The Inter Regional Championships are always a huge hit and now this weekend they’re heading onto the sand! The Inter Regional Beach Volleyball Championships 2019 will take place this Saturday and Sunday, 13-14 July at the Cardiff Beach Volleyball Centre.
The first event of its kind in the UK, teams from eight volleyball regions will take part including: East Midlands, London, North West, South East, South West, Wales, West Midlands and Yorkshire. The Championships will feature the best talent at the Under 18 age group.
The event is the brainchild of Denise Austin, the Beach Volleyball Competitions Officer for the Academy of Beach Sports, based in North Devon. “The UK already has an Inter Regional indoor volleyball competition which is very popular amongst our talented young players, so we identified a gap to deliver a something similar on the sand,” Denise explains. “Our event includes many England international beach and indoor volleyball players and serves as a stepping stone for young players looking to take their game to the next level.”
You can follow the competition by visiting the Inter Regional Beach Volleyball Championship website.
The competition format is similar to what the USA collegiate system (NCAA) and global volleyball governing body FIVB uses for their championships and Olympic qualifiers. So how does it work? Each regional team is comprised four players who are designated as Pair #1 and Pair #2. In the competition, Pair #1 from Team A will play Pair #1 of Team B and the same for Pair #2. If at the end of those two matches the score is 2-0 to one region, then the tie is over. However, if the match finishes 1-1 there is a deciding golden set to 15 points where the coach can nominate any combination of the four team players to take part.
The Inter Regional Beach Volleyball Championships will feature England International beach players Carla Hulme (WM) and Alice Brand (WM), who recently played for England in the Middle European (MEVZA) U20 Championships in Slovenia. Additionally, the following IRB participants have been selected to represent England in the Northern European (NEVZA) Championships in Tylosand, Sweden later this month: Enrique Bello (LON), Alice Brand (WM), Lisa Canevari (LON), Kate Hill Anning (SW), Luke Honeybun (SE), Katie Keefe (LON), Jake Saunders (LON), Bartek Soczewka (LON), and Isabelle Tucker (SE).
The full regional squads include: Inter Regional Beach Volleyball Championship website.
East Midlands: Women: Monica Amabilino i Perez, Freya Baker, Daniela Costa Monteiro, Maddison Elsey Men: Michal Krawczyk, Thomas Graham-Jones, Bradley Masanga, Kuba Plotek. Coaches: Ian Clews, Gemma McDougall
London: Women: Lisa Canevari, Nina Erminio, Katie Keefe, Lucy Knott Men: Enrique Bello, Jake Sanders, Bartek Soczewska, Nasir Khan. Coach: Elsa Meserlian
North West: Women: Rhianne Hambleton, Frankie Frize, Aileen Barry, TBC Men: Connor Duffy, Ethan Lee-Akinya, Nathan Worsley, Matthew Wroe Coach: Aaron McLoughlin
South East: Women: Harriet Breaden, Emilie Levich, Isabelle Tucker, Zoe Tucker. Men: Daniel Furness, Luke Honeybun, Ben Osbourne, Antony Wilson. Coaches: Arsene De Kesel, Freda Bussey
South West: Women: Ellie Davis, Kate Hill-Anning, Beth Morgan, Freya Newton. Men: Tom Falkner-Ham, Dan Huggins, Ritchie Lyall, Daniel Redstone. Coaches: Luis Stansbury, Dave Gunter, Florenie Ermeje.
Wales: Women: Katie Anderson, Jess Falkner-Ham, Freja Foot, Elisa Ionascu Coaches: Conor Robins, Sandra Stroll
West Midlands: Women: Alice Brand, Rebecca Gaskell, Carla Hulme, Iona Young. Men: Jack Dunkley, Louis Coggins, William Evans, Tyler White. Coaches: Hannah Marie Kettle, Alistair Donaldson
Yorkshire: Women: Men: Ben Gladstone, William Miller, Harry Morgan, Oliver Quick Coaches: Martyn Quick, Liz Jones
Wildcard teams: Mens: Daniel Howe, Yan Naydenov, Jack Midgley, Kian Safaee. Women: Daisy Cage, Lauren Jones, Maisie-Ella Summers, Amelia Fumpston.
