion of this championship, which was distinguished by an atmosphere of affection, love, and respect among everyone, with a notable audience presence whose cheers and chants encouraged the competing teams.

St. Peter Team won the championship title in an exciting and thrilling match against the previous champion, St. Ephrem Team, with a score of three sets to two.

In the match preceding the final, Zakho Team defeated Syriac Stars Team by two sets to one, securing third place in the tournament and leaving fourth place for Syriac Stars.

In a special initiative by the church’s media committee, the two final matches determining the top four places were broadcast live on the church’s official Facebook page.

After the concluding matches, and in the presence of Msgr. Fr. Paul Mingana, Fr. Saleem Goga, and the respected members of the parish council, the closing ceremony of the championship was held immediately following the final matches. Prizes and gifts were distributed to the winning teams, as well as to the members of the organizing committee and the refereeing staff.

It is worth noting that the organizing committee members were:

Mr. Balsan Qouda (Sports Committee Head)

Mr. Jibo Boutros

Mr. Ziad Sako

Mr. Khaled Al-Qasha

Mr. Laith Aouni (Tournament Media Committee and sports commentator)

The refereeing staff, who led the matches with excellence and firmness, consisted of:

Mr. Salam Oudes (Chief Referee)

Mr. Jenan Olmo (Assistant Referee)

Mr. Hanna Al-Manno (Assistant Referee)

Ms. Milad Kamal (Line Judge)

We congratulate our church, the Sports Committee, and the teams participating on this outstanding achievement, which adds to the record of this committee’s wonderful accomplishments. We look forward to meeting you in future tournaments, God willing.