There was wide participation in the beach volleyball seminar recently held by the Guyana Volleyball Federation [GVF] in collaboration with the International Volleyball Federation [FIVB] at the Guyana Table Tennis Association Training Centre in the National Park.
According to head of the technical committee of the GVF, John Flores, participants at the seminar came from as far as Orealla in Region Six to Kabakaburi in Region Two and Moruca in Region One. The seminar was conducted by Magda Lima, an instructor attached to the [FIVB] and ran from October 15 -19.
Lima, a Brazilian national, has represented Brazil in beach volleyball for approximately twenty years, and last played about four years ago in Australia. She also worked as an instructor with Natalie Cooke, who heads a beach volleyball association in Australia. She started working with the [FIVB] as an instructor in 2005, and has since held clinics in Europe, Asia and South America.
Trevor Smith, a vice-president of the GVF, told Stabroek Sport that beach volleyball was not new to the federation; the organization was simply re-focusing on this form of the game because of the paucity of indoor facilities; the rapidly growing popularity of the game; economy and convenience. With regard to the former, Smith pointed out that unlike indoor volleyball, beach volleyballers do not necessarily have to incur heavy financial expenditure to outfit themselves. And as far as convenience was concerned, Smith explained that whereas the indoor form of the game must be played with teams of seven, outdoor volleyball could be played with just two persons. It is therefore easier for interested persons to become involved in the outdoor form. Finally, Smith explained that contrary to the impression conveyed by its name, the game does not necessarily have to be played on a beach, but could be played wherever there is sand.
Smith also said that the federation was encouraged to zero in on outdoor volleyball because they were buoyed by the performance of the a-man team which participated in a tournament in Suriname. The team placed second.
Finally, Smith informed Stabroek Sport that the GVF has been invited to participate in the Sizzling Sands tournament next month in Barbados. This invitation, he said, arose out of a visit by Paul White, who administers the tournament. The GVF is eagerly looking forward to this tournament, he said, and is confident that whoever represent Guyana would perform creditably.
