SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 15, 2010 – The first NORCECA course of Beach Volleyball Information System (BVIS) organized by the FIVB Regional Development Center in Dominican Republic concluded on Monday with the presentation of certificates to all the participants from eighteen countries.
 

The closing ceremony was attended by Guatemalan Mrs. Marta Centeno de Sajche. More Spanish Click here to see Photos of the Couse

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 11, 2010 – The first NORCECA course of Beach Volleyball Information System (BVIS) organized by the FIVB Development Center in Dominican Republic started on Thursday with participants from eighteen countries.

The course is directed by Brazilian Ms. Claudia Laciga, a renowned FIVB Technical Supervisor and includes theoretical and practical instructions to prepare the qualification tournaments, entry lists, seeds of players, drawing of lots, brackets. More Spanish

The FIVB, has appointed Mrs. Claudia Laciga from Brazil as instructor to the next Beach Volleyball Informatic System Course (BV-VIS), programmed to be held on March 11-15, in Dominican Republic.

Mrs. Claudia Laciga has extensive experience in the Volleyball Informatic System having worked in events of great importance.

Up to now 20 countries have confirmed their participation which demonstrates the great interest of the members of NORCECA to develop Beach Volleyball.  More Spanish Click here to see Photos of the Couse

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 9, 2010 – United States, Canada and Puerto Rico have registered two men’s teams to participate in the first leg of the Beach Volleyball NORCECA Circuit in Cayman Islands on March 18-21.

Players from 12 countries will take part in the opening competition of the calendar that includes a confederation’s record of thirteen stops.

Canada, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis. More Spanish

GUATEMALA, March 9, 2010 – The representatives of the seven country members of the Central American Volleyball Federations Association held the General Assembly of the organization on March 5-6 under the presidency of Mrs. Marta Centeno de Sajché.

The main decision taken during the meetings was to prepare a Regional Development Plan to be submitted to the consideration of NORCECA and FIVB. More Spanish

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, March 8, 2010 – Mexicans Bibi Candelas and Mayra Garcia scored an astonishing victory over SWATCH FIVB 2009 World Champions Jennifer Kessy and April Ross of USA to win the gold medal of four-team Beach Volleyball Tournament to celebrate the Bicentennial Mexican Independence.

The 26^th world-ranked Candelas-Garcia prevailed against the favourite team of Kessy-Ross in a three-set battle by score of  21-17, 20-22, 19-17 on Sunday.

“We are so happy with the result,” said Candelas. “We knew it was not an easy match but. More Spanish

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, March 3, 2010 - The St. Lucia Volleyball Association was awarded as the “2009 Association of the Year” during a ceremony held last weekend with the presence of the highest sports authorities of the island. The top athletes of the country were also honoured.

The annual National Sports Award Ceremony was presided over by Mr. Leonard “Spider” Montoute, the Minister of Sports of the country. More Spanish

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, March 3, 2010 - The sport festivities of the Bicentennial of Mexico Independence to be held in the tourist region of Puerto Vallarta include a four-team Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament featuring world class players from United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and hosts Mexico. The event runs through March 5-7.

Americans April Ross and Jennifer Kessy, winners of last year’s World Championship in Stavanger, Norway and currently placed in third place of FIVB World Rankings are considered the favourites. More Spanish

LIMA, Peru, February 28, 2010 – Peru prevailed against Dominican Republic winning a five-setter in the gold medal match of the First Women’s International Tournament held at Miguel Grau del Callao Gymnasium of Lima.

Daniela Uribe scored with one ace for the final point of the match that finished 25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 19-25, 15-13. Uribe, Clarivett Yllescas and Karla Ortiz were the best players for Peru during the three-day competition. Both Peru and Dominican Republic arrived unbeaten to the final contest following. More Spanish pic:Carlos López, del Perú

LIMA, Peru, February 27, 2010 – Dominican Republic and hosts Peru will play for the gold medal in the First International Women’s Junior Tournament following their victories of Friday over Chile and Puerto Rico respectively.

