The quest for regional dominance, among the English-speaking Caribbean countries, will start on Sunday for the men's national volleyball squad.
The 12-man team left for St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, on Friday to compete in the Caribbean Volleyball Championships (CVC) which is a qualifier for other regional and international tournaments. The men's team won the bronze medal two years ago when the event was held in Suriname. Outside hitter, Prince Wilson is confident that they can play in the gold medal game, again, but noted that it can only be achieved if they continue to play together as a cohesive unit.
"We must set all of our differences aside and play as one," Wilson said. "This is a strong team, very versatile and that helps. We've played against some of the countries in the past and we know what to expect but we are not putting anything past any team. We are going in there with the mind set to dominate and win every set so that we can take the pool. Once we advance, it will be a new ball game, but nonetheless we are confident and ready to play."
The national program was served a blow, several weeks ago, when their uniforms were stolen from outside Sir Kendal G.L. Isaacs gymnasium. The uniforms were taken during a practice session. It cost the team $10,000 to replace the uniforms, which had a price tag of $7,500. The additional funds were used to expedite the order and for shipping and printing.
Acting president of the Bahamas Volleyball Federation (BVF) Joe Smith is still pleading with the public for financial assistance.
He said: "We are in a big hole because we didn't get the financial backing we thought we were going to get from the ministry. When they stole the uniforms that put us in a loop, and now we are struggling trying to find money to purchase the airline tickets for the women's team. Their tickets are ranging from $900-$1,200 per person. The women are coming in another seven to eight days. The per diem was another $9,000. So you can see the financial bind we are in, just trying to attend this tournament which is mandatory. We need both teams here so we can earn a spot in the upcoming qualifiers in August.
"My expectations for the teams are very high. I told them not to worry about the financial problems or the fact that the uniforms were stolen. They were all able to bounce back from that and the mind set has not changed. I see all two teams winning a medal. The men are up first and they are very confident. We are still awaiting confirmation from one of the key players, but other than that I think they will get nothing less than a silver."
The women's tournament will start July 22-31 and will also be held in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

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