Photo Credit: Cleave Farrington

Photo Credit: Cleave Farrington

The BVI Armature Volleyball Association (BVIAVA) is hoping to use this weekend´s VolleyRama tournament as a spring board to elevate volleyball´s appeal and to integrate new players into the sport.

The inaugural tournament will be held on Saturday and Sunday at the Multipurpose Sports Complex beginning at 1 p.m. each day.

According to Public Relations Officer of the BVIAVA, Cleave Farrington, there is no limit on teams that can participate, but each team must four females. He said that each team must have three players on the court at all times and a female player must touch the ball at least once before it is returned.

Farrington stated that based on the number of teams entering the tournament a decision will be made about the scoring format. Fewer teams will see the use of a three-set format, but if the team pool is large then teams will play just a 25-point set.

He explained that there is an entrance fee of $20, which will go into a pool as the cash prize for the tournament´s winners.

"The more teams we have entering the tournament; the larger the cash prize will be," Farrington noted.

He said that VolleyRama is prelude to the BVIAVA´s Power league which begins the following week.

"We understand that we must grow the sport of volleyball and through this two-day tournament we are hoping that persons who have an interest in the sport, but might not necessarily play in the Power League that they too can come out and play. You don´t have to be a professional player. Players at any skill level can participate in the tournament," Farrington stated.

He said that many persons love the sport, but believe they are not good enough to be in the Power League. Farrington encouraged those persons to participate in the tournament.

According to Farrington, VolleyRama will become an annual event on the BVIAVA calendar.