The Dominicans won in straight sets by score of 25-12, 26-24, 25-13 and the Peruvians claimed a 25-23, 25-12, 25-8 victory.

The Chileans were in front 22-19 in the second set only to see the..More Spanish      pic: Carlos López, del Perú

LIMA, Perú, February 26, 2010 – Dominican Republic and hosts Peru claimed victories during the opening day of the First Women’s Junior International Tournament at Miguel Grau Coliseum.

The Dominicans, led by Estefanie Arias and Brenda Castillo, defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-15) and the Peruvians got an easy win against Chile by score of 25-10, 25-16, 25-12.

“We are here with the goal of winning the tournament and we had a good start”, said Castillo, the great Dominican libero. Alejandro Arconada, the coach of Puerto Rico. More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 24, 2010 – Junior teams from Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico will join the sides of Chile and hosts Peru in the First Women’s International Summer Tournament to be played at Miguel Grau Coliseum of Lima from February 25-27.

The Peruvian National Federation, presided by Juan Castro, announced the match-schedule on Wednesday which features a NORCECA duel between Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic in the opening. More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 22, 2010 – For second consecutive year the tournament of Cayman Islands will open the action of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit which will expand to a total of 14 stops this year.

The event will take place in Grand Cayman, the biggest of the islands, on March 17-22.

“We are excited about the start of the competition in Cayman Islands,” said Arnaldo Sanchez, Technical Director of the circuit. More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 20, 2010 – An increased number of doping tests is foreseen for the 2010 competitions organized by the NORCECA Confederation.

The announcement was made by Dr. Andres Piña, President of the Medical Commission of NORCECA, which held its annual meeting on Saturday at the headquarters of the institution in Santo Domingo. Piña, who is also member of the FIVB Medical Commission, informed that during the one-day meeting. More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 19, 2010 – The establishment of new development centers in the three zones of the NORCECA Confederation has been proposed by the Technical, Development and Coaches Commission during its annual meeting in Santo Domingo.

The new centers would operate under the supervision of the FIVB Regional Development Center in Dominican Republic. More Spanish

KINGSTON, Jamaica, February 16, 2010 - Jamaica Sports Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange gave the government's commitment to local volleyball and encouraged beach volleyball players Mark Lewis and Danny Wilson to reach for greater heights and take Jamaica and the Caribbean to the world ranks.

Grange made her statements while taking a turn at the Talk of the Town meeting held at Jamaican Pegasus Hotel with the attendance of Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, President of NORCECA. More Spanish

KINGSTON, Jamaica, February 16, 2010 – The President of NORCECA successfully concluded a visit to Jamaica kicking off a campaign to promote the practice of Volleyball Beach Volleyball in the island.

Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, accompanied by Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed, President of CAZOVA, met with Ms. Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s Minister for Youth, Sport and Culture of Jamaica and Major Warrenton Dixon, President of Jamaica Volleyball Association. They also visited public schools and attended a match between scholar players. More Spanish

GROS ISLET, St Lucia, February 11, 2010 – The St Lucia Volleyball Federation held its sixth Reognition Ceremony at Glen Castle Hotel in Gros Islet Bay on Monday.

Jason Octave, who won MVP at the NORCECA FIVb World Championship qualifiers held in St Lucia, picked up Male Volleyball Player of the Year, whilst Dania Hamilton picked up the female award. “The association is doing a good job, I don’t think there is any doubt about that,” Donovan Williams. More

San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 11, 2010 – The forty-second edition of the Puerto Rican Women’s Superior League kicks off on Friday with the participation of ten teams and standout players from USA, Canada, Croatia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela joining the native talent for the tournament whose regular series runs through April 10.

Defending champions Toa Baja and runner-ups Corozal, the winningest team in the history of the league, are once again among the strongest sides in the traditional competition. More Spanish

CAIRO, Egypt, February 8, 2010- The African volleyball Confederation (CAVB) lost one of the great pillars of volleyball all over the world after the CAVB Vice- President Mr. Baba Sy passed away in the capital of Senegal in Dakar on Monday after a long illness.

