TEAMS ’26 Winner Spotlight: 2026 USA Volleyball Girls Junior Club Championship

The annual TEAMS Conference & Expo, held October 26—29 in Birmingham, Alabama, included the annual SportsTravel Awards, which honors the events, venues and hosts that define excellence and drive the business of sports forward. Six awards were up for grabs: Best Amateur Sports Event; Best Collegiate Sports Event; Best Professional Sports Event; Best New Sports Event; Best New or Renovated Venue; and Best Sports Host City. In this series, we will highlight the individual winners of each category. 

The first USA Volleyball Girls Junior Club Championship drove an estimated 13,000 attendees, 8,000 hotel room nights and more than 150 clubs from across the United States to Columbus, Ohio, from June 5-7. The inaugural event’s success and the role it will play in the youth volleyball landscape for years to come each played a significant role in winning the 2026 SportsTravel Award for Best New Sports Event.

The GJCC is a non-bid championship event for girls junior volleyball club teams across in 10u–17u divisions across the U.S. Its non-bid format allows for any teams that want to enter to have a chance at competing for a coveted national championship, widening the opportunity for young athletes to win at a premier event on a nationwide stage.
USA Volleyball CEO and President John Speraw said the response for the all-new championship event exceeded expectations, proving the need for a fresh championship format in girls youth volleyball.

“We always know when you’re doing something new, there’s going to be some change and people wrapping their brains around a different format or a different opportunity, and everything that we’ve heard so far has been great,” Speraw said. “We were thrilled to welcome all these families and have this type of opportunity for them. Even though it was the first time, it went very well.”

The Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, was selected as the first home of the event. Speraw said the partnership between USA Volleyball, the Greater Columbus Convention Center and the Columbus Sports Commission were instrumental in putting on a seamless, family-friendly event. In addition to championship-level volleyball, the event featured a family experience room for relaxing between matchups.

From Speraw’s point of view, winning the SportsTravel Award honors the work of USA Volleyball’s events and membership teams. This group includes Miranda Rivera, senior manager of indoor events, who accepted the award at TEAMS ’26.

Looking to the Future

The GJCC’s success also proves that the non-bid championship format was needed in girls volleyball, which is a learning Speraw and his team will take as they look to expand the event in the future.

“It just firmly establishes that this is the right product for families,” Speraw said. “Clearly, it was a success. Clearly, there’s demand, and it was year one. So I think (the award) establishes it as an event we’re going to continue to invest in, grow, expand and improve. I think it will be a way that a lot of families finalize a great year of playing the sport, and we want to make sure that last experience is memorable.”

Carrying the momentum for the event means capitalizing on future moments for USA Volleyball, including the FIVB Women’s World Cup in 2027 (which will be held in the U.S. and Canada next summer) and the 2028 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles.

The goal? Getting more kids and families to ask about playing volleyball and playing a role in making the game accessible to anyone who’s interested. The GJCC provides an excellent way for those youth volleyball players to end their season on a high note.

“How can USAV help drive down costs, increase access, ensure that everybody has the opportunity for a premium year-end experience — how do we do that?” Speraw said. “We don’t have all the solutions right now, but we’re talking about it a lot. We’re going to find ways to solve it. To us, the long-term vision is that every kid in America has the opportunity to experience a premium year-end event to celebrate a great year.”