As Part of the Sandwell Volleyball Festival 2010 Sandwell Leisure Trust Have Teamed Up

PRESS RELEASE: 19 August 2011

Beach volleyball: the summer’s big hit comes to Bournemouth

Beach volleyball took the country by storm at the Olympic Test Event, Horse Guards Parade, London, earlier this month. Now, the best of British beach volleyball will descend on Boscombe Beach this Bank Holiday weekend, 27-28 August, for the final installment of the Volleyball England Beach Tour (VEBT).

The VEBT Finals will take place over two full days packed with high quality beach volleyball, with top players battling for the title of VEBT 2011 Champions, double ranking points in the VEBT Champions’ Race and the double prize money available.

The Tour has visited seaside resorts nationwide - Margate, Great Yarmouth, Skegness and Weymouth, with teams battling it out for VEBT Champions’ Race ranking points to qualify for the finals in Bournemouth.

The 16 top ranking male and female pairs from both the senior and junior VEBT series events will now take centre stage in Bournemouth for the Finals in a bid to be crowned VEBT 2011 Champions at the VEBT Awards Dinner on Sunday evening, where the players’ accomplishments this season will be recognised and celebrated with a series of awards and presentations.

The high standard of play at the VEBT Finals will provide Bournemouth with a glimpse of what can be expected from beach volleyball at next year’s Olympics.

The sport has taken the country by storm this month with the Olympic Test Event in London receiving rave reviews from spectators and press alike and the performance of Great Britain’s players has shown the world that GB will be strong competition at the London 2012 Games. Some of those competing in Bournemouth are still in with a chance to qualify for next year’s Games, so the VEBT finals are your chance to get in on the action a year early! What’s more, if you’re feeling inspired to get involved, Volleyball England’s ‘Go Spike’ come-and-try courts will be available to practice your skills for free! Whether you’ve never played before and want to give it a go, or you haven’t played since you were at school - or on holiday – come down and have a go at volleyball, it’s great fun!

Lisa Wainwright, Chief Executive of Volleyball England, said: “This is an exciting time for volleyball in this country and Volleyball England is committed to raising the profile of the sport via events such as the Beach Tour. Volleyball will be one of the most popular events at the London 2012 Olympic Games; the buzz around beach volleyball after the Test Event at Horse Guards parade has been phenomenal.

“We want to encourage even more people to play, watch and get involved in the social buzz of the sport. Volleyball is great for boosting fitness levels, developing skills, tactics and generally having fun being active.

“Boscombe Beach is an excellent venue to host the VEBT Finals and I’d encourage anyone to come along for a great day out!”

The VEBT Finals will take place from 09:00 on Saturday 27 and 10:00 on Sunday 28 August, with the finals being played from 14:00 on Sunday 28 August. For more information please visit www.volleyballengland.org/Beach/VEBT

For more information on beach volleyball and how to get involved please visit www.go spike.net or www.volleyballengland.org

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

Volleyball England is the branded image for the English Volleyball Association (EVA). Volleyball England is the recognised National Governing Body for Volleyball in all its forms, including Volleyball, Beach Volleyball and Sitting Volleyball in England. Volleyball England has a service level agreement with the British Volleyball Federation (BVF) to manage the GB Sitting Volleyball Performance Programme.

VEBT 2011 consisted of five high-profile events that showcased the sport in locations with a high footfall of passers-by. PRESS ENQUIRIES:

Heather Richardson Promote PR [email protected] 01628 507 665