Volleyslam returns to Coolangatta Beach on Friday and kicks off with the biggest event on the national calendar, the 2024 Mahindra Australian Beach Volleyball Championships.
The event also doubles as the fourth and final round of the 2023/24 Australian Beach Volleyball Tour following earlier events in Geelong, Cobram and Mollymook.
For the first time, the event is supported by Mahindra who recently partnered with Volleyball Australia and are naming rights sponsors for the Australian Beach Volleyball Championships and the Australian Volleyball Super League.
“Our partnership with Volleyball Australia signifies a key milestone in Mahindra’s journey, ensuring that Mahindra reaches a broader audience and integrates more deeply into the Australian way of life, aligning perfectly with the dynamic spirit of sportsmanship and the passion of our audience,” said Ankit Taneja, National Manager, Mahindra Automotive Australia.
“With this partnership we aim to create memorable experiences for volleyball fans, further deepening Mahindra’s connection with the Australian community.”
Stefie Fejes (NSW) and Jana Milutinovic (SA) will go into this weekend on the back of scoring a silver medal at last weekend’s Beach Pro Tour Futures in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.
The pair have finished no worse than second this season, taking out two rounds of the national tour, the Beach Pro Tour Futures in Mollymook and winning gold for Australian at the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands.
Georgia Johnson (Qld) re-teams with Tara Phillips (SA) this weekend in a partnership that has performed strongly before. The duo first played together in Wollongong last year when they reached the national tour quarter-final before finishing with a share of fifth at a Beach Pro Tour Futures event in Belgium.
Top seeds for the men’s event will be the pairing of Jack Pearse (SA) and Paul Burnett (WA) who have gone from strength to strength since combining for the first time in November.
After being knocked out in the quarter-finals of their first national tour event, they have since gone on to win the final Beach Pro Tour Futures tournament of 2023 and finished runners-up at the national tour in Cobram before going one better in Mollymook.
Pearse and Burnett could come up against the Kiwi combination they defeated in the Geelong Futures final should both teams win through to Sunday afternoon. Thomas Reid and John Macmanaway have been playing together for just over a year and have been regular winners on the New Zealand Tour. They also won the Asian Continental Cup (Oceania Zone) last year and finished fourth at last week’s Futures event in Mount Maunganui.
The Mahindra Australian Beach Volleyball Championships get underway with qualifying on Coolangatta Beach on Friday 15 March, with the main draw starting on the Friday afternoon and medal matches on Sunday.
Click here for full team lists, seedings and tournament information.
The Mahindra Australian Beach Volleyball Championships kicks off the 10-day Volleyslam festival with four marquee events taking place on Coolangatta Beach.
Volleyslam 2024 is supported by Experience Gold Coast and the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: www.twitter.com/AsianVolleyball
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
Mikasa Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/mikasasports_official
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation