JAMAICA VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION (JAVA)
The Formative Years
Volleyball was introduced to Jamaica in 1959 by Roy Matthews and W. Fred Green. Jamaica later joined the FIVB in 1961, participated in the Caribbean games in 1962 and organized female volleyball in 1964. Between 1969 and 1975 Jamaica also participated in a series of regional and international games.
National Involvement
There are currently a large number of persons who play volleyball informally. Structured involvement is realized through 14 x male and 7 x female teams at the Club level. At the High School level approximately 35 x male and 35 x female teams participate. There were approximately 80 Primary/Prep School actively competing in volleyball in 2014.
International Involvement
Jamaica has hosted and participated, with varying degrees of success, in volleyball and beach volleyball at the international level. Many of our players earn individual accolades when performing on these stages. However, as a team we are yet to realize our true potential. In 2013 our senior female team qualified to the 3rd round of the World Championship Qualifiers and but in creditable performances against the host Canada and Mexico. The ended the 4-team tournament in 3rd place. In the 2014 Caribbean Volleyball Championship (CVC) the team finished in 2nd place to the host and favourites, Trinidad and Tobago.
Jamaica has also earned noteworthy respect in beach volleyball on the international scene. Our prolific pair of Mark Lewis and the late Dany Wilson won several podium finishes in Confederation-level competitions. Our male and female teams made it to the 3rd round of the London 2012 Olympic Beach Volleyball Qualifiers and are now preparing for participation in the 2016 Rio Olympic qualifiers.
Development Initiatives
In 2010 JaVA launched a pilot project to introduce volleyball in primary-level schools. The competition started with 17 teams and has since grown to 80 teams as at the 2014 competition. The initiation of this grassroot programme and other youth development activities saw 16-yr-old Rojey Hutchinson and Shavar Bryan making history by qualifying to the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. The occasion marked the first time Jamaica was qualifying to an Olympic-level competition in a team sport. Hutchinson and Bryan were also involved in prior historic occasion when they, along with the female youth pair of Lisanne Roofe and Tionna Graham, competed in the FIVB U-19 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Portugal in 2013. Both teams had the fortune of receiving training support from the renown Brazilian beach volleyball star, Jackie Silva, who also accompanied them to Portugal.
The primary-level school competition has also provided the framework against which several Parish Associations were and are being formed. These Parish Associations are lead, in the main, by persons who have been the backbone of the successes realized in the primary-level competition.
Infrastructure
In December 2010 the FIVB, through its Development Fund, donated an Outdoor Synthetic Volleyball Court to the JaVA. The court was installed adjacent to Stadium East at the National Stadium and has since been a significant enabler for lower level competitions. The JaVA has however not been able to identify the funding necessary to develop the facility to the point of staging higher level competitions. As such we have to compete against other affluent sports for indoor courts owned by local Universities