GVF to focus on schools, more international games for 2019

– men’s tourney in Argentina, females in Brazil

By Clifton Ross

Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF) President Levi Nedd said plans were in place to get his players in the best form ahead of the Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualifiers in Argentina while plans to spike off a referee’s course were also on the cards.
Nedd told Guyana Times Sport that he was thrilled with how 2019 got underway last Sunday with the GVF’s first-ever beach tourney held at the Marriott beachfront.
“It was excellent (Sunday’s tournament), we had a great turnout by players and

officials and the environment was beautiful for outdoor volleyball. We had a good tournament and the players were fantastic, but, unfortunately, bad light stopped our finals, but in all, it was a good day for us.”
Among the players selected for March’s Argentina trip are the national pair of Ian Bagot and Quacy Matheson along with Juan Velazquez and Vance Harding.
The female contingent from Guyana will be represented by Candacy Mentore and Philana Sampson, who will seek to lay the foundation for the males as they play the first tourney set for April, in Brazil.
The GVF President said another area of emphasis will be that of the males and females who will be preparing for February’s French Guiana Invitational tournament.
Nedd hinted that the referee course was an important area of concern as the world body – the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) has mandated that referees be properly equipped.
The GVF boss said that the course would be a refresher for some and for others a new path, but explained that it was important to have everyone well qualified, as the referees have one of the most important roles in a match and thus should be properly trained and packaged correctly.
Upon his ascending to the presidency, Nedd winged out to Mexico during the latter part of 2018 with hopes of putting Guyana on the map. Nedd said during his trip he reignited relationships with ex-players and coaches, some of whom are ranked members within the FIVB, and they have pledged their support in helping Guyana to reach volleyball supremacy.
The GVF Competitions Committee, headed by Dwayne Scott, also gained praise from the President, who thanked Scott and his team from making Sunday’s tournament as huge success and hoped for continuity in the future.
Nedd further pointed out that 2019 would see the GVF going hard on its plan to bring the sport into schools. Since 2018, the initiative had been created by Nedd when he was just a national coach to help spread volleyball in the school system; however, with him now being president of the GVF, he said that plans would be set to get the project going forward, but help from the respective Government Ministries was needed.
According to Nedd, the FIVB has also weighed in on the significance of getting volleyball into the local school system and has backed the initiative with its slogan, which is “Act Now”. The GVF is also set to confirm the fixtures for the referees training seminar in the near future.