Glenn Quinlan, GQ or Mr President as he is affectionately known, is a legend in the sport of volleyball not only in his native St Kitts and Nevis but across the volleyball community in the Caribbean.
He has served with distinction as Player, Coach and Administrator, sometimes doing all three at the same time!
Glenn was initiated into volleyball at the College of the Virgin Islands (now the University of the Virgin Islands) when he attended that institution from 1979. Prior to this, Glenn’s passion was basketball, representing St Kitts and Nevis at regional tournaments. Coach Blake from CVI had a profound impact on Glenn which shaped his enthusiasm and strategic outlook for the sport.
Glenn represented St Kitts and Nevis in volleyball as a player from 1984 to 2005, He was also selected as part of an All-Star OECS team that played against the Barbados National Team in Barbados.
Glenn has been a successful coach at the club level in St Kitts as well as at the regional level. He guided the St Kitts and Nevis national senior women’s team to three OECS gold medals, in St Kitts in 1991, Grenada 1992 and in Anguilla in 2004.
Glenn assumed the Presidency of the SKAVA in 1995 and has ensured that the national flag has been represented in regional tournaments and board rooms. Notwithstanding the limited resources available, the sport has provided numerous opportunities for young athletes, male and female, to obtain a college education while playing volleyball overseas.
Glenn has also made a sterling contribution in the administrative field at the regional and international levels: President of ECVA from 2007, Executive Vice President of NORCECA from 2008 and ultimately all the way up to the world body, as Member of the FIVB Board of Administration since 2016. Through these institutions he has been able to mobilise significant resources for the smaller National Federations by way of coaches, playing courts, equipment and training for local coaches, referees and scorers.
Of recent vintage, Glenn was instrumental in securing resources to host several youth beach tournaments for the smaller National Federations across the Caribbean, to develop their talent. Glenn’s only elusive goal so far, has been the absence of a dedicated facility for volleyball in his native land.
