Honore, Billingy picked for beach v-ball in P/Rico

Teenaged volleyball stars Nadiege Honore and KellyAnn Billingy have been selected to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 1st America’s Discovery Coors Light NORCECA Beach Volleyball Cup, which will be staged in Puerto Rico. Honore recently established herself as one of the top blockers in the region. The 17-year-old Starlings VC member placed third among the best from four-time regional champions United States of America, and 12-time NORCECA title-holders Cuba, and  new Pan-American champion Dominican Republic. The Naparima Girls’ High student and Billingy were outstanding at the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Junior Championships in Martinique where the Trinidad and Tobago successfully defended the title they won in Suriname two years ago.

Honore was the “Tower of Power” blocking almost everything that skimmed the net and executing power smashes at both championships. Holy Name Convent’s Billingy copped the “Most Valuable Player” and “Best Attacker” awards and the junior tournament. Billingy’s Glamorgan clubmate Sean Morrison (national junior captain) and SEPOS club’s Nolan Tash will represent TT at the inaugural tournament, which carries a first prize of US $3,700. Morrison, like Tash is equally good at the net as a blocker and a potent attacker. Both possess powerful overhead services and accuracy would be the key for success at these tournaments. They represented TT at the Pan-American Games in Santo Domingo and were knocked out in the round of 32. This will be the first outing for a female team.

While Billingy is a good attacker, Honore is much more gifted and suitable for this type of competition. She makes tremendous height and blocks well and also smashes with a lot of power. They will have to practice a lot together to get it right. Michelle Mohan of Starlings and Pauline Woodroofe who emerged as the Stag Mayaro “Spikedown Queens” were not considered for the trip. Mushtaque Mohammed, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Volleyball Federation, revealed that they had to submit the entries before the Mayaro showdown on Republic Day. A total of US $20,000 for both male and female categories is at stake. Each runner-up pair will earn US $2,600 while $1,250 and $850 goes to the third and fourth positions. Those finishing between fifth and eighth will each collect US $400.

According to Mohammed, who is also a NORCECA vice-president, the financial cost for accommodation in Puerto Rico, meals and internal transportation for all participants will be taken care by the Dominican Republic-based NORCECA organisation. They are seeking to spread Beach Volleyball throughout the region and creating more incentives for players who eventually will graduate to the professional ranks. For the local contingent (four players and a manager), airline fares and departure taxes will amount to TT$12,500 and the TTVF is currently trying to raise the funds to send both male and female teams. National senior player David Thomas of Technocrats is the standby for the men’s team while Honore’s Starlings clubmate Stephanie Woodroffe is the standby for the women.