 
Baba Sy, who is also a member of the FIVB coaching commission, was one of the major anchors of the development of the sport not only in Africa but also in most of the world continents through his participation in worldwide courses. More

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 8, 2010 – The NORCECA Press Commission has been expanded with the valuable addition of three new members. The commission held its annual meeting on Sunday.

Mexican Juan Jose Martinez, Guatemalan Rodolfo Andreu and Winston Duncan of Anguilla are the new members. Besides, Cuban Lissette Ricardo was voted as interim President. During the meeting, it was discussed the coverage of the 2010 Beach Volleyball Circuit, the Volleyball competitions. More Spanish

Paramaribo, Suriname, February 8, 2010 – “There are no concerns. Suriname can host the Caribbean Cup 2010.”

That is what president Mushtaque Mohammed from the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association said after a meeting with the Minister of Education Mr. Edwin Wolf, Sport Director Mr. Michael Watson, President Gerard van Dijk of the Suriname Olympic Committee, and Winston Cairo. More

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, February 7, 2010 – Corozal claimed their second consecutive title and ninth overall in the Puerto Rican Men’s Superior League by defeating Guaynabo in a five-setter by score of 21-25, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23, 15-9 played in front of more than 5,000 spectators at Mario Morales Gymnasium.

Losers of the first two matches of the best-of-seven final series, the eventual champions went on to win the next four. Three of the six matches were extended to the five-set limit. Casey Patterson, selected the Most Valuable Player of the series, led Corozal with 23 points. Robert Nielsen and Matthew McKinney. More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 6, 2010 – The VIS and Statistics Commission of NORCECA held its inaugural meeting chaired by Mrs. Judith Sandino of Nicaragua.

The purpose of this commission is to promote the development of the info system around the countries of the Confederation and to establish a data base of facts and figures of teams and players during their participation in the different competitions. The members discussed the use of the two liberos format in some competitions. More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 5, 2010 – The Refereeing Commission of NORCECA, presided by Jose Ramon Perez Vento, held its annual meeting in Santo Domingo and it was stressed the importance of promoting training courses destined to increase the number of referees within the Confederation.

Perez Vento said it was of satisfaction to see how new referees emerged last year in countries that did not have in the past and also the celebration of the first international course.  More Spanish

COROZAL, Puerto Rico, February 5, 2010 – Corozal is one victory away from revalidating the title in the Puerto Rico Men’s Superior League following a 15-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-13 win over Guaynabo to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Final Series.

Robert Nielsen topped the winners with 18 points and Casey Patterson and Matthew McKinney added 15 and 10 respectively. Lucas Chavez led losers with 14 points and Thomas Hoff and Eric Vance charted 8 apiece. The sixth match of the series will be played in Guayanabo on Saturday. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, February 4, 2010 – Defending champions Corozal edged Guaynabo in five sets (21-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23, 15-12) tying the best-of-seven Puerto Rico Men’s Final Series at two victories apiece.

Losers of two consecutive matches for the first time of the year, the Plataneros have caught momentum when it matters most. The action moves to Corozal on Friday.

“Let’s see how they react now,” said Fernando Morales, captain of the winners. “That’s the way the Finals should be.” More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 2, 2010 – Brenda Castillo, the much heralded Dominican libero, has been named the 2009 Athlete of the Year by her country National Olympic Committee.

The announcement was made Monday night by Luis Mejia, President of the DR Olympic Committee, during the annual Gala Dinner of the institution held at Renaissance Jaragua Hotel in Santo Domingo.

Among her last year’s many awards Castillo was selected as Most Valuable Player of the FIVB Junior Women’s World Championship. More Spanish

COROZAL, Puerto Rico, February 2, 2010 – Defending champions Corozal recorded its first victory in the Puerto Rico Men’s Final Series by sweeping Guaynabo 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 on Monday relying on a balanced attack and strong defense at the net .

