Jamaica has been named as the hosts of the 2024 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) U19 Boys and Girls Championships. The highly anticipated tournament is scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 5, 2024, and will unfold at the prestigious G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

The confirmation of Jamaica as the host country and the specified dates came through a letter from CAZOVA President Mushtaque Mohammed, as revealed by the Jamaica Volleyball Association (JaVA) in a press release on Thursday.

This marks a significant milestone for Jamaica as it marks the first international volleyball event to be hosted since the onset of the global pandemic.

Jamaica has a rich history of hosting successful volleyball events, having previously organized the CAZOVA U18 Girls and U19 Boys Championships in 2019 at the G.C. Foster College. The Senior Women’s CAZOVA Championship took place in 2017 at the National Indoor Sports Centre, while the CAZOVA U19 Boys Championship in 2015, held at G.C. Foster, saw Jamaica emerging as champions, securing the nation's first-ever international volleyball title at any level.

The Caribbean island has also been a host for high-profile beach volleyball events, including the Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualification in 2015 and 2016, as well as the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tournaments in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

With the hosting rights secured, Jamaica has wasted no time in preparing its teams for the upcoming championships. Over the weekend, more than 100 student-athletes participated in tryouts at the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport. The participants included athletes currently engaged in the ISSA National U19 Volleyball Championships, showcasing the depth of talent and dedication within the Jamaican volleyball community.

Jamaica Volleyball Association President, Jacqueline Cowan, was re-elected as the General Secretary on the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) board. She was selected during the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association’s (CAZOVA) Electoral Congress held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Sunday.

Trinidad and Tobago's Mushtaque Mohammed was also re-elected president during the electoral congress, which determined the new board to guide CAZOVA until 2027.

Other members of the newly appointed CAZOVA Board are Kennedy McGowan, First Vice-President (Cayman Islands), Gisette Emer, Second Vice-President (Bonaire), Kurtwood Greene Snr, Treasurer (Bahamas), Filomena Daniel-Curiel, Board Member (Aruba), and Mark Lewis, Board Member (Barbados) a former Jamaica Indoor and Beach Volleyball National
Representative now residing in Barbados.

Philippe Lirus, Honorary Board Member (Martinique) and Daymian Stewart, Executive Director (Trinidad and Tobago), also secured slots on the board.

Along with those elected, there were also representatives from Curacao, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Suriname, and US Virgin Islands, at the congress.

Jamaica’s beach volleyball teams are set to participate in the 2022 North, Central America and Caribbean Confederation (NORCECA) Beach Volleyball Tour this year thanks to the timely intervention of the Jamaica Olympic Association that has provided the necessary funding to the Jamaica Volleyball Association (JaVA).

The 2024 Olympic cycle began in 2020, and without being able to compete for the last two years, Jamaica’s teams are forced to play catch up as other countries in the region were able to continue to train, compete and improve their rankings.

The lack of funding has also presented challenges as the JaVA was only able to send their Men’s team to the tour that is currently being held in Varadero, Cuba, and only the Women will be able to compete in the tour to be held in La Paz, Mexico from May 13-16, 2022.

However, thanks to the JOA, the JaVA will now be able to compete in the 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tours, which is used to earn points and improve rankings in order to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games and the Olympics.

With the support of the JOA, Jamaica will be sending both Men and Women's Beach Volleyball Teams on the following tours:

July 28 – July 31 – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

August 4- August 8 - Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

August 25 – August 29 – Canada

September 29 – October 3 – Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

November 3 – November 7 – Hato Mayer, Dominican Republic

Audley Weir, General Secretary of JaVA, in thanking the JOA said “due to the financial support from the JOA, Jamaica is poised to qualify for major tournaments, as the lack of funding and not being able to participate in competitions in the past, has seen our teams narrowly missing out on qualifying for both the Olympic and Commonwealth Games,” he said.

A women’s pair of Chauna Kelly and Petal Smith will depart Jamaica on Friday for the Dominican Republic where they will participate in the Beach World Championship Qualifiers from April 16-18, 2022.

Jamaica will play in Group A alongside Canada, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Curacao. Group B comprises Cuba, Mexico, US Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica and the Cayman Islands.

Each team will play in a round-robin format with the top two teams from each group advancing to the 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championship which will take place in Rome, Italy from June 7th to 19th, 2022.

Jamaica is resuming competition in beach volleyball after a two-year hiatus prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The team will be accompanied by Coach Oneil Ebanks.