The first round of the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour saw six teams from the ACT take to the sand in Glenelg, Adelaide. Despite challenging windy and hot conditions on day one, most teams managed to secure wins by Saturday, finishing in the middle of their respective divisions. This was a commendable effort, especially considering that nine of the ten Elite players were making their debut in this division, and Hamish Richardson & Oliver Clayton were effectively on debut for Challenger Division 1 (Division 2 & 3 have been dropped from the tour this season).

• Elite Women: Allana Benson & Lucia Zarak, Mei Doan Herlihy & Lavinia Tyrrel

• Elite Men: Jake Greber & Beau Donoghue, Charlie Beard & Jay Tregealge, Maximilian Edvardsson & William Witheford

• Challenger Men: Hamish Richardson & Oliver Clayton

Competition Highlights:

• Doan Herlihy & Tyrrel surprised everyone watching with their aggressive and fun style of play against 3rd seeds Vanloo & Brasell. They were up for the majority of the first set, making it a exciting match.

• Benson & Zarak had a rollercoaster of a tournament, playing aggressive volleyball but struggling to maintain that level throughout the full match. This is still an important step forward from previous seasons.

• Both women's teams had a win in pool play and in the Round of 32, finishing the tournament 17th.

• Witheford & Edvardsson faced the 6th ranked team in Australia in extremely windy conditions on a rock-covered court, a challenging experience to say the least.

• Clayton & Richardson secured a win over Dingley/Swan from Victoria with a scoreline of 21-14, 17-21, 15-13 to get a win on the board in the Challenger division.

• Beard & Tregeagle managed a win in pool play and in the Round of 32, finishing 17th. Highlights for this team include coming from behind to beat Cure & Macleod in the second set 21-16, 29-27. They also pushed three-time Australian Beach Volleyball Tour winner Mateusz Zieba to three sets in the Round of 24.

• Greber & Donoghue did not have the most ideal draw, having to play 4 out of their 5 matches in front of the Australian selectors. They managed to turn it on in patches with some big blocks at the net and impressive digs in defense against some of the best up-and-coming talent in the country. Their best game may have been against Tang & Byrne, where despite leading in both sets, they couldn't quite overcome the Victorians, but they came very close.

Looking Ahead: The next Australian Beach Volleyball Tour event will be held in Canberra between 7-9 February 2025. We're hopeful to see some locals make the cut for that event, and several pairs are already on their way to qualifying.

Upcoming Events:

• ACT Beach Series Round 3: This weekend, with entries closing on Wednesday, 13 November 2024 at 9am.

• NSW Open: 7-8 December 2024 at Manly Beach, Sydney, with some pairs traveling for the event in a few weeks.

Current Competitions: Will Witheford, Max Edvardsson and Ema Rajic are currently participating in the Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Tour U19s competition in Glenelg where they have both managed a 4th place finish.