England look to make their mark at CEV Beach Volley European Cup

The teams will look to battle through the preliminary phase on 26th and 27th September, and are looking forward to facing off against some of the best beach clubs in Europe.

The men’s side will light up the island of Île de Ré, France, while the women will clash in the Italian city of Beinasco.

England will be represented by a partnership between Fireball and Hybrid Beach Volleyball clubs, who earned qualification after winning the UKBT Club Championships on the men’s side, and would finish 2nd on the women’s side to University of Nottingham - who would later withdraw from the European Cup to allow Fireball / Hybrid to represent England on both sides.

Fireball Head Coach Sam Dunbavin made clear the value of the collaboration between the two clubs.

“This is the third consecutive year that Fireball has qualified for the preliminary round of the European Cup, and the first time we have done so jointly with Hybrid.  

“This collaboration has been really special for us this year - Mark and Hybrid Vacations have been running a fantastic programme of performance training at Fireball Kidbrooke, aimed at supporting some of the top athletes in the UK to achieve their volleyball dreams,” said Sam.

The men’s side is made up of Fireball / Hybrid’s winning side from the UKBT Club Championships in Stuart Perry, Theo Plaza and Lewis Bunton - who have competed in their age group European Championships in Madrid and Battipaglia respectively this summer, and will aim to use their international experience to their strength.

Seasoned beach athletes and Beach Pro Tour Bridlington medalists Freddie Bialokoz and Niko Gleed “need no introducing to England beach fans” and will complete England’s side, as they eye up progression through the preliminary stages.

“We are really proud to have a team of five home-grown English talents ready to represent on the European stage.” Sam said.

“Our goal with the men is to qualify for the finals in Turkey in November,”

England are ranked 14th out of 22 on the men’s side, and their pool consists of Cardiff BVC (Wales, NR), Portrush BVC (Northern Ireland, #20) and RE Beach Club (France, #1). 

In the women’s team, their focus lies more in getting accustomed to the tournament and it’s format, as Dunbavin explains:

“On the women's side, this is our first year competing at the Europeans so we are aiming to just put out our best performance each game as we get used to the format.”

The squad jetting off to Italy consist of UKBT multi-medalists Lorena Tussis and Gerda Berstautaite - and like the men’s side, will be backed up by experienced hands in Kirsty Star and Katie Keefe, silver medalists at NEVZA Beach Bridlington.

“Both teams are fiercely competitive and have a very high level of technical proficiency, so we think we will be a handful for any squad we play.” said Sam.

“Kirsty and Katie have been training with Sam as part of the England programme all summer. Lorena and Gerda, as well as being some of the nicest, bubbliest people you will ever meet, have been representing Fireball on the UKBT for the last three years and have been coached by Mark all summer, so it's fantastic to see the two teams step up to the next level and get to compete internationally for Fireball and Hybrid.”

England are ranked 19th out of 20 on the women’s side, and their pool consists of ASD Beach Volley (Italy, #8) and Kristiansand Sand VC (Norway, #17) 

England will test their mettle against the best beach clubs in Europe on 26th September, with matches streamed on EuroVolley TV. 

Good luck to the teams!

Pictures by @jwakelinvisuals, Simon Clarke and @mikevbphotos.