My IRB Experience 2023 – Harry Brett

Each year we ask a number of our young athletes to report back on their experience, today we focus on Harry Brett, who was selected to represent the SW at this summer’s U18 International Beach Championships.

On the 8th and 9th of July 2023 I was selected to Represent my region Southwest at the U18 Inter Regional Beach championships. Last year I also competed in this event however, this time I was pair one which showed my improvement from the previous year.

We travelled up to Cardiff the day before to ensure that we all had a good night’s sleep before the long day of playing on the next day. We also used this time to go through the teams that we’d be playing and what strategies to use against them.

An early rise the next morning would prepare us for games starting at 9am so we were wide awake and sharp to give our best performance. We would need this as we were matched up against the South East region who looked like the team that would cause us the most problems all weekend.

The beginning of the match was tight, points were 1 at a time and the score was even for most of the first set. However, as the end of the set approached the opposition stepped up a gear pulling our advanced b1’s which is a quick set to the pin which both defenders and blockers struggle to counter. This gave them the push they needed to take the first set and this caused our heads to drop slightly. The second set started badly going 7-2 down within a short space of time and this led to us calling a timeout. This ended up being a smart move as we stepped up now and brought the score to 10-11 and a side change moving us to the better side. The rest of the set reflected that of the first with back and forth but a slight drop from us with a close finish of 19-21 to South East. Losing 2-0 wasn’t ideal but we knew the game was much closer than the scores said, and we made sure to keep our heads high going into the second pool match.

Now because we had lost our first match it was very important that we went into the second game with a win at all costs mentality. It was against London’s second team which was still strong saying it was the second pair. Further more the conditions had worsened so we would have to play in the wet and windy. The start of the game was excellent going up 14-10 early on before the other team calling a timeout. This further propelled us into taking the first set 21-15 a comfortable take. Going into the second our game became much sloppier as we were giving them easy points which made this set much closer as we came close to 21. But in the end, we lost the second set in a closely fought 23-21. We took the break between sets to reset and get ready for the final set. Coming out strong we presented a lead as the score was 7-4. We made sure to put our all into this and through this determination we won the game in a 15-11 final set.

The penultimate game of day 1 was against a tough opponent, Yorkshire. We came into this one needing to win if we wanted an easier route out of the pool stages. Knowing this we put all our effort coming out of the start being close having the scores be 17-17 our opponents were tough being well practised and precise with their shots which meant we were becoming really tired really quickly. Our fatigue got to us in the end of this set leading to them taking it 21-18 which was unfortunate saying our strong start. Going into the second we dropped our heads because of the unlucky loss and this caused us to become sloppy and the opponent ran away quickly.

This meant that we now had our crossover game to end the day, this was against South Wales. This game was tight and after an unfortunate 23-21 first set we lost our momentum and unfortunately ended the second set 21-19 which was an unlucky result. However, due to our second pair winning we got into a golden set which was one short set to 15 points, and this was for the match. Unfortunately, yet again we lost but this time it was only 15-10, and that was it for day one.

The next morning began with an opener against the East of England. We went into this game confident from the underwhelming performance of the previous day and started off with a bang, taking the first set 21-12. As a result, the opponent stepped up their game and took the second set 21-16 which lead to a final set. We took this with confidence and a 15-12 score line.

Because of our loss in the crossover, we had matched up against London A, the winners of the other pool, knowing that we had to play our best to have a shot at winning. The first set began with some big blocks from my teammate and the scores were tight until around 12-12, where they made a few less errors and went off where we eventually ended at 21-17. Using this momentum, they made an early push to 19-11 however we made a comeback to 19-18 but a timeout from them disrupted our momentum and they took the set.

From this we were into our final game, the 5-6 playoff which was against London B. Between out last game and now, a huge storm had come over and it was now torrential rain which means the balls were heavy and slippery which lead to sloppy gameplay, we won the first and last set against London as we anxiously watched our second pair lose in a tight battle, however they unfortunately lost a close one which meant it was a golden set. It was the end of a long weekend, and both teams were tired which lead to long winded points and the golden set was 11-11, and in a close fight they took a short lead and took the game for 5th place.

This Tournament was my last opportunity to play in IRB and it was a memorable one with some wild weather and amazing volleyball even though it wasn’t the result I wanted. It was a great experience that I’ll for sure remember!

