Action on the sand continues throughout August
Australia’s beach volleyballers are entering another busy period of action which starts this week across Europe and Asia.
Chris McHugh and Paul Burnett played in qualifying of the Beach Pro Tour Elite16 in Hamburg overnight, but went down to their Lithuanian opponents 2:0.
That is just the start of this weekend’s action with two tournaments in Asia starting today.
The Beach Pro Tour Futures continues in China with three Australian pairings taking part.
Josh Howat and Jack Pearse along with James Takken and Solomon Bushby will compete in the men’s main draw while Lizzie Alchin and Kayla Mears are the only Aussie women’s pair.
The AVC Beach Tour touches down at the Penghu Open for the first time since 2019 with four Australian teams competing in Chinese Taipei.
Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher come into the event as the top ranked team and are joined by the new pairing of D’Artagnan Potts and Ben Hood.
In the women’s draw, Georgia Johnson and Jasmine Fleming come in as the third seeds and will be looking to continue their strong 2023 form which includes a fourth place finish at last week’s Beach Pro Tour Futures in China. U21 Asian Beach Volleyball Champion Stefie Fejes is back with regular partner Jana Milutinovic as the tournament’s sixth seeds.
The action doesn’t stop in the coming weeks with Mears and Alchin set to play in the Beach Pro Tour event in Seoul next week, while Howat and Pearse have upcoming tournaments in Egypt and France. Rob Reeves and Declan Tiso will also be in action in Montpellier.
Beach Pro Tour Elite16 – Hamburg GER (16-20 August)
MEN
Chris McHugh/Paul Burnett
Beach Pro Tour Futures – Qidong CHN (17-20 August)
MEN
James Takken/Solomon Bushby
Josh Howat/Jack Pearse
WOMEN
Kayla Mears/Lizzie Alchin
AVC Beach Tour Penghu Open – Penghu TPE (17-20 August)
MEN
Mark Carracher/Izac Nicolaidis
Ben Hood/D’Artagnan Potts
WOMEN
Georgia Johnson/Jasmine Fleming
Jana Milutinovic/Stefie Fejes
Beach Pro Tour Futures – Al-Alamein EGY (23-26 August)
MEN
Josh Howat/Jack Pearse
Beach Pro Tour Futures – Seoul KOR (24-27 August)
WOMEN
Kayla Mears/Lizzie Alchin
Beach Pro Tour Futures – Montpellier FRA (30 August-3 September)
MEN
Josh Howat/Jack Pearse
Rob Reeves/Declan Tiso
