CAZOVA & ECVA Beach U19 World Championships Qualification Tournaments

BLACK ROCK, Tobago, May 23, 2024.- Following on the successful hosting of the volleyball competition at the new Courland Beach Sports Facility in Black Rock, Tobago for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Tobago last year, the venue will host the CAZOVA & ECVA U19 Beach Volleyball Championships Qualification Tournaments that serves off on Friday  May 24, until Sunday May 26.

The three-day event will be contested in four categories, the Trinbago Senior Open Championship Male & Female, and more importantly the FIVB Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Under-19 World Championship Zonal Qualifiers Male & Female: featuring teams from Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Martinique, St Kitts/Nevis, St Lucia, and host T&T.

However, while the visiting teams (five girl teams and ten boy teams) have confirmed their players for the FIVB World Championship Qualifiers, the T&T teams, one boy and one girl team will only be confirmed today on completion of a local qualifying single elimination one-day event for both genders from 3.30 pm at the same, which was preceded by a development training seminar conducted by Brazilian FIVB Instructor Augusto Sabbatini, a former T&T men’s coach.

The winning team in each gender in the World Championship Qualifying U-19 Tournament,  will secure their tickets to the main draw of the FIVB World Championship in China from August 27 to September 1 while the runner-up and second runners-up will qualify for the qualification draw and be reserved respectively for the FIVB World Championship in China August 27 to September 1.

Speaking on the eve of the competition, T&TVF President, Daymian Stewart said, "This is our second season of the Trinbago Tour and we have learnt a lot from our first season in 2023 now for the start of the second season with the combined ECVA and CAZOVA teams competing in the FIVB Under-19 World Beach Volleyball Championship Qualifiers we are delighted."

Looking ahead to the two-day FIVB Under-19 Qualifiers, Stewart noted that 10 countries have arrived to participate. One team per gender will qualify directly in the men and women categories for the FIVB World Championship.

"So, it’s really a big tournament and at the same time we are very thankful for the sponsors and of the Tobago House of Assembly and the other sponsors and we also want to implore that corporate T&T also get on board."

Mushtaque Mohammed, President of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA), said it was a grand opportunity for all the participating countries in the Caribbean to win the grand prize of qualifying to the FIVB Under-19 Beach Volleyball World Championship later this year. 

Mohammed added, “So, an Under-19 boys and girls team on Sunday (May 26) will win that opportunity to go to the World Championships. It is a first for the Caribbean and even NORCECA and we are happy to facilitate these opportunities.”

A former T&T Volleyball Federation boss Mohammed was also full of praise for the merger between the two associations in the Caribbean coming together for the qualifiers, the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) and CAZOVA.

He said, “The merger of the two zones of the ECVA and CAZOVA provides another great opportunity because its one Caribbean. Of course we have the smaller islands coming from the ECVA, and the larger islands coming from CAZOVA, but playing together is a unique opportunity for all the countries and players to develop because the more the players compete together and against each other is the more likely they are to develop as players and teams.

Looking at the participating teams and players, Mohammed stated, “We have athletes here competing over the two days who are 14 years old and this is an Under-19 FIVB World Qualification Tournament, so it means that in eight years’ time for the Brisbane Olympics in Australia that individual will be 22 years of age which is considered the peaking years to play your sport at the Olympics.

“And the ones who are already 18-years and competing in Tobago, the next two cycles they will be 26 which is even better for them at the Olympics, so the Under-19 category here is outstanding.

In terms of the technical aspects of the game, Mohammed said, “We also have many coaches here who will be sharing their ideas together with the four international coaches that we have here, so they will all learn and benefit from each other in the preparation of athletes for higher level competitions.

“Overall, this is a great start and a wonderful investment and hopefully, we can see at the end of this in eight to 12 years that some of the athletes who started here qualify for the Olympics, and that will be the crowning moment for us.”

On Thursday night, the Technical Meeting and Preliminary Enquiry were scheduled to be held at Grafton Beach Hotel with the members of the Control Committee headed by Tournament Director and VIS Delegate Norlisha Alleyne, Mushtaque Mohammed, Court Manager, Daymian Stewart, Event Organizer, Nolan Daniel, T&TVF Tobago Representative, Annette Knott, T&T Olympic Committee General Secretary, Lovie Santana, T&TOC's Senior Administrative Office, Nigel Simon, Press Delegate, and Phillipe Lirus, Photographer Delegate.