World Tour bronzes for England's beach stars

A special summer for English beach volleyball got even better at the weekend, as England won two FIVB World Tour medals.

Image: Volleyball England

After Ellie Austin and Anaya Evans ended England’s 20-year wait for a World Tour medal in June, England’s beach stars added two more World Tour medals at the latest event in Rubavu in Rwanda.

England’s number one women’s pair Jess Grimson and Vicky Palmer added another career highlight by winning a bronze medal against home team Rwanda to gain their maiden World Tour medal.

“What a way to end the season,” said Vicky Palmer on Instagram. “To top it all off, we finally got a World Tour medal. Dreams can come true.”

While it was a bronze for Javier and Joaquin Bello - England's number one men's pair - as they got on the podium at the highest level for the first time too - and recorded the first ever World Tour medal for an England or Great Britain men's team. 

“Bronze it is!” said Javier. “Thank you to everyone who helped us achieve our first World Tour medal.”

WORLD TOUR DOUBLE

With seven teams in the competition, Palmer and Grimson blew away Rwanda in the first round to head straight into the semi-finals. Here they lost out to eventual champions the Netherlands in a superb battle. Having won the first set 22-20, they couldn’t get over the line being squeezed out 21-19 and 15-10 in the next two sets.

It didn’t faze the experienced pair as they brushed themselves off to defeat Rwanda’s top pair (21-10, 21-14) in the bronze medal shootout.

In the men’s competition, the Bellos eased through the pool stages in straight sets as they defeated fellow England team Garcia-Kidd and Bialokoz, followed with victory of Japan’s second team.

In the quarter finals, the Bellos overcame an early setback against Cyprus of going a set down. When it came to the crunch, they showed their nerve to win two tights sets to advance (22-20, 18-16).

It was the eventual winners Japan 1 that defeated them in the semi-final but the pair bounced back to in the bronze medal match. The third-place match saw the Bellos face Japan’s second pair and showed their extra quality to take it in straight sets (21-18, 21-15).

England had waited 20 years for a World Tour medal and now it’s been three in one season. It capped a sensational summer for England beach volleyball. A matter of months have seen beach volleyball return to London, success for England’s players in the Continental Cup, World Tour and domestically in the UKBT, and beach volleyball picked to be part of Birmingham 2022.

FIND OUT MORE: https://www.volleyballengland.org

Beach volleyball confirmed for Birmingham 2022

It has been officially confirmed that beach volleyball will be part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Image: Getty Images

The Commonwealth members voted to officially ratify the decision to include the sport.

“It is fantastic to receive the final confirmation that beach volleyball will star at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham,” says Volleyball England CEO, Janet Inman. “We’re delighted that Commonwealth members voted to make the sport part of the Games.

“We want to help make the Games a fantastic spectacle which Birmingham can be proud of. It’s also a huge opportunity for the sport to create a lasting legacy for beach volleyball. The Commonwealth Games is such a brilliant platform to showcase why beach volleyball is such a great sport and inspire future generations to get into volleyball.

“Seeing our most talented performers representing England home sand will be a truly special occasion. We’re thankful to Birmingham and Commonwealth Games Federation for the opportunity – the hard work starts now to ensure we make the most of it.”

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will open in the second city on 27thJuly 2022. As hosts, England will automatically qualify for the women’s and men’s beach volleyball competition.

ON HOME SOIL

The confirmation that beach volleyball will star at the Games comes at a really exciting time for English volleyball with a great crop of rising stars in the game.

England number one women’s pair Jess Grimson and Vicky Palmer have been competing at FIVB World Tour level and recently captured another Weymouth beach title on the Volleyball England Beach Tour.

While Ellie Austin and Anaya Evans are the up and coming talents in the women’s game. The pair have been competing at World Tour level and have been gaining vital experience, with the highlight of them winning a historic World Tour bronze.

The England men’s team are also in good shape three years away from a huge home Games. The team of Chris Gregory, Issa Batrane, Phil Smith and Javier Bello qualified for the second round of the Continental Cup, a competition which holds a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for the overall winners.

After missing the Continental Cup through injury, Joaquin Bello has been back playing with his brother Javier at FIVB World Tour level.

So England should two well-prepared and great teams to represent the nation in the second city. Ten years on hosting the Olympic Games, beach volleyball will be back at a major games in Britain. It promises to be a superb occasion.

FIND OUT MORE: https://www.volleyballengland.org

Home Nations Junior Beach Competition returns to Cardiff

Home Nations Junior Beach Volleyball Competition comes to Cardiff for the second year. This annual event sees national junior beach volleyball teams from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales battle it out on the sand.

Image: Timo Wagner

The tournament takes place in the Cardiff Beach Volleyball Centre from August 9-11, 2019.

​Schedules and further information can be found here: https://www.inter-beach.net

FIND OUT MORE: https://www.volleyballwales.org

New Volleyball England CEO and Deputy CEO appointed

Sue Storey has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Volleyball England following the announcement that Janet Inman will step down from the role.

