Conclusion

Conclusion

Volleyball has seen several advancements since its creation in 1895, and especially following the introduction to the Olympics in 1964. Prior to this date, we see the sport is viewed as a very casual and recreational alternative to other sports, with equipment and attire reflecting this sentiment. Regarding attire, men are seen wearing simple shorts and tee-shirts which would have been common athletic attire of the period. Women, however, are seen wearing more formal and confining dresses or bulky attire creating difficulty in achieving proper movements. 

Following the growth experienced from the sports inclusion to the Olympics, we see uniforms and other materials introduced to the world of volleyball. By the 60s, more sport like attires is seen with numbers and jerseys. Protective equipment made with flexible materials, shoes that promoted frequent jumping and breathable jerseys all would appear as the century ended.

The biggest challenge for Canadian sport historians moving forward is identifying Canadian history regarding the sport, as very little information regarding this topic is digitized, especially regarding its beginning in Canada. Today the sport continues to gain participating each year through the FIVB championships and popular media. A famous Japanese animated series titled "Haikyuu" created by Haruichi Furudate interestingly has also sparked interest in the sport furthering its growth into the sports scene. 

Regarding my role specifically in exploring this topic, I believe this required a level of research and deep diving that was a bit above the level I was able to properly describe. I would have loved to have been able to access information from just a handful of Canadian clubs and universities, but there simply wasn't a plethora of information to select from. I was able to include a lot more Canadian material by the later parts of the 20th century, and perhaps if I had angled my project to only portray these periods, I could have kept my work strictly Canadian based; however, much of the information which created a foundation for the assignment wasn't accessible from a Canadian lens. When I first learned that YMCA in Ottawa and Toronto picked up volleyball pretty early into the century, I had hopes there would be a lot of information exploring the sport, but it simply wasn't as abundant as I might have hoped. I think the ability to reach out to various clubs could have helped me, but it would have been difficult and isn't necessarily a guaranteed success. As a parting note I also wish I was able to include more information relating to beach volleyball, but again, the information is scarce outside of the 21st century. 

Omeka

The implementation of Omeka in my final project's creation allowed me to display my knowledge in a far more visually pleasing way than I would have achieved through a traditional research paper. Although there were several hoops to jump through while learning how to properly construct my exhibit, I am overall satisfied with what was achieved. I believe that the skills I learned while making the project are valuable and have given me the ability to showcase information through an avenue, I wouldn't have been able to approach prior to this semester.

Omeka as a tool allows my information to reach a much broader population than is possible through a typical research paper. When people are considering a topic like Volleyball, they are probably an athlete themselves, meaning stereotypically they won't want to bog themselves down with text. Instead, this stream offers a variety of photographs which viewers can explore and interact with.

After using Omeka this semester I have become curious as to utilizing new layout options in addition to other experimentation with the website. I believe in the future I could get more creative regarding what I am comfortable attempting through Omeka and look forward to getting the opportunity to showcase that. This would be achieved through utilizing the Geolocation Map as I had initially desired; however, with the information I used being so sporadic in terms of location, it didn't seem to contribute in a way I would have liked. This is probably where my biggest shortcoming was regarding proper implementation on the website; exploring the creative options that were outside of my comfort zone for the time I worked on this project.

Overall, I am happy with the route I took in creating my final project. While there was some initial discomfort in navigating the website, I don't think I would have been able to display my information in nearly as effective of a way and will look to utilize Omeka more in the future.