Grand Cayman hosts opening event for third consecutive year

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, March 21, 2011 – For third consecutive year the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit will kick off in the beautiful Seven Miles Beach at Grand Cayman on March 25-27.

The past two editions have been a complete success thanks to the work carried out by the local organizers led by Mr. Noel Williams, President of the Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation, and a team of collaborators.

“The first of our 14 tournaments of the year is around the corner and we are confident in the organizing capacity of the local authorities as it has been the case in the two previous years,” said Arnaldo Sanchez, President of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Commission.

In 2009, Americans Jason Wight and Michael Bruning in men’s division and Cubans Kirenia Ballar and Nirian Sinal in women’s field were the champions.

Last year, Puerto Ricans Yarleen Santiago and Dariam Acevedo won the women’s gold medal while Canadians Martin Reader and Raymond Sewell took home the men’s title.

The competition format foresees a double-elimination bracket with the qualifying rounds played on Friday and Saturday and the semifinals and finals reserved for Sunday.

Twenty pairs of each gender have been registered for this year’s edition representing 14 countries with Santiago and Acevedo and Reader now playing with Chaim Schalk ready to defend their crowns.

Women’s teams 

Barbados: Sharon Bovell/Mona Crawford; Canada: Heather Bansley/Elizabeth Maloney, Kacie MacTavish/Julie Rodrigue; Cayman Islands: Jenifer Bily/Cristeen Alexander; Costa Rica: Natalia Alfaro/Ingrid Morales; Dominican Republic: Gina del Rosario/Ginette del Rosario; El Salvador: Marcela Avalos/Diana Romero; Guatemala: María Orellana/Lourdes Ramírez; Honduras: Gina Flores/Martha Euceda; Jamaica: Cherine Richards/Cheryl Daley; México: Martha Revuelta/Xitlali Herrera, Vanessa Virgen/Polette Cruz; Nicaragua: Lolette Rodríguez/Valeska Hernández; Puerto Rico: Yarleen Santiago/Dariam Acevedo, Beatriz Rivera/Yaileen Torres; St. Kitts & Nevis: Brenda Allen/Shanicia Dyer; Trinidad & Tobago: Ayana Dyette/Elki Phillip; United States: Brooke Hanson/ Lauren Fenarick, Brittany Hochevar/Jennifer Forma. U.S. Virgin Islands: Nisha Lindd/Valissia Brathwaite.

Men’s teams 

Barbados: Curtis Gaskin/Winston Gittens; Canada: Josh Binstock/Richard Van Hulzen, Martin Reader/Chaim Schalk; Cayman Islands: Shervin Rankin/Olney Thompson, Duncan Hamann/Phillippe Deslandes; Costa Rica: Esteban Escobar/ Alexander Villegas; Dominican Republic: Yewddy Perez/German Recio; El Salvador: Jeovanny Medrano/David Vargas; Guatemala: Julio Recino/Erick Garrido; Honduras: Luis Baide/Wilfredo Vega; Jamaica: Mark Lewis/Dellan Brown; Mexico: Lombardo Ontiveros/Ulises Ontiveros; Nicaragua: Dany López/Gerald Umaña; Puerto Rico: Orlando Irizarry/Amaury Velasco, Roberto Rodriguez/Christopher Underwood; St. Kitts & Nevis: Shawn Seabrooks/St. Clair Hodge; Trinidad & Tobago: Fabien Whitfield/Daneil Williams; United States: William Strickland/Lucas Wisniakowski, Jon Mesko/Paul Baxter.