NORCECA Presents new 4-year Development Plan to FIVB

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, May 19, 2017 - Norceca President, Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, accompanied by the presidents of the zonal associations, presented the 2017-2020 development plan of the confederation to Dr. Ary S. Graça, FIVB President, during the FIVB Board of Administration meeting recently concluded in Marrakech, Morocco. 

The presidents of the zonal associations Mushtaque Mohammed (Caribbean), Marta Centeno de Sajche (Central America) and Glenn Quinlan (Eastern Caribbean) who were joined also by Jaime Lamboy, member of Norceca Board and president of the FIVB Legal Commission, praised the project as one to ensure the future development of volleyball and beach volleyball in the continent.

The new 4-year development plan entitled “Development Towards Greater Achievement” will focus on three specific areas (a) School Volleyball, (b) Youth Development Programs and (c) Beach Volleyball among the 35 National Federation (category I and II) and regional members.  Inclusive in these three areas, the plan will also focus on strengthening management aspect of each association in order to prepare them for a sustainable future. 

In the preparation of the future development project, it was necessary to evaluate what has been achieved from the investment made over the last six years among the membership of Norceca.

As a result of regular participation in major events such as World Championships, Continental and Zonal Tournaments, the National Federation Men and Women Teams positioned in the FIVB World Ranking, have improved significantly with some National Federations category I and II being within the top 50 of the FIVB World Ranking.

In 2009, twelve (12) National Federation Men and Women Teams did not have a ranking and that has changed since their participation in zonal, regional and continental competitions as a result of the implementation of the Norceca Development Plan. The actual result is that in 2016 a total of 34 out of 35 of Norceca National Association are positioned above the best 100 in the FIVB ranking.

Additionally, NF teams have developed their level of performance qualifying to World Events, such as, Youth Olympic Games in China, under age-group World Championships, Olympic Games, World Grand Prix and Senior World Championships.

The National Federations of St. Lucia, Jamaica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica have all represented their respective countries in these tournaments. Most notable was Costa Rica Women National Beach Volleyball Team that qualified to the 2016 Rio Olympics Games and Guatemala Men who qualified for the Beach World Championships to be held in Austria. 

Costa Rica women’s team qualified twice for the World Championships (2010 and 2014) and Trinidad and Tobago has qualified for the 2017 edition of FIVB Grand Prix.

Should the plan receive the support of the FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça and the Development department of FIVB, President Marte was certain that more would be achieved in the next four (4) years. 

Currently NORCECA is providing a contribution of 51.5% of the budget for development and it is anticipated that FIVB will cover the other 48.5%.  Norceca has been developing a strong beach volleyball program that also includes the confederation annual edition of the Continental Beach Volleyball Tour, event that is been held annually since 2006 in more than 16 countries.