ECVA U23 Male Championship Serves Off in Tortola on Wednesday

Road Town, Tortola BVI. October 10, 2023. - Ten countries are confirmed for the historic second edition of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Male U23 Championship, at the Multi-Purpose Sports Center, in Road Town, Tortola, from October 11-15.

Participating countries include hosts British Virgin Islands (BVI); St. Lucia (LCA), gold medalists in the inaugural event in 2016; Antigua and Barbuda (ANT), silver medalists in 2016; Sint Maarten (SXM), Dominica (DCA); Grenada (GRN); Anguilla (AGU); St. Vincent and the Grenadines (VIN); St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN) and Saba (SAB).

The winner of the ECVA U23 tournament gets a berth to the 2024 NORCECA U23 Pan American Cup.

Teams will be placed in two zones and will engage each other in preliminary round play running from Wednesday 11th to Saturday 14th. The semifinal matches will be on Sunday morning and the podium matches will be played later that evening.

Coaches from the various teams have expressed excitement ahead of this qualifier, during the preliminary inquiry, which was held via virtual platforms- a nod to the continued integration of technology to grow the sport.

“We are confident that our standout players will mesh well during this tournament to allow us to be successful,” Coach Daryl Franklyn of Team St. Vincent and the Grenadines intimated.

“We have had our challenges with team cohesion happening but our players are committed to giving their best during this tournament,” Coach Patricio Bridgewater of Saba offered.

“The team has been training and working hard over the last couple of months. We have a great bunch of young men who are ready to compete and are looking forward to playing some competitive matches,” noted Coach Richard Swan of St. Kitts and Nevis.

“Our expectation for the team is to compete and play hard. We are also focusing on the development of the team and giving these young athletes the exposure,” stated Coach Michael Hamilton of Antigua and Barbuda.

“This tournament will showcase the results of the hard work we have been putting into our youth, through school programs and we believe that they will be great volleyball ambassadors for St. Maarten. We are ready!” said a confident Nicholas Henrietta, Coach of Team St. Maarten.

“Our goal as always is to win the final match of the tournament.  We anticipate that it will be a tough but fun tournament as all the team would be having high expectations,” Coach Jason Liburd of Anguilla offered.

“We are looking forward to being a competitive team and gaining valuable experience at this tournament. At the same time, we are going in with aspirations of being in the top 3 at the conclusion of these games,” Coach Kwele Williams of the host country, British Virgin Islands, explained.

Coaches from St. Lucia, Grenada and Dominica were also confident of stellar representation by their players throughout the tournament.

The ten confirmed teams eclipse the seven participants from the first edition of the competition in 2016.