Harry Brett

My U19 Beach International Experience 2023 – Louise Wiener

Each year we ask a number of our young athletes to report back on their experience, today we focus on Louise Wiener, who was selected to represent the SW at this summer’s U19 International Beach Open Championships.

Representing Southwest in the 2023 U19 international Beach Open Championship was my second time playing beach volleyball competitively – the first being just a few weeks before in the Inter regional Beach Championships. During these few weeks, I felt I have improved massively in my beach volleyball skills as before this summer, I had only ever seriously played indoor volleyball (which all players know are two very different sports).

Firstly, I want to say how grateful I am to Southwest and my coaches for allowing me a chance to take part in this amazing experience and develop as a volleyball player.

My partner for this weekend was Charlie Chambers, a wonderful talent who I had previously had the privilege of playing with in the U17 Inter regionals Championship in May of 2023. Therefore, we already knew each other well and I was extremely excited to be able to play with her again.

On day one, the sun was out, and we were both excited / nervous to begin playing. Our first game of the tournament was against Ireland, in which Charlie and I were able to come out with a successful win (21-9, 21-14) which gave us plenty of confidence as we headed into game two. Playing Northern Ireland was a tough one but despite the challenge, we triumphed in two sets (21-18, 21-17)!

The last game of the day was against Scotland, which proved to be a very demanding one. After narrowly losing the first set 20-22, we had a little pep talk and were ready to go on to the next set. This one we won 21-17, meaning we had a third set to play for the win. Unfortunately, Scotland were able to win 15-7. Nevertheless, I was extremely proud of Charlie and myself for being able to battle through!

Together with the success of our second pair – Alexia and Heidi – this meant that we topped pool B at the end of the day!

On day two however, the weather was not on our side. Playing in the pouring rain (which I actually began to quite enjoy) meant that we had to adapt as a team to the new conditions and the heavier ball. Now, it was time to play England in the semi-finals – who were at the top of pool A. We knew that this would be a challenging game as we had watched this pair play throughout the weekend. After a hard-fought game, we ended up losing to England which left us in the 3rd/4th place playoffs.

An unfortunate injury to Alexia meant that to win bronze, Charlie and I would have to win both our game and the golden set, as Alexia and Heidi had to forfeit theirs. Therefore, our last game of the championship was against Scotland, the same pair we had already played and lost to the day before. Charlie and I were both more than exhausted at this point and thoroughly soaked by the rain, but we were determined to beat this pair – and we did! Taking it to another 3 sets, we were able to persevere and win which portrayed just how much we had evolved as a pair in such a short time. Now for the golden set to 15 points. After leading by 10-2 at one point, Scotland were able to catch up point-by-point and we ended up losing 14-16 in a gut-wrenching last set (leaving Scotland about 5 minutes to catch their plane home). However disappointing it can be, it is important to learn from these experiences and take them with you for the next time.

To conclude, I massively enjoyed this weekend and can confidently say that I feel like a beach player at the end of it all! So much love to Charlie for being the best partner that I could have gone through this experience with and for being by my side throughout the games. Thank you also to Southwest’s Dave Reece, Dave Gunter, and our coach Abbie Sinclair-Thompson who supported us throughout!

Louise Wiener

Cultivating SW Beach Champions

My U19 Beach International Experience 2023 – Charlie Chambers

Each year we ask a number of our young athletes to report back on their experience, today we focus on Charlie Chambers, who was selected to represent the SW at this summer’s U19 International Beach Open Championships.

Louise Wiener (Left) & Charlie Chambers (Right)

The U19s International Open took place on the 29th-30th July 2023 at the Cardiff Beach Volleyball Centre. We drove up early on the 29th, for our team briefing before our first match that morning. My partner was Louise Weiner, who I played alongside at the U17 Inter-Regional Championships, Beach Regionals and all of the SW training camps over the season. Louise is a player who is incredible to watch on court, and whom I have the utmost respect for- so I was very excited to be her teammate.

Pulling up to the venue, I was expecting the International Open to be the same as Beach Regionals the month prior, however seeing the other teams and the older players, I knew the standard would be very different and each game that much more competitive.

