The 2025 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Under-18 Beach Volleyball Development camp attracted 32 players (18 boys and 14 girls) from across the region. The youngsters gathered at the Starfish Hotel and the Courland Bay Heritage Park sand courts in Black Rock, Tobago, where they were exposed to coaching tips on August 27 and 28 by Brazilian-born Chilean coach Paola Roberto Moreira de Costa.
The camp culminated with a tournament held from August 29 to 30. Locals Michael Burkett and Jeremiah Jankey secured the boys’ crown after beating the Cayman Islands pair of Dylan Lenne and William Duy 21-10, 18-21, 16-14 in the finals. Haitians Joseph Luckenly and Julien Phillipe took the bronze medals after dismissing the Choux brothers, Noah and Elowan of Martinique, 21-18, 21-19.
Barbadian representatives Destiny Layne and Janica Grant landed the girls’ honours with a 12-9, 21-11 victory over Aruba’s Nayah Alisha Whitfield and Davy-Ann Eduards, with Luna Ebanks and Krisi Smith of the Cayman Islands finishing in third after getting by Rzyra Denbow and Aryanna Tutein of the US Virgin Islands (21-11, 21-15).
The participants were elated to be part of the week-long seminar. Burkett shared his highlights. “I learnt how to peel off the net and that stamina is most important.”
The 16-year-old, who was a member of T&T’s senior men’s team at the Caribbean Senior Indoor Volleyball Championships in Bahamas earlier in August, added that competing against older players helped him. “(I learnt from competing there that) there is someone bigger than you.” Meanwhile, Jankey added his moments. “Mostly about movement, peeling off the net and technique. It was a good experience.”
Joshua Hoepelman and Victor Mitchell of Aruba were sixth among the boys, with Hoepelman saying, “The experience at this camp was really great. I loved it. We had an opportunity to play with different countries and make friends. I am grateful to be here and hopefully next year there is another tournament like this.”
Mitchell is looking forward to next year’s camp as well. “We have been playing well. At the start, it was a bit rough. We had a lot of ups and downs. We only had two months to train together. I really hope we get this opportunity again.”
Tobago’s Jayden Dillon and Adriel Mark ended in ninth. Mark said he was encouraged. “I learnt how to defend, attack and maximise the ability to score points. I think what we learn from the camp can really help us to improve. If we train a lot harder and bond with each other, we could make it.”
Among the girls, Layne of the winning pair, was happy to make new friends.
“(The highlights) the coaches and the friends that we made.” The Harrison College student was happy with the progress made with her partner, Grant.
“We improved from our very first match, as it is the first time we are playing together, so it is amazing to see how well we are playing (as a pair) so easily. It has been all fun.”
T&T’s Sadie Tokar and Bianca Perkins finished in fifth spot after overcoming Celina Alwani and Shaylee Pinney of St Kitts and Nevis 21-19, 8-21, 15-10. Tokar was playing in her maiden tournament with Perkins for T&T. “(Playing together) has been very interesting as it is our first Caribbean tournament together. It has been fun getting to communicate with know one another.”
Perkins enjoyed interacting with the foreigners.
“(I liked) getting to meet players from other countries from the Caribbean and socialise with them outside of volleyball.” Alwani said she benefited too.”This is my first CAZOVA camp. I have learnt a lot of skills and mental strategies that I did not know.”
Another T&T pair, Davana Cowan and Nehanda Jacob, finished in seventh with Cowan “very proud to represent my country, especially Tobago”.
“I learnt how to peel off the net correctly and how to communicate with my partner. The camp made a tremendous impact on me.”
Jacob is also learning about “how to manage my mental health and to immerse yourself into the game without overthinking what you are going to do.”
