Randy Gingera
Encyclopedia
Randal John Gingera (born April 25, 1968 in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
) is a former long-time member of the Canada men's national volleyball team
Canada men's national volleyball team
The Canada men's national volleyball team represents the Canada in international volleyball competitions. The team placed third in the Pan American Games in 1979 and 1999.-World Championship:*2010 — 19th place-World Cup:...
and University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
Dinos star volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
player.
Kid Volleyball as he was known was a three-time Canada West All-Star selection, CIAU
CIAU
The letters CIAU may mean any of the following:* CIAU-FM 103.1, a radio station in Radisson, Quebec* An acronym for "Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union", now known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport...
All-Canadian in 1988 and '89, and unanimous choice for Canada West and CIAU Player of the Year in 1989, as the Dinos went undefeated, losing their only match of the year to UCLA (at a tournament in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
).
A 6'2 right-handed outside hitter, Gingera was a member of the Canadian team that finished tenth at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
. The team however lost a very close 5-set match to the United States as well as two other 5-set matches and narrowly missed on advancing to the tournament's quarterfinals. He was a member of the national team for eight years and also played professionally for six, two years each in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In France he played for Tourcoing
Tourcoing Lille Métropole Volley-Ball
Tourcoing Lille Métropole Volley-Ball is a sport association. The volley-ball section was created in 1912 in Tourcoing. The main team is playing in the french main league, called "Pro A".-Awards:French Championship...
in 1996-7 and the following season, Stade Poitevin.
After retiring from competitive volleyball, Gingera returned to U. of C. to complete a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Calgary. Graduating in 2000 he then earned an M.A. in Environmental Design, completing the degree in 2005.