The T&T senior men’s volleyball team is still in need of two airline tickets at an estimated TT$12,600 each (US$1,800) and registration fees to the sum of TT$24,500 (US$3,500) to confirm participation at the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Senior Men Continental Championship.
The tournament serves as a qualifier to the FIVB World Championship to be held in Russia next year.
The national team coached by FIVB Level III coach Gideon Dickson is due to leave on Monday for the eight-team tournament in Durango, Mexico and will take place from August 18- 24.
T&T will be one of two Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) representatives in the tournament along with Suriname having earned their places based on being the top two world-ranked teams in the region at 52nd and 73rd respectively.
However, T&T Volleyball Federation President Daymien Stewart told Guardian Media Sports on Wednesday that his organisation is still in need of TT$140,000.
He said: "We started today needing four tickets for players and a further $160,000 to service our budget and we have made some progress with the Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith helping us with two tickets which are reduced our financial needs at this time. We're continuing to reach out to corporate T&T for help."
Unlike the national women’s team, the national men's team is yet to qualify for a prestigious FIVB World Championship. T&T was crowned Caribbean champions, three times in recent history, 2010 in Suriname, and 2014 and 2017 on home soil and will be keen to make a deep run towards the World Championship.
Stewart said, “We have secured ten tickets so far for the men all on our own as a federation and we need two more tickets and the registration fees."
He explained, “The high cost of the flights stems from here in T&T as Caribbean Airlines is the lone airline that we have available to us and just to get to Miami, USA from here is an estimated TT$10,000 per person (US$1,430.00), and from Miami to Mexico it another TT$2,509.00 (US$370.00)."
Stewart was also full of praise for the selected team members and technical staff whom he said have all made the sacrifice and covered the cost of getting the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 Test done themselves.
With regards to the team, Stewart shared some bad news in that Portugal-based veteran Marc-Anthony Honore who plies his trade with reigning champion team SL Benfica is out of the tournament.
He said, Honore, 36, a middle-blocker Honore, who last represent T&T on home soil in 2017 is nursing a back injury and is unavailable.
In his absence, Joel Theodore and Adriel Roberts will be expected to perform blocking duties while the rest of the team includes captain Akim Bushe, Brandon Legall, Ryan Stewart, Newton Grant, Daynte Stewart, Nicholas Williams, Enrique Harry and Kameron Donald while Darnel David will travel as the assistant coach.
Following the completion of the men’s tournament, attention will turn towards the NORCECA Senior Women Continental Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico from August 24 to September 1.
The “Calypso Spikers”, the reigning eight-time Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) champions created history in 2017 when they qualified for the FIVB Women’s World Championship and will be representing the Caribbean at these important championships that will all serve as qualification events.
T&T women won its first of eight titles overall in 1996 under former coach Macsood Ali and then under the supervision of Cuban-born Francisco Cruz, the team won in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2017 to move ahead of long-time rival Barbados which recorded wins in 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004 as having won the most titles.
Expected to feature for the national women’s team are Darlene Ramdin, Krystle Esdelle, Channon Thompson, Delicia Pierre, and Kaylon Cruickshank.
T&T Team: Joel Theodore, Adriel Roberts, Akim Bushe (captain), Brandon Legall, Ryan Stewart, Newton Grant, Daynte Stewart, Nicholas Williams, Enrique Harry, Kameron Donald.
Technical staff: Gideon Dickson (coach), Darnel David (assistant coach).