BVA Indoor Volleyball Tournament From May 2-4
The Bermuda Volleyball Association will be hosting its annual international indoor tournament for club teams from May 2-4, 2019.
The tournament will feature teams from Canada, the US and Bermuda in both Men’s and Women’s divisions. The tournament will take place at the Warwick Academy Gym with matches from 6-10pm on Thursday, May 2 and Friday, May 3. Matches on Saturday will kick off at 9 am and run through the completion of the finals at approximately 6 pm.
The women’s division will feature Mt. Allison University from Canada along with Bermuda’s senior and junior national teams and a National Alumni team.
The Bermuda Senior Women’s team head coach, Elisabeth Rae stated, “The Bermuda Open is a valuable opportunity for Bermuda’s teams to compete and gain match experience. This is what our ladies have been working for and will serve as a building block for the US Open.”
The US Open Championships take place in Columbus, Ohio at the end of May. The Women’s program will be entering 2 teams in both the Bermuda Open and upcoming US Open, Island Spice and Island Time.
Junior Girls program will also be entering two teams and Head Coach Gary Leblanc said, “We’re very excited to play in the Bermuda Open.
“This tournament will be the last tournament of our long season and we look forward to playing in front of the home crowd. We feel that this has been our most successful season to date so we will give it our all and hope to do well against the tough competition that we know we will be up against.”
The men’s division will feature an American team from Baltimore, Maryland along with Bermuda’s senior and junior national teams and a National Alumni team.
The Junior Boys Team head coach Denise Somerville is also looking forward to this event, saying, “This is a wonderful opportunity for the Junior Boys National Team, BER Slammers, to be able to compete on home soil and more importantly in the Bermuda Open for the very first time.
“They have been working and training very hard and are looking forward to being able to show case their skills and passion for the sport despite being the only junior team in the tournament.” The Boys will use the Bermuda Open as a lead up to the AAU 2019 Junior Boys Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida in June.
The Bermuda Men’s National Team will also be competing. The team highlights many Bermudian athletes who have progressed through the Junior Program to now represent the senor side.
“Our Team will be led by Keiran Hamilton [Team Captain] and Eron Woods [Court Captain]. This competition is an opportunity for our team to continue learning how to work as a team, trust in themselves and their teammates and execute the skills we have been working so hard on since September. We are excited about the chance to compete,” said men’s team, head coach Bill Bucci.
In addition to giving Bermuda’s athletes a time to grow, the event will also feature overseas referees who will mentor our local refs to help them develop further.
The BVA said they would like to extend a special thank you to all of our sponsors who have helped to make the Bermuda Open possible: Bermuda Tourism Authority, Chubb, BGA and BDA Spirits. The Bermuda Open matches will be streamed live on the BVA’s website here.