Our first game was against Ireland, and with that, mine and Louise’s first match together. We started as we meant to go on, with a convincing win of 21-9, 21-14! I’m sure many players can understand the nerves and apprehension before a match, especially when representing your region on this level, but coupled with playing with a new teammate, its always going to be that much more daunting. But winning our first game definitely shook off the nerves and filled Louise and I with confidence that we aimed to carry with us for the remainder of the tournament.

We then played Northern Ireland- which was a challenging game. Louise and I had to really work hard for the win, and pulled it off with a 21-18, 21-17 result. After all that hard work, we felt we deserved a reward, so we headed to the local bakery- well known amongst the Cardiff Beach Volleyball community!

We picked up a fresh cinnamon bun each (the first of many for the weekend) and ate it whilst watching the other SW pair (Alexia and Heidi) play against Scotland, in our final pool match of the day. They beat the first pair easily at 21-7, 21-10, which bode well for us.

Unfortunately we lost the first set against Scotland’s second pair 22-20, in a tough fought set. After a pause in between sets and some encouragement to each other, Louise and I played hard to win the second set 21-17, meaning the game would go to a third set to 15 points.

Louise and I were exhausted and we lost 15-7 in the final set. However, not all hope was lost, since Heidi and Alexia won their game it meant our teams were drawn 1-1, which would be decided by a Golden Set. Heidi and Alexia were set to play, with Louise and I doing our best cheerleading impressions on the sidelines, and ultimately beating Scotland 15-12! This meant we finished top of our pool, and in the best possible position for the knockouts the next day.

We headed back to our accommodation for the night, where Dave cooked what seemed to be an infinite amount of pizza. After recovering from the carb overload, a game of table top volleyball took place amongst a few of the teams staying in our accommodation. Whilst seemingly making up the rules as they went along, it was very entertaining!

By this time, the days activities were physically taking its toll so we headed up to bed- I wanted to get a good night’s sleep so I wouldn’t be too tired for the second long day of matches, especially if we were aiming for the final.

After a deep sleep that could be otherwise described as a mini coma, I was energy-filled and ready to take on Wales in the knockouts. Unfortunately, the weather had taken a turn, and an almost biblical amount of rain decided to descend upon us for the entire day. Feeling more prepared than most, and never having been more grateful to live in a seaside county where the weather likes to take a dramatic turn, Louise and I were ready (unlike the poor boys from Gibraltar, who had never played in the rain before).

After emerging victorious with a 2-1 win, and Heidi and Alexia winning their game, we were through to play England in the Semis. We knew this would be a tough game, as one of the pairs from England was South West’s very own Katie and Molly. Whilst Louise and I talked strategy in shelter out of the rain, Alexia and Heidi took on England’s first pair. Things took a turn for the worse when Alexia injured her hand and could not continue, meaning they had to forfeit the game.

Louise and I knew this would be a challenging match, and after struggling to keep up morale in the game against Wales, we were desperate to overcome this learning curve. We went back to basics and focused on communication between each other, gradually bringing in more technical plays in order to try and eliminate mistakes. Despite losing to England, we felt we had developed as a pair more in one match than over the entire weekend, leaving the game with a completely different mindset than the one we went in with.

So, we’d ended up in the 3/4th place playoffs against Scotland, a team we’d taken to a Golden set the day before. It was going to be tough. Despite Alexia insisting she’d be able to play, the officials would not let her due to the severity of her injury. This meant the forfeiture of the first game, meaning Louise and I had to win our game and then the Golden Set in order to keep our medal chances alive.

A short slow Mo video with Charlie Chambers (left) and Louise Wiener showing us all how to play in the rain.

Still in the torrential rain, and face to face with the one pair we’d lost to the day before, we knew we had to win. Our determination was evident in the way we played, and after some tactical serving we obtained the advantage, took Scotland to three sets and won our game 2-1. After a short break, it was time for the Golden set, against a slightly different Scotland team. It came down to the wire, and we gave all we could, relying on and trusting each other in what was possibly the most intense set of volleyball I’ve ever played. In the end we lost 16-14, which was utterly devastating. But sometimes that’s how a game goes, there’s no point in thinking of ‘what ifs?’ or blaming yourself for a point lost. All you can do is reflect, appreciate the good and learn from the bad, and move on.

Ultimately, we finished 4th, and for the only region taking part in the u19 International Open, I’m happy with that, maybe not satisfied, but there’s always next year.

