Jamaica to host regional U19 volleyball tournament

Jamaica has been selected as host country for the 2024 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Under-19 Boys and Girls’ Championships set to be held from July 24 to August 5.

The competition will take place at the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, and it will be the first time since 2019 that Jamaica will be hosting a CAZOVA tournament.

Mushtaque Mohammed, president of CAZOVA, said Jamaica was a ‘“imple choice” to make after reviewing the country’s bid to host this year’s youth tournament.

“It was a very simple choice,” he said.“Jamaica is one of the national federations who sent in a bid to host and the bid was very much completed in terms of meeting all the requirements.

“They have met the requirements in terms of having a facility, they have provided a schedule and a timeline for all the activities that would take place and that particular venue, GC Foster, has a history of hosting previous Caribbean volleyball events.”

Jacqueline Cowan, president of the Jamaica Volleyball Association (JaVA), said that Jamaica’s bid being accepted by CAZOVA is a significant decision for the association as it provides a massive opportunity for the development of volleyball in the Jamaica.

PERFECT PLATFORM

Cowan explained that JaVA will be hoping that this year’s tournament will be the perfect platform for the under-19 teams to make that next step in their careers.

“It is significant for us because we’re always trying to ensure that persons are aware of our sport,” she explained. “Bringing it to Jamaica will give the public the opportunity to come to GC Foster and see the development that is taking place with our youngsters and will also see how we can transition the U19 team to the next age-group competition, so we’re quite pleased to be able to host it.”

According to Cowan, Jamaica will be well represented in the competition come July as preparations are already under way in the team’s training and selection.

“We’re seeing the technical development taking place for the athletes. Luckily for us, most of our under-19 players actually play in the ISSA volleyball league, so they’re playing more volleyball than most would expect. So it’s not that they come to the trials and then stop playing. They come to trials, and when they leave, they’re still in competition.”

Jamaica will be hoping for a good showing at the upcoming championships, and Cowan has called upon the public’s support to help the team come July.