Too much; Too often

It is becoming too bit of a norm for the sport of Volleyball to go through a prolonged period of administrative fallouts , only to get a revival of sorts, then return to another lull.

That has been the tale of the sport for the past two decades.

Whilst the latest episode did not get into the public domain as did previous ones, it was hurtful to say the least for those who were aware of the unfolding situations.

In short, for the better part of the last year and a half, the executive of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Volleyball Association was dysfunctional.

Accordingly, most had abandoned their posts, leaving the organisation rudderless. Consequently, the sport drifted off into nothingness, despite the realities caused by the vagaries of COVID- 19 and the issues surrounding the eruptions of our La Soufriere volcano.

Luckily, it was not drawn-out and did not become a public discussion, as was the case five years ago.

Recognition must be given to Suzanna Leigertwood- Ollivierre who stepped in to take charge of an association which was sliding at the rate of knots. Like others before her, some things went awry and all fell down again.

However, last Saturday former president, Eardley Martin re-entered the fray, answering the call to lead an organisation which has a history of suffering from an irregular heartbeat.

He thus has a task on hand to resuscitate Volleyball, a sport that has so much potential for St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) as a whole.

Many may not know, but St Vincent and the Grenadines’ men’s team has carved a reputation of prowess in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) setup. This became pronounced just under five years ago, when the team earned a spot to the Inter -Continental Championships in Colorado Springs in 2017.

The team repeated that feat one year later, after winning the ECVA title again in Grenada, thus qualifying again for the Inter- Continental Championships. However, they were unable to fulfil their spot in the Canada showdown, because of some administrative hiccups.

Before that though, SVG won the Under-18 title in 2011 and four years later did it again by champing the ECVA Youth title. These two triumphs saw St Vincent and the Grenadines gaining spots in Inter- Continental Championships in the USA and Canada, respectively.

In 2013 at the ECVA Beach Volleyball Championships, the pair of Delshun Welcome and Rodell Fraser qualified for the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, 2014.

Then in 2018, the duo of Micah Glasgow and Enrico Louraine, qualified for the Youth Olympics in Argentina.

Apart from the triumphs listed, St Vincent and the Grenadines had inched its way as a power house especially in the male division of the annual Windward Islands Schools’ Games.

These records of achievement sometimes belie what occurs behind the administrative curtains, as they often blind the many blots.

The downsides of Volleyball have occurred too frequently, causing the regular stops and starts.

Hopefully, the new executive can somehow, miraculously excavate the sports from the low ebb to which it has descended.

But it will not come overnight and Martin has his work cut out. He and his executive which is replete with green horns, must show that tenacity to recover the lost ground.

They cannot do it alone, hence, all who have the know-how and love the sport of Volleyball must put up their hands and be counted among the revival crew.