Australian Beach Schools Cup joins the VolleySlam action
The opening day of the Australian Beach Volleyball Schools Cup saw 223 teams from around Australia battle it out in the wet conditions at Coolangatta.
As the fourth and final event to get underway during VolleySlam, Schools Cup welcomed athletes in 16 divisions.
Making their journey from the other side of the country, Western Australians Owen Rigg and Finn Vercruysse are representing Hale School for the first time at this event.
“It feels pretty great to be here on the Gold Coast competing at VolleySlam,” Owen said.
“I feel a little out of place though because other than Rossmoyne, we are the only school from Western Australia.
“It has been pretty nerve racking, but it has also been such an exciting experience because no teams know who we are and what we can do.”
“Yeah it was definitely nerve-racking to start competition today,” Finn said.
“But we’ve won our two games today so that gives us some confidence that we can do it against some of these tough teams.”
With Schools Cup the final event to hit the courts at VolleySlam, Owen is warmed up after spending the last week donning the yellow and black for Western Australia at the Australian Youth Beach Championships.
“It’s fun every game this week, and none of them are really uneventful,” Owen said.
“It’s a pretty good atmosphere at the School’s Cup and it’s also a very welcoming environment for us coming from WA.
“No one is trying to prove themselves too much, and it’s just been great so far.
“We don’t really know what the whole tournament is like yet, but after winning our first two pool games I think we have a good chance at progressing, and I can’t wait to see what that’s like over the next two days and see what the teams in different pools can do as well.”
