Sixteen competitions are part of 2012 NORCECA Development Plan

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, January 18, 2012 – The first round of NORCECA tournamentd towards the 2014 FIVB World Championships for both men and women will kick off this year with a total of 16 competitions.

The series of events are part of the Development Plan within NORCECA Confederation as it was announced by President Cristobal Marte Hoffiz during the annual meetings of the Development, Technical and Coaches Commission in Santo Domingo.

There will be eight women’s tournaments and eight men’s with four teams taking part in each one of them. The top three sides will advance to the second of three rounds.

The women’s world championship wil take place in several cities of Italy while the men’s event will be carried out in various locations of Poland.

During the first day of the commission’s meeting the members discussed the results of the program of the FIVB Regional Development Center in Dominican Republic which includes the participation of itinerant instructors Justo Morales of Cuba and Juan Cartagena of Puerto Rico.

Before the start of the activities and presentation of reports it was observed one minute of silence dedicated to the memory of the late member Israel Garcia, who passed away last year in his native Puerto Rico.