Belize Volleyball Makes History, Again! This Time in Beach Volleyball

Last week, we reported on the U-nineteen male national volleyball team and the U-twenty-one national female volleyball team making history when they were selected to compete at a higher level of the sport at the Continental Volleyball Championships. Well tonight, we can report that Belize Volleyball Association is making history once again, this time in beach volleyball. Belize has qualified in both men and women to the Central American and Caribbean Games to be held in El Salvador from June twenty-third to July eighth, 2023. It’s an exciting time for the sport as the teams have successfully earned ranking points to participate. President of the Belize Volleyball Association, Allan Sharp, says that these games are next in line after the Olympic Games and Pan American Games.

Allan Sharp

Allan Sharp, President, Belize Volleyball Association

“2023 is turning out to be a blessing, but 2023 is only happening because of the work put in over the past years. In the beach volleyball games it is because of the points and the rankings that we have done over the past years in going to play all over the Caribbean, all over Mexico in beach volleyball. And we’ve been doing well. We’ve been climbing the ladder every time and because of those points we now are managing to get to this event. The Central American and the Caribbean Games are third in line. There is the Olympics, there is the Pan American Games and then the Central American and the Caribbean. You got to qualify for it; you don’t automatically get to go and it is the first time we are qualifying and in both men and women so we are super happy. I can’t say more than happy; I have cold seed and all – I’m so excited. Beach volleyball is growing and truthfully, Belize is prime for beach volleyball. We have the sun and the beach, great tourist place so we have all that it takes. To get the teams ready, they have to continue to train and what will happen right away is there are some international tournaments, the same ones that we played to qualify to this one are continuing, so we want to go and compete in those. We have some happening in Mexico, some happening in the north part of the Caribbean. And we want to get to those between now and June when we have to leave. So we are going to be raising funds and going after qualifying in those tournaments because we need those points to qualify to the next one, plus we are still trying to get into the Pan American Games at the end of this year.”