Losers of the first two matches of the best-of-seven playoffs, Corozal dominated this time with an overwhelming advantage in the blocking category outscoring its rivals 16-4. The fourth match of the series will be played on Tuesday in Guaynabo. “It is a very important victory for us,” More Spanish

Guatemala, February 1, 2010 – Maria Jose Orellana and Ana Ramirez continue on a smooth path towards the women’s title of the Guatemala Beach Volleyball Tournament after winning their third consecutive leg of the five-stop competition completed at Campo Marte in downtown Guatemala on Sunday.

Orellana and Ramirez have accumulated 600 points by defeating the pair of Blanca Recinos and Susana Alvarado (540) in the gold medal contest in each opportunity. The unbeaten leaders downed Recinos and Alvarado 2-0 (21-11, 21-18).  More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, January 30, 2010 – Guaynabo took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Final Series of Puerto Rican Men’s Superior League following a dramatic five-set victory over defending champions Corozal in the second match of the playoffs. The score was 25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-13.

Lucas Chavez and Eric Vance with 27 and 23 points respectively were the main offensive weapons of the winners. Alexis Matias added eight and Thomas Hoff contributed 6, including three blocks. More Spanish

COROZAL, Puerto Rico, January 30, 2010 – Guaynabo defeated defending champions Corozal 25-19, 25-21, 25-21 in the first match of the best-of-seven Final Series of the Puerto Rico Men’s Professional League on Friday.

“We read very well the actions of their setter and neutralized the opponent’s attack,” said Ramon Hernández, the winners’ coach. “Our reception was did the job because Corozal is a team that depends heavily in the strength of its services.” David Aleman, the coach of Corozal, gave credit to the opponents saying “they played very well, almost perfect.” More Spanish

Mexico City, January 28, 2010 – Saul Castro Verdugo, First Executive Vice President of NORCECA, has been unanimously voted as new permanent member of the Mexican Olympic Committee. He was elected during the General Assembly of the institution held at the Sport Olympic Mexican Centre and chaired by its President Felipe Muñoz.

“I am very proud and honored,” said Castro Verdugo after taking the oath as new member. “Being elected to the Mexican Olympic Committee was one of my dreams when I started my career.  More Spanish

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, January 28, 2010 – The USA women’s national team will play an exhibition match against Chinese professional women’s league team Evergrande on February 2 as part of their intensive build up to the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix.
 

Star players Tracy Stalls, Heather Hughes and Jane Collymore - all members of USA’s 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix squad, which finished ninth - will be travelling with the team. Evergrande is coached by former USA women’s coach “Jenny” Lang Ping, who helped lead USA to silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. More Spanish

Lausanne, Switzerland, January 27, 2010 – The FIVB Development Department has announced that despite the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti, the Volleyball Cooperation Programme (VCP) due to place on April 5 will not be called off.

Given the severity of the disaster, it was initially unclear as to whether the VCP would take place, however it has now be postponed to the end of the year on a date yet to be decided. More Spanish

GUATEMALA, January 27, 2010 – The tandems of Alberto Ozuna-Julio Recinos and Rodrigo González-Andy Blanco are tied for first place after the completion of two of five legs in the Beach Volleyball League of Guatemala. 

Both pairs have totaled 360 points and are followed by the duet of Erick Garrido and Jorge Bolaños, winners of the second stop of the national circuit, who have 320 points. Garrido-Bolaños defeated Ozuna-Recinos 21-19, 21-15 in the match for first place last Sunday at Campo Marte while Gonzalez-Blanco. More Spanish

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, January 26, 2010 – Defending champions Plataneros de Corozal and Guaynabo Mets have advanced to the best-of-seven final series of the Men’s Puerto Rican Professional League that kicks off next Friday.

Both sides prevailed 4-1 in the semi final phase with Corozal defeating Carolina Giants by score of 25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23 for its fourth and decisive victory and Guaynabo recording a 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 against Ponce Lions. More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, January 24, 2010 – The NORCECA Volleyball Confederation made a donation of 20,000 bottles of water as emergency help to assist the victims of the earthquake that struck Haiti last January 12.

