The Belize Volleyball Association is making history after their U19 male team and their U21 Female team qualified to compete in the Continental Volleyball Championships. It's the first time any Belizean volleyball team will compete at this level, and according to the president of the association, it's because of the outstanding performance of the players in the Central American Championship.
Now, the teams will be playing in the big leagues, and President Allan Sharp says if nothing else, he hopes that this opportunity will motivate the players and teach them that they're just as good as any other country.
Allan Sharp, President, Belize Volleyball Association
"This is the first time Belize has qualified in any of the underage continental championships. We have both our U19 male and our U21 female that have qualified for these games. The reason this is so huge is that in these tournaments there are only 8 teams, Belize is one of 8 in all of North America, that is from Canada down to Panama and Trinidad, all the countries, we are one of the 8 and so we have moved up into a new level of playing, a new level of competition and we are so happy because our teams have been working so hard, they have been doing well at the tournaments and having done well at the tournaments is what has gained us these ranking points to now have qualified for the tournament."
"Fortunately, both programs have not gone dormant even after playing the games, they have been in training, we weren't in the training ready to be notified so quickly but we got the notification and right away stepped up the training. As far as the playing in those tournaments we have to realize we're playing against the big countries but that's why we play the game. Our players are going to be the same age as their players, our players have been growing and getting better each time. We are at that technical level, that's why so many of our athletes are going on scholarships because they are at that level so we know they can compete."
"The thing I think is going to come most out of this is the motivation for the players. In past time when we have had the opportunity to play at high level, the players come back super motivated and they really step to another level. They realize they can see players from big countries that are no better than them, same talent, so why can't they just do it themselves, so it opens their eyes to a belief that they can do well and I think motivation is the biggest thing that we are expecting. If we do super well, the next level is the world championship, that's… I think I will start crying if we make that one."
The female team will be going to Mexico from May 23rd to the 28th, and the male team will be heading to Guatemala from March 13th to 18th.
