Both Great Britain Men & Women’s teams travelled to the Copenhagen Sit Cup which took place on 5th & 6th November. This has been an annual event for the Great Britain teams for many years, although this was the first time, post pandemic that the teams have been able to complete. This is an open tournament played over a men’s height net which gives the GB Women’s team a positive challenge.
Great Britain Men
Following the recent successful training camp with Italy the GB Men were looking to implement the lessons learnt during the scrimmages with Italy. A number of key athletes were unavailable due to injuries, so it was also an opportunity to increase the competitive experience across the squad.
The team won all three pool matches on Saturday and started the play-off matches with a match vs Great Britain Women. The two top teams, GB Men & Pinneberg had already qualified for the final when they met in the last play-off match. The GB Men won both the play-off match and the final 2-0.
Results
Pool match vs Pinneberg (Germany) W2-0
Pool match vs Norway 2 W2-0
Pool match vs Copenhagen (Denmark) W2-0
Play Off Pool (1st to 4th Places)
Play Off Match 1 vs Great Britain Women W2-0
Play Off Match 2 vs Norway 1 W2-0
Play Off Match 3 vs Pinneberg (Germany) W2-0
Final vs Pinneberg (Germany) W2-0
Overall the team’s performance developed over the weekend, building on the foundations that were laid during the joint camp with Italy.
The tournament was a success in both performance and outcomes terms. This was the first time a British team has won the tournament. The Great Britain Men now have a series of training sessions in preparation for the European “B” Championships in Rouen, France 15th-17th Dec.
Great Britain Women
Great Britain Women have been focusing on playing domestic competitions to build competitive experience across the squad while bedding in the team systems. The tournament gave the team the chance to test themselves against unfamiliar opposition. All the other teams were male or mixed.
The team started slowly but recovered to win the match in three sets. Results went GB’s way and we finished second in the pool, missing first place by one set. This set up a play-off match with Great Britain Men. Against a structured team the GB Women gave a good account of themselves. A loss to Pinneberg and win against Norway 1 put Great Britain Women into the 3rd-4th Play-Off.
GB won the 1st set “going away” and lost a tight 2nd set. Norway 1 led 13-11, with GB tying the set 14-14. The teams traded points up to 17-17 then scored the final two points to win the set 19-17.
This was a significant result for Great Britain Women, both in technical & tactical terms but also psychologically. The team is starting to develop a system of play that suits the abilities and outlook of the team.
The Great Britain Women hope that they can transfer this success to the second half of the domestic season in preparation for the Stavanger Tournament, European Nations Silver League, the Dutch Cup and the European Championships that take place during 2023.
Results
Pool match vs Kometa Praha (Czech Rep) W2-1
Pool match vs Norway 1 L0-2
Pool match vs Copenhagen Old Stats (Denmark) W2-1
Great Britain Women finished second in pool B (on sets difference)
Play Off Pool (1st to 4th Places)
Play Off Match 1 vs Great Britain Men L0-2
Play Off Match 2 vs Pinneberg (Germany) L0-2
Play Off Match 3 vs Norway 1 W2-0
3rd - 4th Play vs Norway 1 W2-1