Dominican VB will be recipient of scholarships in Japan

SANTO DOMINGO - The Women's National Team of the Dominican Republic has been selected by the Furukawa Gakuen Junior High School to be a beneficiary of the scholarship program awarded annually by the Japanese institution.

The announcement was made by Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz, President of the Program and Vice President of the Dominican Volleyball Federation, after a meeting held in the country with Mr. Norio Okazaki and Mr. Kiyotaka Ota, representatives of the center located in Miyagi Prefecture.

The agreement means that an athlete of the U-16 category will benefit from a full scholarship to study and play volleyball at the school of Furukawa Gakuen and the possibility of continuing to make a career in the university volleyball of the Japanese nation.

Marte Hoffiz thanked the authorities of the educational institution for their gesture by means of a letter sent to Professor Sasaki Seiji, director of the school, thanking the visit of the commission formed by Mr. Okazaki and Ota to inspect the activities and operation of the Program of Women's National Teams of the Dominican Republic.

"Mr. Okazaki and Ota visited us for several days and were very satisfied with the operation of our system of training and studies of the young women who participate in the program that goes from the initiation stage to the senior team," said Marte Hoffiz.

He added that this agreement has an important significance for the future of Dominican volleyball.

He recalled that many Dominican players have played in the Japanese Premier League including past stars such as Milagros Cabral and Yudelkis Bautista as well as current top players Bethania de la Cruz, Lisvel Eve Mejia and Yonkaira Peña among others.