ParaVolley Malta, together with Birkirkara Volleyball Club and Id‑Dar tal‑Providenza, will be organising a sitting volleyball side event at this year's BOV Volleyball Marathon which is held annually at Id‑Dar Tal‑Providenza in Siġġiewi. 

During a press launch held at Id-Dar tal-Providenza itself, Nello Calleja, General Secretary of ParaVolley Malta, gave some more information about this activity.  He said that for this year's event, Slovenian athletes who are either members of the National Slovenian sitting volleyball teams or else play sitting volleyball in the different clubs in Slovenia have been invited over to Malta. These athletes include male and female persons with or without disabilities, and the main objective of their visit to Malta is to play demonstration matches between themselves, as well as matches against local Maltese teams. 

Volleyball players as well as the general public have been invited to take part in these matches which will take place in the evening during the same weekend and at the same venue where the volleyball marathon will be held, that is from Friday 30^th June until Sunday 2^nd July at Id-Dar tal-Providenza in Siggiewi. The sitting volleyball activity will be held from 8pm until midnight on each of these days, whilst the volleyball marathon will start on Friday 30^th June at 6pm and will continue till midnight on Sunday 2^nd July, for a total of 53 hours continuous volleyball.

The sitting volleyball activity is open to male, female, or mixed local teams, and teams can be made up of athletes with or without disability.  "We firmly believe that a discipline like sitting volleyball gives the opportunity to everyone to play the same sport in the most inclusive way, since the moment the athletes sit down on the floor to play, they all become equal.  We hope that such activities continue to promote the fact that sport is really for everyone, whatever the level of ability," organisers said. 

The Minister for Inclusion, Voluntary Organisations and Consumer Rights (MIVC) Julia Farrugia Portelli said she was overwhelmed with the enthusiasm shown by the participating athletes both Maltese and Slovenian and expressed her hope that this weekend's volleyball marathon will achieve the best results on and off the court. She also promised her support for an international sitting volleyball tournament organised in Malta which was the wish expressed by Nello Calleja.

Also present for this launch there were  Charles Azzopardi, Head CSR Dept of Bank of Valletta, Stefan Decelis, President of Birkirkara Volleyball Club as well as one of the organisers of the volleyball marathon, Nadine Camilleri-Cassano and Tony Sammut representing id-Dar tal-Providenza, together with the Slovenian athletes, and the captains of the teams taking part in this year's volleyball marathon.