Two Powell River teens have placed ninth in a national beach volleyball tournament.
The Beach Volleyball National Championships were held at Spanish Banks in Vancouver from August 23 to 25 featuring over 200 youth teams from across Canada on more than 60 courts competing in 14U, 16U, 18U and 21U divisions.
For Paige Lawson and Lauren Mander, two grade-nine students from Brooks Secondary School, it was their first time competing in a national tournament. Although they both had been playing indoor volleyball at their school and at the club level, this summer was the first time that they had played beach volleyball.
Volleyball on the beach is played in two-person teams as compared to the six-player teams for indoor ball.
Dale Lawson, Paige’s mother, explained that her daughter “caught the volleyball bug” in grade seven and by the end of grade eight had really improved her skills.
“Her coach Doug Skinner caught her on fire for the sport,” said Dale. “At the end of grade eight she just didn’t want to stop playing and there were opportunities out of town for players to participate in camps.”
Paige and Lauren signed up and then went on to play in Vancouver Island Championships in Parksville last July where they finished third. They went on to play in the provincial tournament in Vancouver in August where they tied for third place in division one, tier two ball, said Dale.
Both Paige and Lauren are pleased with how their first summer went.
“I have learned so much about beach volleyball,” said Paige. “It’s so different than indoor. It’s a lot harder to move in the sand but I love it and I plan to play as much as I can on the beach next year.”
Dale said that the indoor coaching the girls received by coaches Jay Yule and Skinner “really groomed them to be excellent skilled volleyball players.”
She added that the support the girls have received from City of Powell River staff to adjust the height of the volleyball net and improve the sand at Willingdon Beach will help them improve further for next summer.
“They are really proud of their achievements considering it’s their first summer at beach volleyball,” said Dale.
