On Sunday 22nd August, the Beach Volleyball roadshow moved on to Troon to host the Scottish Under 19 Beach Volleyball Championships.
With 11 courts set up, all athletes in attendance, their parents, and carers excited for the day ahead, the tournament commenced under better weather than the morning competition set up.
In Men’s Division A, the top 4 seeds started off brightly asserting their dominance with excellent ball control and attacking options. The teams in each of the pools fought hard to get those qualifying spots for the Quarter Finals and showed understanding on how to win points on the sand and disrupt the opposition rhythm.
In Women’s Division A, the top seeds serving pressure and defensive reading allowed them to pick apart their opponents in the pool phase, but some of them didn’t get their own way too easily. The Pool phase is a great opportunity for the newer teams to get a chance to play against more organised, and trained, competition and see where they are in their development.
In Women’s B Division, ably supported by West Coast Beach Coach Niko Zlatev, the teams played a preliminary round robin to determine seedings for the knockout tournament later in the day. 10 matches were played and the enthusiasm to develop their craft over the course of the tournament.
With all pool matches completed, the afternoon had a real air of anticipation that the competition was about to heat up across all 4 divisions.
Men’s Division B started with a bang with Paterson/Russel asserting their dominance over the rest of the tournament. This led them in good stead with the quality of their play shining through over their opponents. All teams approached the competition with some fierce competitive spirit. The final match of the Round Robin final was a straight shoot out for the silver medal. City of Edinburgh’s Fidez/Morrison just pipped Greenwood Academy’s Frew/Foster to take the silver medal.
Women’s A Division Final Placings:
1st – Paterson / Russell (St Andrews BVC)
2nd – Fidez / Morrison (City of Edinburgh)
3rd – Frew / Foster (Greenwood Academy)
In the Women’s B Division, this was a competition for anyone to take. Players from Caledonia West, City of Edinburgh, Greenwood Academy, and a debut pairing from Dumbarton Academy all were vying for the top spot. Many close battles took place in the knockout rounds with each match swinging back and forward. Caledonia West’s Allison and Clegg-McKeown grew with confidence in each round they played and with this confidence pushed their way through to the Final. A very hard fought Semi Final between Caledonia West Drennan/Hamilton and Greenwood Academy’s Hutchinson/Shepherd ended with the Caledonia West team making their way into the final. Hutchinson/Shepherd dusted themselves off quickly and performed extremely well in their Bronze Medal match and took home their first ever Beach Volleyball medal.
In the Final both teams, who know each other very well, went toe to toe and delivered an epic final for the families and spectators in attendance. Some great defence and transition helped Allison/Clegg-McKeown overcome their club mates to take their first National title.
Women’s B Division Final Placings:
1st – Allison / Clegg-McKeown (Caledonia West)
2nd – Drennan / Hamilton (Caledonia West)
3rd – Hutchinson / Shepherd
In the Women’s Division A, the top 4 seeds safely made it into the Quarter Finals and then showed their dominance in those matches.
In the first Semi Final, top seeds Ranklin / Wrobelwska found themselves in a fight to make it to the final with Burns / Gillies. An epic 3 set encounter ensued with some bomb serves from Gillies but the team of Ranklin / Wroblewksa countering with good communication & teamwork allowed them to score heavily in the transition phase. This led them to grab the 3rd set and make their way to the final. Hislop / Paterson took on Blair / Kelly in the other semi final and again the quality of the play was there to be seen. A strong focus from the service line put pressure on both reception units but the team from Caledonia West prevailed to take their place in the Final.
The bronze medal match was an all-City of Edinburgh affair and Burns / Gillies got the edge on Blair / Kelly to take the match and the medal. The final was a great spectacle with Hislop / Paterson fighting for every point, but the experience of Rankin / Wroblewska shone through to take the gold medal and the title of Scottish Junior Beach Volleyball Champions.
Women’s A Division Final Placings:
1st – Ranklin / Wroblewska (City of Edinburgh / Volleyball Aberdeen)
2nd – Hislop / Paterson (Caledonia West)
3rd – Burns / Gilles (City of Edinburgh)
The Men’s A Division Quarter Finals led to some close matches but also some first-time beach volleyball tournament competitors finishing high in the competition.
Top seeds Paterson / Ramsay were looking very strong throughout the competition but came up against 4th Seeds Allan / Orr. The 4th seeds took the game to the top seeds and won a thrilling first set 24-22. The top seeds had set points but couldn’t close it out, but they would not make this mistake again with their excellent ball control and shot selection helping them through the next two sets to gain their place in the final. In the second semi-final, 2nd seeds Mackay Turnbull took on the team from Aurora Beach Club Hayton / McQuaker-Kajiwara. This match was tough for both teams as it was very physical and mentally demanding. The team from Kinross/NUVOC had enough in their tank to take the victory and progress to the final.
The bronze medal match was again a hard-fought match with the teams giving every last bit of energy they had, but it was Su Ragazzi’s Allan / Orr who had that extra bit to take the bronze medal.
The Men’s final followed the trend of previous matches, which shows the development work going on behind the scenes is working. Paterson / Ramsay started off strongly but didn’t get everything their own way with Mackay / Turnbull maintaining their level and pushing the top seeds all the way. In the end Paterson/Ramsay had too much in their tool belt and sealed the victory for the gold medal and winning the Championship.
Men’s A Division Final Placings:
1st – Paterson / Ramsay (St Andrews Beach / City of Edinburgh)
2nd – Mackay / Turnbull (Kinross / NUVOC)
3rd – Allan / Orr (Su Ragazzi)
Men's Division A Medallists
This tournament had everything, the current crop of players, the new generation of players who will have up to 5 years within the junior programme. It was great to see where we are as a sport and the development potential of the new stars all in one competition venue made for a fantastic atmosphere.
I would like to say a massive thank you to all the parents/carers and coaches who took time out of their busy schedules to transport their children to the tournament for a full day of beach volleyball. I would also like to thank West Regional Development Officer, Blair Pettigrew, for his support before and after the competition in a busy time for his post.
The biggest thanks go to Greenwood Academy parents and West Coast Beach Volleyball Club for their support on the day. The full day task was made a lot easier with the support from these 2 groups. The parents were fantastic all day supporting the event from setting up at 8am to taking everything down at 5pm. This support certainly is valued from everyone at Scottish Volleyball.
Finally, a big thank you to VolleyballPhotos for their continued support of Scottish Volleyball activities. It is always great to see the team down at our events. You can view/purchase all their photos at the link below. We hope you can support them in this difficult time for small businesses.
https://www.volleyballphotos.co.uk/2021/SCO/Beach/2021-08-22-U19-Champs/
From everyone at Scottish Volleyball we want to say a huge thank you for supporting this event. Our planning is already underway to make this bigger and better next summer.