The Cayman Islands will welcome international beach volleyball players this September when the islands hosts a leg of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) U-23 Men’s and Women’s Beach Volleyball Tour, Sports Minister Bernie Bush has announced.
Bush, speaking at a joint press briefing with the Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation on 3 Aug., said the event is expected to see some 32 teams from 16 countries touch down on local shores to compete in the tournament.
“CAZOVA under-23 youth tournament, which will be played on newly renovated courts on Seven Mile Beach, is a significant step in the reappearance of international volleyball… following the advent of COVID and also the relocation of real sand that mysteriously disappeared from our beach prior to COVID two years ago,” Bush said.
The Federation, which is hosting the event for the first time, has already started preparations for the contest set to run from 2-4 Sept. It is the fourth stop on the tour.
Bush said the competition promises to be four days of fast-paced volleyball on the world-famous Seven Mile Beach.
“The Federation and the ministry encourages all sports fans to come out and support our local and regional players. We hope that you will take this opportunity to enjoy the games, our beach and the tournament, which signals the long anticipated re-emergence of one of our focused sports onto the international stage,” he said.
Great opportunity for local players
Volleyball was named a ‘focus sport’ in 2020 by the Cayman Islands government, which gave the volleyball federation a financial boost of $125,000, above the original $25,000 allocated in the Ministry of Sports budget, a statement from the ministry said.
“With the additional funds, the Federation hopes to continue building the sport from the grassroots and attracting young Caymanians, as well as position itself to produce elite junior and senior-class players for international competitions,” it added.
Over 10 years, the federation has hosted stops in Cayman on the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour, with the most recent being in 2019.
Trevor Theroulde, CIVF technical director, said it was an exciting time for the federation and local volleyball players.
“The young players have been working extremely hard developing their skills in both the technical and the tactical side, in preparation for such an event. The key in giving these young players support is that they’re all under the age of 20 and they are looking forward to representing Cayman at this tournament. They first will be travelling to Trinidad to take part in the August tournament in the next two/three weeks and then they’ll be flying back here to represent Cayman again in the under-23 tournament. I’m really excited for the opportunity these girls will have, and the guys also. We are working on preparing the guys to also participate in the under-23 tournaments again,” Theroulde said at the conference.
He added that he was encouraged to see the focus that CAZOVA has put on development by commissioning the first U23 beach circuit, “knowing Caribbean countries have been asking for it for many years. This is an opportunity for Cayman’s young volleyball athletes to demonstrate their skills and abilities on the international stage and show the necessary growth in their games from point to point. I believe this U23 tournament could be the launching pad for something sustainable for the game here in Cayman.”
CIVF Youth Ambassador Anjia Delapenha, 17, and her sister Brianna, 15, were on hand for the announcement and expressed excitement at the opportunity to showcase their skills and play for Cayman, if selected for the national team.
“For players like myself that have been anticipating and getting excited about representing our country on the international stage and working hard behind the scenes for such a long time, we are thrilled to finally see youth representation in this sport and we will do our best to bring pride to our country,” said Anjia.
Brianna said she has been working on improving her game and is looking forward to heading to Trinidad before playing in the tournament here.
“Lately, after realising that we will be able to play in Trinidad, I have started to notice more what I have to work on and each training. I strive to make more corrections and listen to coach and take his teachings more of a different level. I’m just going to training every day and trying to just make some more time and take this really seriously,” she said.
The CAZOVA U23 Men’s and Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament will take place on Seven Mile Public Beach. General admission is free but VIP and covered seating tickets will be available, the details of which will be announced later.
| For more information about the CAZOVA U23 Men’s and Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament log on to www.civf.ky or email [email protected].
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