All set for debut Bonaire NORCECA Beach Tour leg

 

BONAIRE, September 25, 2019 - The beautiful Dutch-island of Bonaire will play host to the sev­enth stage of the 2019 NORCE­CA Beach Vol­ley­ball Tour­na­ment from Thursday September 26 until Saturday 28 on the sands of the scenic Delfins Beach Resort.

 

The tournament will mark the first time ever a NORCECA Beach event is being held on the island with a population of 18,000 and according to members of the Control Committee everything has been given the “green light” in terms of readiness for the three-days of what is expected to be intense competition.

 

The members of the Control Committee headed by Daymian Stewart (TTO) Tournament Director, includes Ernesto Beltre Ramirez (DOM) (Photographer), Jose Perez Vento (CUB) (Referee Manager), Marlene Hernandez (MEX) and Juvenal Collado (DOM), International Neutral Referees and Nigel Simon (TTO) (Press Delegate).

 

With all the teams expected to on the island by mid-day on Wednesday September 25, the Control Committee has scheduled the Preliminary Enquiries to be at 2 pm followed by the Technical Meeting at 8 pm, both to be held at the same Delfins’ Beach Resort.

 

For the event, 12 women teams and 13 men teams will compete across 62 matches on two courts from 8am daily with an expected break during the day due to the extreme hot and humid conditions, with athletes’ safety being priority.

 

Daymian Stewart, NORCECA Competition Director is very happy with the efforts of the Bonaire Volleyball Federation and he is working towards having an exciting event. That will encourage the Bonaire people to continue supporting the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour.

                                                                                       

“The entire control committee is on island and ready to work, the facilities are great and the hospitality if excellent. As with all new host they would need guidance but their receptiveness makes the experience much better for me.”

 

While not in Bonaire for the event, Mushtaque Mohammed, President of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) was full of praise and excited about the prospect of the tournament taking place on the island for the first time ever.

 

“We are extremely pleased to see a territory, not a national federation but one of our regional-member hosting this significant event on the 2019 NORCECA Tour.

 

For us it’s a challenge and Bonaire has accepted that to host this event, even though they are very in-experienced, but I am assured that they are doing their best to put on a great display as host country ensuring athletes and officials are comfortable and its of high quality.

                                                                                                             

From a development perspective being the FIVB & NORCECA Development Commission President I am also please to see how the investment we have made on the island has benefitted their players.

 

Juan Cartagena, an FIVB Instructor who has worked previously in US Virgin Islands and Aruba said the competition coming to Bonaire for the first time will be very good for the development of the sport.

 

Cartagena added, “The Bonaire Volleyball Federation has done a lot of working to get to host the event and the organisation in terms of transportation, accommodation for teams, venue preparation and food has been done in advance and is really good”.

 

With regards to the playing venue, the Delfins Beach Resort, Cartagena boasted that the sand is very good, but the real issue for the players will be the humidity”.

                                                                        

He said, “It gets very hot from about 11am to about 4 pm, so during that period of the day, the players will come under a little pressure from the heat, but I believe the schedule will be adjusted to cope with that situation”.

 

“Overall, I expect it to be a great tournament for the teams that have registered and it will also provide a big opportunity for the Bonaire Federation to make a big impact and stamp their name as wanting to be a permanent stop on the NORCECA Beach Tour in the future”.

 

Gisette Emer, recently installed president of the Bonaire Volleyball Federation was quick to admit that her local body was astonish at first when they selected as a host on the 2019 tour.

 

“We have been told that we have golden sand and the opportunity and we took the challenge of the big possibilities for the island”.

 

“The sport of beach volleyball is much easier for us to get involved with as it only requires two players on a team and venues are much easier to access as compared to indoor volleyball, not to mention the travelling of teams of two being less stress than having an indoor team go overseas”.

 

Emer added, “So being the host of this major event we are hoping to provide opportunities for more players locally in both genders to develop in the sport and keep growing.

 

“The enthusiasm of the young players from the primary level is on a high as we did some school programs, which had some very positive effects and we hope to see the benefits of it in the near future.

 

Emer also praised sponsors, Delfins Beach Resort, Cactus Accounting, FWNB, Bonaire Logistics, Tung Fung Store, Best Brands, GPS, and MAC Enterprises for their support in making the event a possibility.