Marte Hoffiz wants a more united CAZOVA

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, March 15, 2015 - Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, President of the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) says he wants a more united  Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA).

This was the view of Marte Hoffiz during his detailed presentations at the CAZOVA congress held at Cascadia Hotel & Conference Centre.

Marte Hoffiz, who is also the First Vice-President of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) noted that of all three bodies –AFECAVOL (Central America) ECVA (Eastern Caribbean) and CAZOVA-  the latter seemed the least united.

A Dominican Republic native, Marte Hoffiz stated that with the work being done in the FIVB, the sport in NORCECA, which he sees as the second best run body behind Europe, is moving forward and at a quick pace.

However, his major concern is that some CAZOVA members are not keeping up with that shift and run the risk of being left behind, which in the end will work against its development and that of the overall body in the future.

Reflecting on the early days, Marte Hoffiz recalled when CAZOVA was now being put together back in the early 1990’s through the efforts of Curacao and now to have 14 full members, along with the ECVA and AFECAVOL combined has made for a strong 41 member NORCECA, a very powerful force in the FIVB.

During his opening remarks, Trinidad & Tobago Olympic Committee president, Brian Lewis send out a challenge to those present to put the sport they were entrusted to lead and govern first, by putting athletes first.

Lewis, said, “It is very important of sporting bodies to understand the importance they have on society today as we are called to serve through sport when we get elected as officials, however too often we tend to be self-serving when elected to serve our important assets, which are the athletes.

He added, “We need not focus on what we as officials can accumulate from the sport, but the positive difference we can make in the sport.

“Sports make a powerful positive difference, but it’s not able to show through when the leaders get it wrong,” warned Lewis.

Speaking directly to Trinidad & Tobago Volleyball Federation president, Daymian Stewart, Lewis said, “Personally as president of the Trinidad & Tobago Olympic Committee, I have set the target of us qualifying two national teams for team events by the 2024 Olympic Games, as part of my 10 gold medals vision, and I see no reason why volleyball can’t be one of those two sports to do so.”

“Over the years volleyball has shown it has the potential and it’s important it does not fall away from the momentum it has generated in recent years.”