Beach Volleyball Development Centres
Volleyball England has established eight Beach Volleyball Development Centres across the country in partnership with local clubs.
The venues – Yellowave, Wessex, Richmond, Sideout (Leyton), Deep Dish (Crystal Palace), Fireball (Kidbrooke), Newcastle Staffs and Leeds Gorse/Skyball – have been selected to help strengthen the sport’s Performance Pathway.
Development Programmes at each aim to get hundreds more players taking to the sand on a regular basis over the coming years, with the most talented nurtured to help them progress through the levels.
Alongside that, there is the ambition to establish an improved framework of competitions that helps to retain people in beach volleyball, encourage cooperation with local clubs and ensure clearly defined and aligned pathways for coaches, officials and volunteers, as well as players.
A stronger Beach Volleyball community
Beach Volleyball has gained popularity over recent years and was boosted by English pair Javier and Joaquin Bello winning a bronze medal at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, an achievement they followed up on this summer by claiming a quarter-final place at EuroBeach Volley in Vienna.
Volleyball England believes the centres can help build on this and help produce not only stars of the future, but also a stronger Beach Volleyball community by giving more young players more time on the sand on a regular basis, starting from an earlier age, without the need to travel too far.
Where the centres are based
Each centre will be led by a Head Coach who will work to their own plans that take into their respective areas, while also remaining aligned to the overall strategy for the project.
In each case, a strong emphasis will be on collaboration with local clubs in an athlete-centred approach, with a talent ID programme put in place.
Volleyball England’s Beach Performance Director Kirk Pitman will visit all the centres on a regular basis to check progress and help and advise the respective Head Coaches.
The eight centres and their contacts
Yellowave - E: info@yellowave.co.uk. T: 01273 672222
Wessex - E: info@wessexvolleyball.com
Richmond - E: beach@richmondvolleyball.co.uk
Sideout (Leyton) - E: info@sideout.co.uk
Deep Dish (Crystal Palace) - E: info@deepdishbeach.com. T: 07432 605253
Fireball (Kidbrooke) - hello@fireballbeachvolleyball.com. T: 07583 738712
Newcastle Staffs - E: chair@nsvc.co.uk
Leeds Gorse/Skyball - E: elaine.brown@tgat.org.uk. T: 07963 782497
How to get involved
If you are a player who is interested in joining up with a Beach Volleyball Development Centre, please make contact with the appropriate centre, as detailed above.