Fanore, Co Clare
For the 5th Outdoor Event of the calender we were all surprised to see the sun basking the picturesque setting of Fanore. With another good turnout; 12 Men's & 6 Women's teams taking part, we were treated to excellent conditions and a number of spectators throughout the day including the local press, The Clare Champion.
As the tournament progressed and with peoples faces getting quite red (I think this was the sun!) we were left with 4 teams fighting it out for the titles in Fanore:
Men
Cheque Republic: Jonathan Whitty & Odhrain O'Braonain
Graiggus: Markus Hahnel & Graig Charbonnel
Women's
White Chicks: Siv Vestre & Veronica Poggi
cbphoto.ie: Lina Klimkeviciute & Katerina Mrackova
Winners
Cheque Republic (Men's) & cbphoto.ie (Women's)
With some first class volleyball being played in the finals and with the sun setting in the distance the finals reached a climax with Cheque Republic & Cb Photo running out eventual winners. A huge thanks must be said to everyone that attended and we hope to see you all again at the next event which brings us back to Portmarnock on the 28th July, lets hope the tide stays away this time.
Photgraphs of Fanore will be posted soon
Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford
Yet again we had a solid turn out for the 4th event of the season; we had a total of 22 teams in total participating; 13 Men’s & 9 Women’s.
Finally the weather picked up for the event and the rain was kept away only to appear in small showers. Once the pool matches were finished the Double Elimination Stage started and threw up a number of interesting knockout matches, with a number of the stronger teams meeting in the early stages.
As the Semi-Finals finished we were left with 4 teams fighting it out for the Kilmuckridge titles, the teams were:
Mens
High Tide: Jonathan Whitty & Markus Hahnel
Be Ivers: Alex Gibbons & Ivars Kzerberis
Womens
Yankee Chicks: Megan Burgdorf & Katrina Polaski
cbphoto.ie: Lina Klimkeviciute & Katerina Mrackova
Winners
High tide(Men's) & Yankee Chicks(Women's)
We were all treated to some very exciting volleyball in the two finals and both were tightly contested with High Tide & Yankee Chicks the eventual winners of both categories.
Congratulation to the winners and we hope to see you all at the next stage of the Beach Tour which leads us to the west coast in Fanore Co Clare on 7th July.
Here are some photo's from Kilmuckridge, click on the thumbnail to view larger image.
Portmarnock, Co Dublin
A great turnout on Saturday brought a total number of 24 teams to compete for the mixed title. Unfortunatley the sea didn't have the same script that we had, and due to unforseen circumstances (the tide coming in) the event had to be cancelled.
We hope that for the next event, Kilmuckridge on Saturday 23rd June, that the weather and tide can be kept at bay for another great turn out, keep our fingers and toes crossed.
Ballybunion, Co Kerry
As the second event got under way this year we were hoping for an improvement in weather conditions and alas we were disappointed; although this did not turn away the competitors, we had 7 women’s teams and 6 men’s teams competing it out for the Ballybunion titles.
To say it rained from start to finish would be an understatement although the previously mocked VAI Gazebo soon showed its value as everyone (including the local pets) appeared to seek shelter there.
The tournament followed the regular schedule of pool games to start with then followed by the double elimination stage. As the tournament wore on we were left with in the women’s section: C&A, cbphoto.ie, Wildcats & No Name; for the men’s section the semi finalists were: cbphoto.ie, East, Spuddy & Sand
As the games progressed and with the tide closing in on the courts the finalists for both sections were:
Women
C&A: Ciara Buckley, Amy O’Shea
cbphoto.ie: Lina Klimkeviciute, Katerina Mrackova
Men
cbphoto.ie: Daniel Apanowicz, Slawomir Wrzesniak
East: Dariusz Skrzecinski, Ivar Dreifeldt
Winners
C&A(women’s) and cbphoto.ie (men’s).
A huge thanks must be said to everyone that attended the event and braved the poor elements, and we hope to see you all at Portmarnock on the 16th June.
Here are some photo's from Ballybunion, click on the thumbnail to view larger image.
Pheonix Park, Co Dublin
The first event of the Beach Outdoor Circuit Tour kicked off on Sat 26th May. There was an excellent turn out for the opening event with a total of 22 teams taking part, with a wide spectrum of players attending, from beginners to Premier League Champions.
The weather held off for most of the tournament with the players playing from 11am untill 4pm and amazingly avoided any serious downpour. After the Group stages the Knockout Stage began with a number of interesting match ups being played.
As the tournament progressed we were left with 4 teams playing it out for the 2 final places. Those final 2 places were eventually filled by Ivars Team - Alex Gibbons, Lien Billiet & Ivars Kzerberis; and Abra - Leanne Dignam, Mark Nolan & Jacob Szparag.
As the final got under way the weather began to turn for the worst and although weather conditions did not help the players they definatley rose to the occasion and did not let this ruin their final. Ivars Team eventually ran out winners in a close match and took the title for Pheonix Park.
Fingers crossed that we have the same turn out for Ballybunion Co. Kerry on Saturday and that the weather will have a more of a Summer feel to it!!
