St. Elizabeth Volleyball Association Formed
Following the formation of two (2) Parish Associations in January 2015, the Jamaica Volleyball Association (JaVA) is sticking to the script of institutional strengthening by forming the St Elizabeth Volleyball Association (SEVA).
The new Parish Association was commissioned during a meeting held at the Santa Cruz Primary and Junior High School on Thursday February 12, 2015. The interim Executive Committee comprises Dietrich Chistie - President, Omar Thomas - General Secretary, Suellen Blake - Treasurer and Tatyana Fiddis - PRO. Haile Mika'el, JaVA's Western Region Coordinator will serve as an ex-officio member.
The meeting was chaired by JaVA President, Rudolph Speid, who charged the newest affiliates of JaVA to perform their duties diligently and within the Constitution of JaVA. "JaVA currently has only a small footprint in St Elizabeth through the primary-level school programme," Reid noted; "your job will be to not only expand the reach of this programme but to establish and expand our reach in the secondary-level schools and at the community level," he continued. JaVA, in its push to transform volleyball into a major sport in Jamaica,is on a drive to establish Parish Associations in all fourteen (14) parishes by the end of 2015 to enable the National Federation to increase its capacity to administer volleyball and beach volleyball across the island. Speid also disclosed that the vast growth potential that these Parish Associations present will result in a commensurate demand for equipment to support this growth. JaVA currently receives an allocation of equipment for NORCECA Volleyball Confederation but the JaVA President noted that the need was already greater than the allocation before the formation of these Parish Associations; the need for sponsorship support is therefore apparent.