Information and photo courtesy of volleyball.org.au
Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallists will be joined by the reigning Asian Champions when the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour makes its annual stop at Thompsons Beach for the Cobram-Barooga Classic this week.
The tournament marks the third round on the 2024/25 Tour and will showcase men’s and women’s fields full of international talent.
Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Taliqua Clancy has won 15 of her 17 events on the Tour, with her first victory coming in 2013. With new partner Jana Milutinovic, Clancy returned to the Tour at Canberra earlier this month with the pair combining to take out the title.
Milutinovic claimed the 2024 with Stefie Fejes, who is chasing a third straight victory at Cobram after also scoring the 2022 title with Phoebe Bell. This week Fejes is playing with rising star Lara Maric.
Clancy and Milutinovic enter the women’s draw as top seeds, while D’Artagnan Potts and Jack Pearse head the men’s field.
Potts and Pearse produced one of the most eye-catching performances of 2024 when they won the Asian Championships, finishing in front of Australia’s two men’s teams which competed at the Paris Olympics.
Making the result even more remarkable was that it was just their third tournament playing together. Potts and Pearse have brought their form into 2025 with victory in Canberra earlier this month in their first national tour event as a combination.
Last year Pearse finished runner-up at Cobram with 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Paul Burnett. Burnett will partner Luke Ryan this week with the pair named second seeds and if the draw holds true to form, they could face Pearse and Potts in the decider.
The Cobram-Barooga Classic remains one of the most popular stops on the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour with the local community encouraged to get involved.
As competition winds up on day one, a Free Family Fun Night will continue at Thompsons Beach with live music and food trucks alongside the high quality on-court action.
“After flooding forced the 2023 event to be cancelled we were excited for the Cobram-Barooga Classic to return last year and it didn’t disappoint,” said Nicky Goldsworthy, Chairperson Cobram Barooga Business and Tourism.
“Seeing Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallists bring their talent to the region is incredibly exciting and we’d love to see the community get out and be part of this great event.
“Our Free Family Fun Night is open to everyone and we hope to then see the community checking out the action right throughout the weekend.”
Competition starts at 9am on Friday 28 February, and at 8am AEDT on Saturday and Sunday.
The bronze and gold medal matches on Super Sunday will be streamed live on the AusVolley YouTube Channel from 11:30am AEDT.
2025 AUSTRALIAN BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOUR
Round 3 | Cobram-Barooga Classic, Thompsons Beach VIC
Friday 28 February to Sunday 2 March
Play commences Friday 9am AEDT / Saturday & Sunday 8am AEDT
Click here for seedings and draw information.
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
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