GRENADA ATTENDS INTERNATIONAL VOLLEYBALL MEETING

St.George, May 5, 2008.: Grenada will be represented at a sports management conference and the official opening of the new headquarters of the International Federation of Volleyball in Lausanne, Switzerland on Thursday and Friday.

President of the Grenada Volleyball Association Richard Simon, leaves here on Wednesday for Lausanne. While there, Simon is expected to hold discussions with the head of the Caribbean Volleyball Association (CORZOVA), Mushtaque Mohammed and Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz on assistance for the development of the sport in Grenada.

“While there are many people playing Volleyball in Grenada, the organisation of the sport has not been effective in recent years. This is a great opportunity for us to seek the support of the regional and international federations to restore the game in Grenada,” Simon said.

He pointed out that plans are being drawn up for the coaching of interested persons in schools, the  private sector and villages around Grenada to be taught the rudiments of the game.

“Volleyball is an Olympic sport and as such we want to ensure we can harness the best available talent to participate in the development of the sport. Our focus therefore must be on the schools and the rebuilding of club structures in our communities,” he said.

Simon said one of the crucial areas of support being sought at this time is equipment and coaches, while pointing out that the game in Grenada is curently being served by Ministry of Sports personnel. He said the GVA also has the support of the Grenada Olympic Committee GOC for the revival of the sport.

At a recent CAZOVA congress in Trinidad, where Simon represented the Grenada Volleyball Association, the state of the game in the Caribbean was discussed. Norceca President Hoffiz, who attended the meeting, called on the region to “understand your value to the sport and your importance to the global development of the game.”

Simon said there is a need for persons playing the game in Grenada to come together to register clubs and formally organise the sport. He said executive members of the GVA will soon be calling on the respective communities where the game is played to a meeting to discuss the future of the game in Grenada and to put in place structures for its sustained development.

"Volleyball is a sport that can be played by sportsmen and sportswomen in other disciplines in their off season to keep them in shape for their own areas of sport. However our objective is to develop a cadre of athletes whose first choice or sole sport is volleyball. Our sport is year round with beach, indoor and outdoor competitions," the President said.

Simon took over as president of the GVA after the resignation of its President Ralph Thomas.