Preparations for the JaVA/Phillip Greenland Developmental Volleyball Championship (formerly the JaVA U-13 School Volleyball Chamionship) are in high gear as several primary-level schools from across the island have registered for the 2014 iteration of the Championship.
The National Championship, which commenced in 2010 with 17 schools, grew to 57 schools in 2013. Major Warrington Dixon, JaVA’s School Development Manager, expressed optimism that, based on the trend and current interest, participation will be closer to 100 schools this year. “This is no small feat. We have had to essentially run this competition on a ‘shoe-string budget’ yearly because no sponsor has so far responded favourably to our proposals. The limitations of the competition have had little impact on the enthusiasm of the schools however, as each year much more interest is shown.”
In order to help the schools prepare for the Championship, coaching clinics are being held at parish level.The coaching clinic for St Elizabeth was held on Monday 22 September 2014 and the one for schools in Kingston and St Andrew will be held at Jesse Ripol on Tuesday 23rd September 2014 from 11am to 3pm. This year will mark the first time Kingston and St Andrew will be fully on board with the competition. “This is one of the most promising occurrences of this year’s competition to date” stated Dixon. “Close to 20 schools from this zone have expressed interest so far. Even if we only realize half of this interest in actual participation, this would be a landmark achievement.”
Other clinics are being organized for the other parishes before the parish-level competitions, which will be held between the last week of October and last week of November 2014. The top teams from each parish will then advance to the National Finals at the National Stadium on 05 December 2014.
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