Tag: international

  • Antwerp’s first international volleyball club

    Antwerp’s first international volleyball club

    September 12, 2025 | Club news | ~2min read time

    Antwerp is home and hub to many international professionals and students. No Blockers is the first international volleyball club in Antwerp, founded to bring people from all cultures together on and off the court through the passion for the sport. In just 4 months, we developed the club and materialised the dream that began in 2022.

    Humble beginnings

    Three years ago, a small group of friends organised regular games together but when competing in their first tournament in Delft, they had to come up with a team name. None of the no-blockers at the time was particularly tall, so they decided to call themselves ‘No Blockers’. And just like so, the name was born on April 11, 2022. The group continued playing at tournaments and some of the players also were involved in organising local international volleyball games in Antwerp. This is also where things took a steep development curve.

    In May 2025, two members took the initiative to register No Blockers as an official club with Sporta. Up until then, internationals had loosely organised regular matches via MeetUp and WhatsApp groups, but the family element was missing; with increasing numbers of international players, people were looking for belonging. 

    The 4-month miracle

    It’s incredibly hard to grasp – even for us – but it took only 4 months to materialise the dream that the founding partners set into the world in 2022. From designing our logo, getting our teamwear and setting up our website and socials as well as organising trainings and securing a permanent field for our home matches. We will elaborate more about this process in future blogs.

    Focus on internationals

    No Blockers took a steep development curve to become the first international volleyball club in Antwerp. Yet, at its heart, No Blockers has remained loyal to its premise: to offer safe, fun and inclusive volleyball activities specifically for the international community of Antwerp. With players from more than 15 countries we celebrate diversity and bring out the best in everyone. 

    If you have moved to Antwerp from abroad to study or to work, No Blockers offers you the opportunity to exercise while effortlessly making new friends.  

    Follow us on Instagram or TikTok to stay up to date!

  • Presenting our jersey design

    Presenting our jersey design

    September 9, 2025 | Club news | ~1min read time

    Our uniform is the centrepiece of our visual identity. Our colours and our logo are recognisable and feared among our opponents. But how did it come about and what meaning do they convey?

    Explaining our design

    When cold and warm collide, nature unleashes power. The two colour extremes on one shirt represent our different backgrounds coming together and working together in one club, releasing the true potential of people’s diversity. This is the thought behind our red and blue colours. 

    Our logo reflects our name: the stripe stands for the ‘trespassing forbidden’ sign, meaning our opponents have no way through at the net. The ball stands for the passion that we all share and it is round, meaning that every club member is equal and has equal opportunities to shine.

    What was also important to us was that our outfitter commits to sustainable materials and ways of production. With Erima, we partnered up with a manufacturer that is eager to use energy efficiently in their production sites, transforms plastic bottles into sportswear and commits to FairTrade production practices. 

    In short, we are incredibly proud to show up united as one team in our very own teamwear. As of next season, we will be open to sponsors. We also aim to launch an online merch store soon, so stay tuned and visit our website regularly for updates and follow us on Instagram and TikTok.

  • Making an impression abroad

    Making an impression abroad

    September 1, 2025 | Tournament news | ~2min read time

    Three years after our first tournament in Delft, we are back on the court surrounded by many other international volleyball teams. Only this time, No Blockers is an official Belgian volleyball club and, proudly, making an impression abroad as the first international volleyball club of Antwerp.

    Recap of the tournament

    The atmosphere is genuinely nice, as always with international teams, and the level is upper intermediate. We have come a long way, so we are performing at our best to make our stay worthwhile. The first phase is the group phase where points and wins are not really counted. We finish with three consecutive wins and three losses. Next comes the quarter final. After three losses, we make a very convincing appearance against a strong Romanian team and advance to the semifinals. There things get a little tricky: we get stuck in a rotation and contrary to what was promised, the match is over after set 1 already.

    Race for third place

    A bit disappointed, we are all the happier to hear that there will be a match for third place. Vincent lifts our spirits by saying ‘You lose the first place to become second, but you can only win the third place.’ After dominating our opponent from the start, we come out third place in this tournament. We are happy but know that there is room for more next time. Our personal highlight of the day is Silvia winning women’s MVP of the tournament, congrats and well deserved!

    Teaser first match No Blockers: come and support us!

    This tournament has been a blessing in disguise. Albeit exhausting, this gave us the opportunity to make our first appearance as the ‘new’ No Blockers. We experimented, played and experienced our team in competitive circumstances before the 2025-2026 season starts back home in Antwerp. 

    We are excited to play in front of our supporters for the first time this Friday, September 12th at 9.15pm in Ter Elststraat 2, 2650 Edegem. You are cordially invited to celebrate this milestone together with us and make our first match legendary! The players and more information about the match will be published here within the next few days. 

    To stay connected in the meanwhile, subscribe to our socials!