The sport institution based in Dominican Republic, which shares with Haiti the island of Hispaniola, delivered the aid through the Civil Defence, a Dominican government organization participating in the distribution of the donations in the impoverished country. More Spanish

HAMILTON, Bermuda, January 22, 2010 - Puerto Rican top volleyball coach Juan Cartagena will share his vast knowledge with Bermuda's future players at the Island's first ever Bermuda Volleyball Association Youth Camp.

The camp will be held at Cedar Bridge Academy, running from February 8 to 12 and will give students aged 12 and over the opportunity to learn basic volleyball skills. No prior experience is necessary. Cartagena, a Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) level three coach, has previously worked with the Puerto Rico. More Spanish

GUATEMALA, January 20, 2010 – Ana Ramirez and María Orellana won the first leg of the Guatemala Beach Volleyball League with a 21-15, 21-15 victory over Blanca Recinos and Susana Alvarado.

Ramirez and Orellana, who have been playing together for five years, reached the final by defeating Stefany Bolaños and Diana Arias 21-16, 21-18.

In the men’s bracket, Rodrigo Gonzales and Andy Blanco prevailed in a three-set battle against Alberto Ozuna and Julio Recinos. The score was 21-17, 12-21, 15-9. More Spanish

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, January 19, 2010 – The FIVB and the Norceca Confederation will join efforts in a campaign to raise funds, food and medicines destined to alleviate in the short term the suffering of millions of Haitians and to help the rebuilding of the Volleyball infrastructure of the country devastated by the occurrence of a huge earthquake on January 12.

Reports from the FIVB headquarters in Lausanne indicate that Mr. Jizhong Wei, President of the organization. More Spanish

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, January 18, 2010 – Hosts Curacao defeated defending champions Barbados 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 25-17) winning the gold medal of the CAZOVA Youth Boys’ Tournament.

The win earned Curacao the ticket to represent CAZOVA at the NORCECA Continental Championship next April in Guadalajara, Mexico, a qualifier to the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore later this year. MVP Stephan Ellis. More...P-2_for_match_6__BAR-CUR

HAVANA, Cuba, January 18, 2010 – The Cuban Volleyball National League Tournament with four teams in both genders will be played from January 29 to March 20 covering six provinces of Cuba.

Pinar del Rio, in the western part of the island, Villa Clara, Sancti Spiritus and Ciego de Avila, in the central zone, and Camaguey in the eastern, will host the eliminatory rounds while Havana will host the final stage starting on March 15. More Spanish

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, January 16, 2010 – Curacao crushed Trinidad & Tobago 25-11, 25-6, 25-10 in the second day of action of the CAZOVA Youth Boys’ Championship at Errol Rooi SDK of Curacao.

The boys from Curacao were superior in blocking and serving outmatching their opponents 12-6 at the net and 6-1 from the service line. The match lasted only 57 minutes.

 More ...P-2_for_match_4__CUR-TRI

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, January 15, 2010 - The defending champion Barbados enjoyed a successful start in the CAZOVA Youth Boys’ Championship by scoring a 25-18, 25-17, 25-15 victory against Trinidad & Tobago.

It was a very nervous Trinidad and Tobago Team which took the court and was unable to give a good pass in the beginning. More ...P-2_for_match_1__BAR-TRI

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, January 15, 2010 - The General Technical Meeting of the CAZOVA Youth Boys’ Tournament was held on Friday at Hotel Savannah in Willemstad before the start of the four-team competition.

President of CAZOVA, Mushtaque Mohammed explained the Martinique team had some difficulties and would not be able to attend the tournament.  More

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, January 14, 2010 - The NORCECA Confederation is in mourning after the tragic events developed in Haiti and the death of Mrs. Philomene Durant Joachim, the wife of Mr. Jacques Joachim of Haiti, one of the founders of the institution and honorary member of its Executive Committee. More Spanish

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, January 13, 2010- The CAZOVA Youth Boys’ Tournament is set to start on Friday 15, in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.  This is the first time Curacao will be hosting any international volleyball event and the organizing committee is very excited about its efforts to host this competition.  This Youth tournament is of great importance since it signals the start of the Youth Olympic Qualification.  More