Two FIVB events highlight Australia beach volleyball calendar

 

Over the next 12 months, many of the world’s leading players will play on Australian beaches.

 

The Victorian city of Shepparton will host a one-star, double-gender FIVB World Tour event from March 3 to 5.

And following on from the very successful inaugural Volleyfest in 2015, Sydney’s Manly Beach will once again host top-level world beach volleyball when it stages a two-star FIVB Women’s World Tour event (March 17-19).

 

An international invitational for men will follow on March 21 and 22, and then the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour Finals (March 24-26) will cap off the 2017 Volleyfest. Cairns will also host an Asian tour event in October.

 

A new Australian ranking system will be rolled out for this season, providing an opportunity for all registered Australian beach volleyball players to achieve a national ranking.

 

Many of those players will be in action at Manly Beach on December 17 and 18 for the New South Wales Open, the first major event on this season’s calendar in Australia.

 

The tour will then head to Adelaide’s Glenelg Beach (January 14-15) for the South Australia Open, and then to the Gold Coast for the Qld Open (January 27-29). The Western Australia Open at Scarborough Beach (February 3-5) will be the final tour event before the Manly finals in March.

 

Also on this season’s calendar will be the Australian U23 Beach Volleyball Championships at Coolangatta, the site of the 2018 Commonwealth Games beach volleyball competition, and the Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Championships at Glenelg Beach (April 6-9).

 

Australians Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy were fifth at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

The NSW Beach Volleyball Schools Cup will be held in conjunction with the Sydney Invitational event (March 21-22) at Manly Beach.

 

Events Manager for Volleyball Australia, Baz Wedmaier, said the next 12 months will be an exciting time for Australian beach volleyball fans.

 

“Over the next 12 months we will be taking our great sport to all corners of Australia,” Wedmaier said. “Beach volleyball events in Australia are famous for their party atmosphere and we can guarantee fans are going to love what they see.

 

“And with the introduction of several major international events, it sets us up well in Australia as we prepare for the debut of beach volleyball at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.”

 

For more information on beach volleyball events in Australia, visit www.volleyballaustralia.org.