The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN an effort to provide an opportunity for the local players to get ready for the New Providence Volleyball Association season, the Central Gas Lady Panthers Club is scheduled to host its first Independence Volleyball Tournament.

The tournament is set for July 10-11 at the DW Davis Gymnasium and will pay homage to the late Tamaz Thompson, a former volleyball player who died earlier this year. The action is scheduled to begin at 10am each day, according to tournament organiser and Panthers’ coach Jason Saunders.

So far, a total of five men and five women have already confirmed their participation, but Saunders said interested teams can contact him or players Avani Seymour and Chandra Mackey by the deadline that has been set for Wednesday when it will be determined what format will be used.

“One of the reasons why we decided to have this tournament has a lot to do with the lack of play for volleyball players in the country,” Saunders said. “We really do not play enough volleyball, so in order to compensate for the lack of play, the more tournaments we have, the better it will be for our players.

“Another one of the driving forces for having the tournament is our young ladies who participated on the junior national team and with this club when we were the Central Gas Lady Cougars, we played with the late Tamaz Thompson and we thought it would be fitting to continue to help her family with the medical bills that they incurred when she was sick.”

While it is a club tournament, Saunders said they are inviting persons who are just volleyball enthusiasts to come out and form their own teams to compete over the Independence holiday. If they don’t use a round robin format, the tournament will be pool play with games being played over two sets capped at 25 points. Third place will be one set to 30 points, while the championship games will go the regular sets.

“We will be using what used to be the old rules where any touching of the net at the net is not illegal,” Saunders said. “You may see where any part of the top of the net that you touch is legal, it is now illegal. They have converted it back to what it used to be. So we will be using that rule because this will be the last tournament before the start of the New Providence regular season play.

“So it will be good to start using some of those rules that will have to be used when the rules change again during the regular season.”?

Seymour, captain of the Panthers A team, said their goal is to win the initial tournament title.?

“This one is just the local players, so it will be like the regular night league games,” said Seymour, who is currently enrolled at the University of the West Indies where she is playing with the Morgan Club team. “What we are doing right now is dividing our teams with the girls who are already out of to school and those who are travelling and another team with the girls who will play here and play in the night league.?

“I expect it to be very competitive and we should have a very experienced team and although I expect it to be very tough, I feel our team has the best players and we should win the tournament. We will provide some high level play and with our experience, I think we can win because we will bring a lot to the table and a lot of people have expectations for us. So it should be good.”?

Among those joining Seymour on the Lady Panthers A team are Britney Bonamy, Britni Deveaux, Janell Curtis, Daria Seymour, Tarea Sweeting and Rachel Knowles.?

Mackey, who will be playing on the Lady Panthers B team, said the tournament comes in handy for their team to get ready for the NPVA season.?

“We want to give the younger girls a lot more playing time,” said Mackey, a graduate of Aquinas College who is now enrolled at the College of the Bahamas. “We will be using this as a time for us to sharpen up our game and to see exactly what we need to work on before the season starts.?

“We want to gain more experience so that we can become more comfortable and confident in our skill level.”?

Among the players playing with Mackey on the Lady Panthers B team are Mechelle Moss and a number of players coming out of St Augustine’s College.?

“They are our big sisters and with the experience they have on the team, we expect them to do very well,” said Mackey of the Lady Panthers B team. “But if we beat them, it will be trouble in the family.”?

Saunders said they intend to make the tournament an annual one and will be assisting charitable organisations like the Cancer Society of the Bahamas.?