Image: Volleyball England

Starting in November 2019, Sue joins Volleyball England from the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) where she has been for the last 7 and a half years.

Bringing with her a wealth of experience and a strong reputation in sports ground safety, Sue has worked on both domestic and international projects and built relationships with partners including premier and football league clubs, national governing bodies of sport and World Cup and Olympic Games organising committees.

In addition, Sue is a non-executive director of the Active Partnerships Network, previously the County Sports Partnerships Network (CSP’s), where she plays an important role in supporting the organisation’s delivery of the government’s sport strategy, ‘Sporting Future’.

On her appointment, Sue said, “it is an honour and a pleasure to take on the role of leading Volleyball England as Chief Executive. I am passionate about sport and will tirelessly dedicate my time to growing volleyball with the aim of delivering the sport to the position of greatness it deserves.

“Volleyball England leads a great family of volleyball enthusiasts and I will continue to work in a collaborative and collective way with our members, partners and friends to ensure we maintain the excellent standards set, build on our current position and capitalise on the golden opportunities on the horizon.

“I would like to pay a huge tribute to Janet Inman whose stewardship and dedication has led the organisation through some very challenging times. I am delighted that Janet will still be around the volleyball family through her work with the Volleyball Foundation.”

Adam Walker chairman of Volleyball England said, “Following an extensive recruitment process, the Board and I am delighted that Sue has agreed to join the team in November. She brings a wealth of experience and passion to help Volleyball England to continue moving forward. We are all looking forward to working with her.”

DEPUTY CEO

In a restructure of the Senior Management Team (SMT), Sam Jamieson has also been appointed as Deputy CEO (DCEO) with an immediate start, joining Sue Storey (CEO) and Emma Clouston-Jones (Finance Controller).

“I'm really pleased and privileged to be able to support volleyball through the next phase of our journey as Deputy CEO,” said Sam, who has spent 5 years working for Volleyball England, including as Core Market Officer and a member of the SMT since 2017. “Together, we've come a long way over the last two years and am looking forward to the upcoming challenge next year developing the strategy for the 2021-25 funding cycle, which will be vital to securing the sport's long-term sustainability. 

“I'm looking forward to working closely with the board, SMT and our key representatives in the working groups to take the sport on through the next stage of our development.”

FIND OUT MORE: https://www.volleyballengland.org

Yvonne Perkins to step down as Chair of Volleyball Wales

Yvonne Perkins will be standing down as Chair of Volleyball Wales at the end of July, after a decade in post.

Image: Volleyball Wales

Yvonne stepped into the position at a very exciting time for Volleyball as the GB teams were preparing for their inclusion in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  Volleyball Wales was created in April 2009 and completed the British jigsaw puzzle giving Wales a voice within the British Volleyball Federation, Small Countries Division in Europe, Confederations of European Volleyball and Federation of International Volleyball.

These ties were strengthened when Yvonne worked for LOCOG in London as the Group Admin Leader for Beach Volleyball in the Olympic Games, cementing firm friendships and links to many people within the Volleyball Community both in the UK and overseas.  It was also with pride that several others from Wales were Gamesmakers at the Volleyball, Beach Volleyball and Sitting Volleyball events.  With the motivation and inspiration that came from the Games, Volleyball within Wales was seeing an insurgence, especially at Junior Level.

Coaches Sandra Stoll and Jack Allman have been the biggest driver of junior volleyball within Wales enabling junior teams to compete internationally for both boys and girls, and it has been a huge delight to see their hard work pay off with some of the ‘original’ juniors competing on the senior scene for beach volleyball in recent years.  Without their massive input, Volleyball Wales would not have been able to continue.

Closer to home, in 2014 Yvonne organised the Welsh League which has provided opportunities for players as well as providing opportunities for several new clubs to be developed in South Wales.  It was hoped to replicate this in the North but this has not yet been achieved, although it is encouraging to see pockets of volleyball returning with some clubs utilising the coaching resources and training provided by Sandra over recent years.

As well as her role as Chair and League Secretary, Yvonne has also been the Treasurer and Secretary for Volleyball Wales for the past 8-9 years as these roles have not been filled since the previous post holders stepped down.  Yvonne continued to cover these roles to enable the coaches to focus more on the coaching, and to develop the players needed for the future.

It is worth noting that all of the positions within Volleyball Wales are of a voluntary nature, and that those who have or currently are serving on the Board or Coaching the teams, or even providing training for coaches, has been done in peoples own time or as part of their annual leave.  It is hoped that more people will make themselves available to ease the burden of those remaining.

The decision to step down has been a difficult one, one made due to a change in personal circumstances, but if there is enough demand for Volleyball within Wales, then the opportunity is there for someone else to step in and take control.

Details about the revised structure will be advertised following the AGM on the 22nd July and people will be encouraged to apply for this, and other positions, from within and outside of the Volleyball Community.

Current vacant positions with more pending following a review of structure in the future:

• Chair

• Treasurer

• Secretary

• Welsh League coordinator

• Safeguarding Officer

FIND OUT MORE: https://www.volleyballwales.org