The CAZOVA Senior Women’s Volleyball Championships, which also doubles as a 2018 World Championships qualifier, gets underway ttomorrow at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston.

Jamaica, along with with seven other countries, will be vying for the right to be called Caribbean champions.

The six-day tournament will see the eight teams playing in two groups of four, with the top two teams playing in the final set for Monday July 31, at 8:00 pm.

The championships was launched on Monday at the Hotel Four Seasons where details of the tournament were revealed.

There will be four matches each day beginning at 2:00 pm, with the feature match starting at 8:00 pm each night. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the intra-zone games, with the play-offs set to get underway on Saturday in the quarter-final round.

In addition to Jamaica, the other participating countries are the The Bahamas, Curacao, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the US Virgin Islands.

Denzil Wilks, general manager of main sponsor Sports Development Foundation, lauded the impact of sports on the country’s tourism product, and insisted that the financial impact on the nation’s economy should be assesed.

“Sports is fundamental to tourism and I am hoping that STATIN, or the BOJ will measure the contribution of sports to the countries GDP. Everyone says that Usain Bolt has done a lot for the country in the area of sports, but until the numbers are measured we won’t know the real impact, and sports will not get the respect it deserves,” he insisted.

“Sports is much more than leisure, and we will continue to put in the necessary infrastructure by building many more outdoor, multi-purpose courts so that they can be used for their primary purpose — which is to continue to unearth talent throughout the country,” Wilks continued.

Bethlehem College and Gaynstead are two intitutions that have recently benefited from having courts built by the SDF.

Wilks also praised the current volleyball administration for the role they have played in getting volleyball back into the spotlight in the country.

“Many sports in the past have flattered to deceive, but volleyball is now moving forward in the area of administration and in the area of play, and without strong administration, you are not going to make it. Administration is one of the key reasons why track and field has gotten so strong. We must continue the rebirth by putting succession planning in place to ensure continuity,” he stated.

Jamaica’s Team Captain Simone Asque is confident that her team has what it takes to defend their home court at the championships.

“We have been training really hard and we have a very deep roster, so we definitely want to make the country proud as hosts. We are definitely going after the gold medal, and if we play to our full potential we should win,” she suggested.

Asque also stated that they had done their homework and expect a strong challenge from the likes of Trinidad and Tobago, who are their prennial rivals.

Team coach Oniel Ebanks was equally upbeat about Jamaica’s chances.

“We have a strong and rounded team, and we can go all the way based on the reults of our practice matches and our team composition. We are not underestimating any of the other teams but we are hosting, and we intend to defend our home,” he said.

Wolmer’s Girls’ sixth former, Aiko Jones, at 17 years old, is the youngest member of the team, but she says she feels no pressure to perform.

“It is my first time representing the country at the senior level but I feel no pressure. It was a bit overwhelming when I just got selected, but it is a great opportunity for me and I intend to make the most of it and play hard,” she noted.

In addition to being a World Championship qualifier, the results of the championships will also be used to determine the Caribbean rankings.