TELECOMMUNICATIONS service provider Digicel yesterday continued its tremendous support to sports here in the Land of Many Waters, with a contribution of $170 000 towards the Young Achievers Volleyball Club (YAVC) goodwill series which serves off today from 16:00 h at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
President of the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF) Lenny Shuffler said his organisation was pleased to sanction the event, since he viewed it as a way to assess local volleyball players who will be competing against Suriname’s top club Lyzecks Volleyball Club (LVC).
“The purpose of the tournament is to keep the momentum that started earlier this year with both the Castrol Strikers and the Guysuco Training Centre tournaments, which flowed into the recently concluded version of the Inter-Guiana Games, in which some club members represented Guyana.
The GVF would always support ventures such as this one, as it gives us an opportunity to ascertain the level and standard of our players against the Surinamese, some of whom are members of their country’s national team,” stated Shuffler.
The GVF president went on; “Today is also an exciting day for the GVF as it is the first time we will be partnering with Digicel and we hope to do more of this in the future, while I wish to extend heartfelt congratulations to YAVC for organising this tournament and wish them the best of luck.”
Public Relations Manager of Digicel Shonnet Moore said her company was indeed happy to be on board with the tournament, being aware of its developmental aspect  and with Suriname’s top team competing here, Digicel is more than happy to be associated with the series.
Meanwhile, captain of LVC, Giovanni Li-Tsung, said he was excited to be in Guyana and looking forward to competing against the Guyanese clubs.
“I have always wanted to play in Guyana, having played against Guyanese back home in Suriname where we were victorious. As you are aware, home court advantage is a different issue and certainly I am looking forward to seeing what the Guyanese clubs have to offer when at home.”
Apart from LVC and the host team, Castrol Strikers Volleyball Club and the Guysuco Training Centre are the other two teams who will be competing in the series.
According to Shuffler, the teams will compete on a round-robin basis, with the host team YAVC being given the privilege to play their guests in the final match of the day.
The action will switch to Splashmin’s Fun Park tomorrow, where the four teams will be involved in a beach volleyball competition.