AFTER two weeks of intensive training with German professional coach Aaron Korn, the Beach Volleyball community showcased their skills on Saturday, with 30 teams taking part, of which 23 were u19 juniors.
In the women's category, four teams battled it out for the title in a round robin system. Teja Lück and Kristin Glöditsch took top honours after beating Malinda Snyman and Mariska Botes in the final, while Taleninawa Salatiel and Winnie Towases came third.
Three men's teams competed in a small round robin tournament, with professional coach Aaron Korn also in the line-up with local player Immanuel Hafenanye, but it was Jan Erik Sack and Luke Brinkmann who took the title after winning all their matches. In the final they beat Shilumbu Thomas and Haipa Puye after a tough three-setter, 19-21, 21-13, 15-8.
The junior women's category saw 10 teams competing for honours, with most of them being beginners who only started playing beach volleyball during the course of this year.
The top two seeded teams managed to reach the finals as expected where Raica Coelho and Paula Ritzer took the title after beating Piroschka Lück and Sandra Steinkopff, 21-13, 21-16.
Third place went to two Afrocat players, Meriam Mendos and Meameno Heita who won the third placed play-off match against Annica Theissen and Melissa Zimney.
The boys u19 category was the biggest group with 13 teams, competing in a double-elimination competition.
Romy Lück as an advanced junior woman, decided to team up with previous junior male winner Glenn Gebauer to battle it out with the boys. At the end of the day they managed to finish third after beating the third seeds Luca Usieto-Drayer and Liam Wegener in an exciting match.
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The top two seeded teams reached the final after winning all their matches, and served up a great spectacle.
The second seeded team of Max Krafft and Roman Dainat won the first set 21-19, but the top seeds Fabian Biederlack and Luca Kesselmann fought back to take the second set 21-15 and force the match into a decisive third set.
Here, the mental and physical strength of the top seeds proved to be crucial as they went on to win the set 15-11 and take the title.
All participants received complimentary T-shirts and cold drinks sponsored by African Marketing as well as chocolates and chips donated by Bernd Ahrens.
