Volleyball village festival is... the 'golden season'.

On simple concrete courts, with nets temporarily strung amidst the sound of festival drums and enthusiastic cheers, the volleyball carries not only the spirit of sport but also encapsulates passion, community bonding, and significant economic opportunities.

1. For over a decade, village volleyball festivals have become a familiar sight every Lunar New Year. From Hanoi with Co Loa Festival, Bac Ninh with Dong Ky, Dong Cao, to Thai Binh, Phu Tho, Nghe An, Ha Tinh..., it's easy to find courts packed with spectators everywhere.

Village volleyball festival courts are often quite rudimentary, with concrete surfaces, and the stands are just steps or even the open space around the court. Yet, this very closeness creates a unique atmosphere. Spectators can stand right by the sideline, shouting, calling players' names, even receiving instant cash rewards right after a spectacular save or a powerful spike behind the 3-meter line. There, athletes compete amidst the most sincere and direct cheers.

More importantly, the village festival is also a cradle nurturing passion. Many players start from village courts, impress scouts, and gradually step onto the professional stage. For young people, sharing the court with domestic stars is a tangible dream, a motivation to pursue a long-term volleyball path.

2. If in the past, playing in village festivals was mainly for hometown sentiment or to "earn a few extra million for spending," in recent years, the picture has completely changed. The increase in the number of tournaments and increasingly substantial investments have turned village volleyball into a real "golden season" for many athletes. Previously, the prize money for the champion team was only around 20 million VND. Now, this figure can reach hundreds of millions. Not to mention instant cash rewards on the court for beautiful plays, ranging from a few hundred thousand to several million VND each time.

With the dense competition schedule in the first lunar month, just participating for 1-2 days in one tournament, an athlete can earn tens of millions. If "juggling" 2-4 festivals in the first few weeks of the year, the income can equal or even surpass a whole season's salary from playing professionally for a club.

This creates an interesting paradox: some community tournaments offer higher financial value than some official national competitions. There have been controversies when the national youth championship offered modest prizes, sometimes even without trophies or medals, while at village festivals, a single well-executed play can earn an instant reward many times higher than the prize for the best individual player at the national level.

Of course, the intense competition schedule also carries risks of injury and impacts on fitness before the professional season. But for many athletes, this is an unmissable opportunity - to maintain competitive sharpness after the Tet holiday break and to significantly improve their income in the context of professional volleyball still facing many financial limitations.

3. Tournaments in Bac Ninh and Hanoi often attract many players currently competing in the national championship. Even foreign players who have played in Vietnam return to participate. Some professional clubs also view village festivals as a warm-up before the new season. Hanoi Tasco's victory at the Dong Cao Village Festival after defeating the host team Kinh Bac Bac Ninh in the final is a statement of serious preparation for the road ahead.

However, the "village festival fever" also raises many questions. When the economic value of community events sometimes surpasses the national competition system, Vietnamese volleyball needs to reconsider how it organizes, invests in, and honors athletes at the professional level. Village festivals are a valuable cultural beauty, but if the disparity grows too large and persists, the motivation to develop the official competition structure could be affected.

Nevertheless, it's undeniable that spring village volleyball is where passion is ignited, where athletes experience the most fervent atmosphere, and where the ball carries both spiritual and economic value.