Hurricanes Force Second NORCECA Qualifier for Cuba, Puerto Rico

NORCECA Men’s Continental Championships

• Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Sept. 26-Oct. 1, 2017
• Schedule/Results

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The NORCECA Men’s Continental Volleyball Championships begin today in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but two of the conference’s teams will not be in attendance.

Puerto Rico and Cuba were both unable to travel to Colorado in the aftermath of hurricans Irma and Maria in recent weeks. Cuba is currently ranked third by NORCECA, while Puerto Rico checks in at fifth.

Due to the travel woes, NORCECA has announced that both teams will participate in a final World Championship Qualification Tournament in the coming weeks alongside the fourth and fifth place teams from the Continental Championship.

Confederation president Cristobal Marte Hoffiz said dates and location for the event will be announced within the next week.

In the mean time, the 10 remaining confederation teams already in Colorado Springs will now vie for three tickets to the 2018 World Championships over the Sept. 26 to Oct. 1 event.

The confederation’s final two berths will be decided at the upcoming tournament.

The 10 teams in Colorado Springs are: the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Martinique, Mexico, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago.

The schedule into two matches at 5 p.m. and two at 7 p.m. MDT Tuesday through Friday. Saturday’s slate features two 3 p.m. contests, two at 5 p.m. and one at 7 p.m. Sunday’s schedule features matches at 2, 3, 4 and 5 p.m. MDT.

The tournament, which is free and open to the public, will be played at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.