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Today the Director of Sports told us how Belize was able to turn things around:...

Ian Jones - Director of Sports
"There is a difference between Belize is suspended and Belize may be suspended, all that is water under the bridge. Now we can say officially we are not suspended. I gave you a copy of the letter so you know it's not just us saying it but its CODICADER who is saying it, that we are not suspended and will be participating in the U15 games in August."

"It would have affected a lot of kids and parents. It would have affected me personally, I would have been known as the director make CODICADER stop. You know how people carry things. So along with the ministry and the CEO and Mr. Enis and other members of the CODICADER committee, we were behind the scenes trying to work out a best possible solution with this. B earing in mind that there are 2 actions that we would be suspended or we won't."

"The good news came that we weren't suspended now, we have to look at it as sometime in the near future we have to host. Now we know that, so we can start to plan from now that we won't only be participating in these games but in the near future we still have to host and we start to pull the resources where we can and how we can."

"When we said that we could not afford to host CODICADER games, it was a twofold thing. We were looking at, we have to host a disability game and then we have to participate in this game coming August. It would have been a double fold in terms of expense for the sports council and for the government. That was the angle we were looking at. Now that we don't have to host this year, then I believe that the resources will be there and allocated for us to participate. But it was the double whammy in terms of hosting last year, having to host again this year and having to participate."

Jules Vasquez
"Within a few months."

Ian Jones - Director of Sports
"Within 12 months."

Jones told us that Costa Rica recently got sanctioned and is serving out a CODICADER ban.

But, not so for Belize, and now that CODICADER's Organizers have given the green light, Jones told us about the contingent they are sending:...

Ian Jones - Director of Sports
"We will be sending a full contingent. We have athletes in chess, athletics, table tennis, karate, Judo, Taekwondo, football, volleyball, basketball, and there is a possibility that we might be sending athletes for swimming as well. So it will be a full contingent. These kids have been training throughout this entire time, they did not look at it as we will be suspended so everything stopped. The training had to continue so I know especially when it comes to volleyball they are looking forward to this more than anybody else."

Jules Vasquez
"The minister has spoken about perhaps the time off would have served us to try and work and building up ourselves."

Ian Jones - Director of Sports
"Yes I still agree with the ministry on that point, it does happen too often not only at the CODICADER level but in general in sports in Belize is that we go to these international games and meets and we just participate we don't compete and this it were it starts, at the CODICADER, this is our first entry level into international sports and for the most part it's a harsh reality to accept and most of us a Belizeans being patriotic and passionate when it comes to our national representation don't want to accept the reality that in most instances we are not fully or adequately prepared in comparison to these other countries that participate in these games."

"We just want the athletes to go out, do their best and represent us properly rather than just participate and we would continue to do what we have to do at our end to better prepare them year after year so that eventually we will not just be participating but we will be a power house in this CODICADER."

The games will be played in Honduras in late August.

As Jones mentioned, CODICADER is very big for young volleyballers, and yesterday - before the good news had gone out - the president of the Volleyball Association told the press that CODICADER is an important building block:..

Allan Sharp, Pres., Belize Volleyball Association
"CODICADER is like you mentioned a very important development part of any sport, because it deals with the young up to the older boys and girls in high school. To not be able to participate takes away a lot from a sport like volleyball. To not be able to participate not only discourages the teams that are presently training, there are teams right now training, boys and girls and to not be able to participate much less to hear to that you won't be able to participate next year or the following years is discouraging to the athletes, its discouraging to sport and I think that the one comment that I will take and I've read that I'm hoping for is that they will try to find a way to make sure there's not a sanction. If there is a sanction it will affect sport."

Tomorrow, Belize's Under - 20 females will take on their Central American counterparts - many of them - who they have grown up facing in CODICADER competitions.