CAZOVA Under-23 Championship set to serve off in T&T

MALONEY, Trinidad and Tobago, July 9, 2025.- The T&T Volleyball Federation (T&TVF) will play host to the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Under-23 Championship at the Maloney Indoor Sporting Facility from Thursday, July 10 until Sunday, July 13.

In the men’s four-team tournament, host Trinidad and Tobago will face off with Martinique, Guadeloupe and Suriname and the women's competition will also feature four teams inclusive of host Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique, defending champion Suriname and Curacao.

At the end of both men and women Under-23 round-robin series, the top two teams will square off for the gold medals on Sunday, July 13 final, while the third and fourth placed teams will contest the bronze medal. 

Mushtaque Mohammed, President of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association, in looking ahead to the tournament, said as an association, CAZOVA, was really happy to finally see the tournament come to fruition.

The CAZOVA boss added, 'The tournament for the men was originally scheduled for the Cayman Islands, but because of some challenges they had, the T&T Volleyball Federation has taken up the challenge to stage the event along with hosting the women’s competition.

“Now we are going to get both men and women under-23 events off the ground, and we are really happy to see that the challenges we have been faced with are being overcome.

Commenting on the small number of participating teams, with the likes of the Bahamas, Barbados, Haiti, Jamaica and the US Virgin Islands all absent from this year's tournament, Mohammed said, “Although it’s only four teams, we are really looking forward to an exciting and eventful tournament.

Mohammed noted that the tournament is being used as a qualification tournament for the Under-23 NORCECA Continental Pan American Cup Championship and will also pave the way for the teams that participate in the Pan American Junior Championship, which is held every quadrennial, and this year it will be held in Asunción, Paraguay.

However, this year’s qualification tournament is not for that specific competition and will serve as planning in preparation for the next quadrennial Pan American Junior Championship.

Following the completion of the CAZOVA Under-23 Championships, the T&T national teams are expected to compete in the NORCECA Senior Women’s Final Four in Puerto Rico from July 16-21, followed by the CAZOVA Under-17 Championships in Jamaica from July 28 to August 4, the Pan American Cup Senior Women’s Championship from August 1-11, and the CAZOVA Senior Championships from August 14-24.

CAZOVA Under-23 Championship schedule:
 

Thursday, July 10

Men:

Guadeloupe vs Suriname, 12 noon

T&T vs Martinique, 8 pm

Women:

Martinique vs Suriname, 2 pm

T&T vs Curacao, 6 pm

Friday, July 11

Women:

Curacao vs Suriname 1 pm

T&T vs Martinique, 8 pm

Men:

Martinique vs Suriname, 3 pm 

T&T vs Guadeloupe, 6 pm

Saturday, July 12

Men

Guadeloupe vs Martinique, 1 pm 

T&T vs Martinique, 8 pm

Women:

Curacao vs Martinique, 3 pm

T&T vs Suriname, 6 pm

Sunday, July 13

Men:

Third place playoff, 12 noon

Final, 6 pm

Women:

Third place playoff, 2 pm

Final, 4 pm