We left blood, sweat, tears (and a lot of rain) on those courts, and made memories I will never forget. It was an honour to play with Louise, I’m proud of her and I’m proud of us as a team. None of this would have been possible without coaching from Abbie Sinclair-Thomson, Dave Gunther and Dave Reece. And a massive thank you to SWVA, for their sponsorship and selecting me to represent them for all the events I took part in this season.

Charlie Chambers

My IRB Experience 2023 – Rosie Miller

Each year we ask a number of our young athletes to report back on their experience, today we focus on Rosie Miller, who was selected to represent the SW at this summer’s Inter Regional Beach Championships.

Freya Astbury (Left) & Rosie Miller (Right)

I first played beach volleyball just after my GCES roughly a year ago. I was honoured to be chosen to play as part of the SW squad for the Inter Regional Beach Championships in July. I had an amazing weekend and learnt new skills and tactics throughout the tournament.

I played with Freya who had more experience than me and we quickly worked out how to play as a team. I learnt a lot from Freya and I was lucky to have a partner with such patience because I’m so new to the sport. We didn’t win any games but we scored some great points, I was particularly proud of a solid block I played against one of the better teams.

I learnt that there are many parts of beach volleyball that I can develop and improve on with time and training. Something that I won’t forget is seeing the wide range of experienced players, the techniques they use and their teams tactics. Some of the skills they demonstrated that I would like to work on include perfectly executed jump float serves, cut spikes and some incredible dives.

The Cardiff Beach centre was a great place to play because there were so many matches to watch In a relatively small area and the pavilion provided great protection from the torrential rain shower that hit us on the second day. It was fun to spend the weekend with players my age and to get to see what Cardiff Mets accommodation was like.

All in all it was an amazing experience. I came away motivated and inspired to become a much better volleyball player. I would like to thank all the coaches and volunteers who made the tournament possible for us to enjoy and special thanks to Torexe for sponsoring me.

Rosie Miller

My JCC Experience 2022 – Katie Tuohey

Each year we ask a number of our young athletes to report back on their experience, today we focus on Katie Tuohey, who was selected to represent the SW at this summer’s Junior Commonwealth Cup.

The Junior Commonwealth Cup for me was an incredibly special experience: one of my favourite ever tournaments to play (and I’ve played in quite a few). With teams from Ireland, N. Ireland, Scotland, Wales and different regions from England – this was my first taste of really diversified competition.

After representing South West earlier in the year at the Inter-Regionals – I was ecstatic to hear that I had another opportunity to represent our region. Not only this but I got to play with my best friend and favourite blocker -Heidi Bright. However, not knowing the talented Alexia and Ekin very well as our pair 1 -the weekend was an amazing way to get to know them and share the love of the sport together.

I’ll always remember this tournament, not only because of the array of shirt colours, but because of the heat -to highs of 34℃. These conditions made it extremely hard to play to the level I’m used to but the credit has to go to Carl and the team at Cardiff BV centre who made sure the courts were hosed and there was lots of water. Special mention to Floe, our team manager, and her snack bag filled with Lucozade etc to keep us going.

Our first match was against the all England team who we already knew very well and their capability. Disappointingly, after well fought battles from both pairs we lost the match 2-0. Yet, still we tried to turn this as a positive to use it as fire to get revenge later on in the tournament. Following this, with a drive to do well, we ended up winning the rest of the matches in our pool to put us in a good position.

This meant that we had drawn Northern Ireland in the quarter finals. Even though their supporters were very enthusiastic and sometimes overwhelming with their spirit: Dave and Floe helped to calm my nerves and led us to victory. This match, in particular, was my favourite as we were quite similar teams so different ups and downs on the scorecard challenged us to up our game and adapt our play. Adrenaline pumping, we managed to win the quarters two sets to nil.

We ate delicious food at the BV centre. The South West team drove back to a hotel together where, after a quick snack stop, we almost collapsed to bed as a result of the tiring day.

Refreshed and recharged, with an ache to get back on the sand, another hot day awaited us. In the locker rooms, suncream was passed around and likely never seen again but we were ready to go. Note – tan lines from this weekend are still seen today!

Before playing, we had to fulfil our duties as refs and scorers, another part of what made it special was the sense of community around one shared love. Beach Volleyball! Luckily getting to do this under the shade of Dave’s umbrellas.

