Women’s Committee ‘elevating role of women in sport,’ president says JEDDAH: The Saudi Volleyball Federation (SVF) has launched the Kingdom’s first open volleyball tournament for women in September at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh. It came during the first meeting of SVF’s Women’s Committee at the Saudi Olympic Committee’s headquarters. Speaking after the meeting, Dr. Khaled Al-Zughaibi, president of the Saudi Volleyball Federation, said that the tournament would be a “key step towards promoting women’s volleyball,” and a “way for the athletes to hone their skills and develop their capabilities.” He also announced that the federation will organize introductory courses for Saudi women looking to specialize in the fields of training and arbitration. Ahlam Al-Omari, president of the Women’s Committee, expressed her pride in serving the Kingdom through the SVF’s board of directors, stressing the committee’s mission to spread and develop the sport. She said that the Women’s Committee had been established to provide support to all women who wish to play volleyball, adding that the tournament will contribute to elevating and developing the role of women in the wider sporting arena. “We have decided to organize the tournament with an aim to set up infrastructure for women’s volleyball at the grassroots level, organize a number of tournaments at national level, search for an experienced coach to supervise the Saudi national teams, and work on training female coaches for various sport centers and clubs,” Al-Omari said.