‘Speed up the beach volleyball facility’ – Jomadean May

When first vice-president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Volleyball Association Jomadean May attended the 24th Congress of the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA), held in San Jose, Costa Rica, he could not put in a bid for St Vincent and the Grenadines to be part of the 2018 NORCECA Beach Tour.

This is because St Vincent and the Grenadines is yet to move from talking about a beach volleyball facility, to realizing it.

Putting up their hands and be counted were Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Panama, Cuba, Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Grenada, Martinique, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago.

And, as an incentive for hosting, NORCECA has agreed to give 50 per cent financial support for the category one and two federations.

May holds the view that St Vincent and the Grenadines has to act fast in putting itself in the mix, so as to maximize the benefits which come with hosting of such beach volleyball tournaments.

“Hosting these tournaments, even though they pose several challenges, will go a long way in helping us develop the sport, not just for beach volleyball, but court volleyball as well… We should not have a tunnel vision about it, as we are 32 islands, combined with many beaches,” May argued.

“We have too many beaches not to do the research to see which can be used and beach volleyball is a very good sports tourism tool… Sports and tourism can co-exist and produce growth,” he added.

May proffered that with the possible re-start of the Buccament Bay Resort, that venue, with some of its ready-done infrastructure, can be an option in the short term.

“Not much construction is needed, except from some bleachers for spectators,” May advised.

Many pronouncements have been made from Government circles, about St Vincent and the Grenadines getting a beach volleyball court, with the back of the Arnos Vale Playing Field being the preferred site.

 Former president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Volleyball Association Eardley Martin, after returning from the 2013 NORCECA Congress, had announced that St Vincent and the Grenadines had secured a beach volleyball court, compliments the confederation.

Since, nothing has come to fruition.

Beach volleyball is the only discipline that St Vincent and the Grenadines has qualified for an Olympic Games, when in 2013, the male pair of Delshun Welcome and Rodell Fraser qualified for the 2014 games.

It was also the first occasion that St Vincent and the Grenadines was represented at the Olympic Games in a team sport.