For the semis, we had to play South East of England and after a painfully close three sets they emerged victorious – winning the third set 16-14. However, all was not lost as due to the team oriented style of the tournament – Alexia and Ekin won their match and the golden set to put us through to the finals. In Alexia’s words ‘I told you we could do it!’.

Through to the finals, we had another chance to take on all England. Even though Heidi and I started off strong – the strong serving of Maia and the loss of our usual rhythm meant we lost the match 2-0. Utterly devastated, our focus went to supporting our pair 1! One set apiece, we had lots of faith that they could pull through to get the win and face a golden set. Unfortunately, Alexia had landed badly in the second set and even though stoically carrying on – they could not quite pip the win.

Even though we were all extremely disappointed with the result, what I remember most is the team at the end. Running onto court, a few in tears, we hugged and talked it out. I have made friends for life!

With the boy’s team, we collected our silver medal’s and stood proudly on the podium- clapping the all England team.

Throughout the tournament, my greatest memory is the vibrant atmosphere. This overall was an unforgettable experience and thanks has to go to Denise Austin and the Cardiff BV team for its creation, and the South West coaching squad who supported and helped me along the way!

Katie Tuohey

My JCC Experience – Tom Lycett

Each year we ask a number of our young athletes to report back on their experience, today we focus on Tom Lycett who was selected to represent the SW at this summer’s Junior Commonwealth Cup.

SWVA Team: Rob Morgan, Mattie Tildesley, Harry Brett, Tom Lycett

I had played for South-West at the Inter-Regionals indoor and Inter-regionals beach, but didn’t have loads of experience at beach volleyball. But I went to the selection camp in Croyde anyway. Ben Fairweather and Dan Mrowiec were the coaches, we did drills and serving and played different games in different combinations to see what worked.

I was selected to play with Harry Brett as team 2, Rob Morgan and Mattie Tildesley were team 1. I knew Harry from beach training in Croyde and Rob and Mattie from the Volleyball England U19 pathway. We travelled to Cardiff for early on Saturday 13th August.

Teams playing were Scotland 1 and 2, Wales, Northern Ireland 1 and 2 and Ireland, also England SouthWest and England SouthEast. There are 6 volleyball courts in Victoria Park – the junior girls played one side and the boys on the other. We all helped with scoring and had to ref sometimes.

The weather was really, really hot – 34° C at one point. Shade was from hats, umbrellas and gazebo’s. But at mid-day it was brutal – I wore sand socks for the first time, as the sand was painful to walk on. They used sprinklers and a hose to cool the sand down between matches and there was a cold outside shower to stand under between games. We drank a lot of water and Lucozade.

On the first day we played Wales, Southeast, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Our coach, Dan was really great on Saturday giving tips and tactics. This was the first time Harry and I have played together and for the first match we were working things out.

Harry has more beach experience than me, he plays left side and I’m more on the right side. Both the SW boys teams finished the day unbeaten, we drove 40 mins to Newport where we stayed in a budget hotel. We were just hanging out and discussing the matches.

On the Sunday we got up early and drove back in to Cardiff. Sunday was hot again. We made it to the quarters, then the semis. The final was a tight match against Scotland 1- who we had beaten on the Saturday but we were all improving. We lost a competitive and close 3rd set to lose our final game by 2 points.

Dan and Rob won their match – so they played a golden set with Scotland 1 for the trophy. It was close – but Scotland just edged ahead and won. It was a rush because Scotland had taxi’s waiting to take them to the airport and home.

So SW boys finished second, we were pleased with the results as in the inter-regionals we had finished third, so that is a step up. But obviously next year we’re looking to come first and get the gold!

Thanks to Dan for being there on the Saturday and Ben Fairweather and Dan for running the trial and all their coaching. Thanks to Dave Reece for organising things and arranging sponsorship. We had a lot of parents to support us, though they didn’t make as much noise as the home Welsh guys!

I would recommend anyone in the SW teams to try for the beach squads as its great experience and I learnt a lot. Beach is good for skills and fitness and you might find out you like it like I did. Everyone was chilled and it was great to meet players from all over the UK and Ireland.

Tom Lycett

The Junior Commonwealth Cup (JCC) is a Home Nations Junior competition held in Cardiff.

My IRB Experience – Tom Falkner Ham

My Home Nations Experience – Ellie Austin

My World U21 Experience – Ellie Austin