19 Aug 2024
World’s best beach volleyballers head to London’s Canary Wharf for Queen & King of the Court
A total of 10 female and 10 male teams will contest the event on Friday 20th September and Saturday 21st September, played over a high-octane knockout format that is sure to bring out the players’ very best skills.
Originally a popular training format, QKOTC has developed into an official new beach volleyball competition where the court is divided into a winning and challenging side, with points only scored on the queen/king side.
Instead of two teams, there are five duos playing simultaneously in an elimination game, and a break between rallies of just eight seconds ensures a fast and action-packed experience.
The two-day event is set to attract some of the star pairs who recently competed in the Paris 2024 Olympics, supplemented by promising home-grown talent to help the development of the next generation of English and GB players.
Already confirmed for the event are England’s Bello brothers, Javier and Joaquin, who are currently ranked 24th in the World and recently finished ninth at a highly-competitive CEV European Championships 2024 in the Netherlands.
They are eagerly awaiting the event on home sand and said: “We’re really excited that Queen & King of the Court is coming to London.
“We can’t wait to play in this unique beach volleyball format at home for the first time and in such an iconic venue as Canary Wharf.
“It’s an ideal event for the English beach volleyball community to enjoy and also gives us the opportunity to showcase the sport to the wider public.”
The event is being delivered by Sportworx, SideOut, Volleyball England and Action For Kids, a national charity supporting disabled children, young people and their families.
“For our product and company, it is incredible to add London to our calendar,” said Wilco Nijland, CEO of Sportworx.
“With this showcase event, we hope to establish a solid foundation for future growth. Alongside cities like Hamburg, Miami Beach, Rio de Janeiro, and Doha, this stop should become one of the highlights of the Queen & King of the Court Crown Series.
“The opportunity to contribute to the growth of beach volleyball in England is significant for us, and we believe in the potential of the volleyball community here, as demonstrated by the successful beach volleyball events at the London Olympics and the Commonwealth Games.”
Matches on Friday will be staged between 4pm and 6.30pm, enabling those just finishing work for the weekend to enjoy some top-class volleyball.
The action then returns across Saturday, starting at 9am and finishing at around 6pm, following the women’s and men’s finals.
Mark Kontopoulos, co-founder of SideOut said: “We are incredibly excited to bring another prestigious international beach volleyball event to London, in partnership with Volleyball England, leading event promoters Sportworx, and our long-term charity partners, Action For Kids (AFK).
“For the past 15 years, we've proudly co-hosted the annual ‘AFK Beach’ charity event in the heart of London’s financial district, and now we're thrilled to take this event to new heights, fresh off the spectacular beach volleyball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“I am confident that this collaboration marks a significant step toward establishing London as a premier destination for international beach volleyball. Together with our partners, we are committed to growing this event, making London a key fixture on the global beach volleyball calendar and ensuring its success both now and in the long term.”
QKOTC has quickly become a popular event across the world and is growing all the time.
It is hoped an event in London can become a regular part of the QKOTC circuit, with Volleyball England keen to lend its backing.
“Raising our international standing and presence is one of our strategic priorities,” said Charlie Ford, Volleyball England’s CEO.
“London has long been identified as a location of significant importance and opportunity when it comes to international events, and we are pleased to have secured support through sponsors and stakeholders to make the QKOTC event happen.”
“This showcase event provides a perfect starting point for what we hope will evolve into bigger events moving forward. It aligns perfectly with our wider ambitions for beach volleyball following the announcement earlier in the year that an indoor centre is being built in Birmingham and a high-performance centre will be established.
“I'd like to thank Wilco Nijland, Mark Kontopoulos and Lyn Prodger specifically for their commitment and working collaboratively to make the event happen – it shows clearly what can be achieved for the sport in England through partner working.”
Action For Kids works to address and remove the social barriers that disabled people face by providing mobility equipment, education support, skills training and helping young people secure paid work.
Lyn Prodger, Corporate Partnerships Manager for Action For Kids, said: “We are incredibly excited and proud that this prestigious international sporting spectacular is heading down to AFK Beach, particularly after the profile of the Paris Olympics.
“We have worked tirelessly on developing this award-winning and one-of-a-kind charity event since 2009 and it is always highly anticipated by our fundraisers and the local community at Canary Wharf.
“Working with Sportworx, SideOut and Volleyball England will enable us to engage with a new audience and raise our profile and vital funds for our services. We can’t thank everyone in this dynamic partnership enough for choosing to support AFK.”
More details around the event, including how to spectate, will be released in due course on the Sportworx, SideOut and Volleyball England’s websites.
