Teams receiving support from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program achieved significant results, earning medals at various European zonal beach volleyball competitions last week. These included pairs from Norway and England at the NEVZA Tour event in Bridlington, England; Dutch teams at the WEVZA Tour women`s event in Rimini, Italy; and duos from Ukraine, Latvia, and Lithuania at the EEVZA U20 Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania.
NEVZA Zonal Tour Event in Bridlington, England
At the NEVZA Zonal Tour stop in Bridlington, Norwegian women`s pairs Nina Pavlova & Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Julia Moi Tennoy & Solveig Gladsoy Sunde secured gold and silver medals, respectively. The bronze went to England`s Martha Bullen & Katie Keefe. In the men`s competition, England`s Niko Gleed & Juan Bello claimed the gold medal, while Norway`s Havard Solheim & Oscar Majak took silver and Jonah Kjemperud & Sebastian Kjemperud earned bronze.
The success of these teams highlights the impact of the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program. The Norwegian national federation has received substantial coach support funding (USD 252,000) for their women`s teams under coach Bendik Gabriel Huus, plus funds for coach development. Volleyball England`s beach volleyball department has also benefited greatly, with USD 294,000 in coach support for their national duos, coached by Kirk Pitman and Luis Bello (for men`s pairs), alongside funds for coach development.
Describing the women`s tournament flow, Norway`s Pavlova & Helland-Hansen, seeded second, navigated the playoffs successfully. After losing to England`s Bullen & Keefe in pool play, they avenged the loss in the semifinals with a 2-0 win (21-19, 21-14), setting up an all-Norwegian final. The other semifinal saw Tennoy & Sunde defeat Scottish wild cards Rachel Morrison & Kathryn Barbour 2-1 (21-10, 15-21, 15-12).
In the final match, Pavlova & Helland-Hansen secured the gold medal by defeating their compatriots Tennoy & Sunde 2-0 (21-16, 21-14). The bronze medal was claimed by Bullen & Keefe, who won their third-place match against Morrison & Barbour 2-0 (21-12, 21-14).
In the men`s event, top seeds Niko Gleed & Juan Bello of England had an undefeated run through five matches. They reached the final by defeating Norway`s Jonah Kjemperud & Sebastian Kjemperud 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) in the semifinal. Their opponents in the final were Norway`s Havard Solheim & Oscar Majak, who won their semifinal against Finland`s Pekka Piippo & Teppo Pulkkinen in three sets (18-21, 21-18, 15-10).
The men`s final was a close three-set battle, with Gleed & Bello ultimately triumphing 2-1 (21-14, 23-25, 15-12) over Solheim & Majak to secure the gold medal. The bronze medal match saw Kjemperud & Kjemperud defeat Piipo & Pulkkinen 2-0 (21-10, 21-9).
The Bridlington event featured 16 women`s and 16 men`s teams representing England, Finland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, and Sweden.
WEVZA Zonal Tour Event in Rimini, Italy
The WEVZA Zonal Tour women`s event in Rimini, Italy, concluded with an all-Dutch final. Leanne van Vegten & Jill de Groot defeated compatriots Marly Bak & Bjorna Gras (2-0, 21-14, 21-16) to take the gold, leaving Bak & Gras with the silver. Italy`s Anna Piccoli & Martina Foresti won the bronze medal.
The Dutch teams` success is linked to support from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program, which has allocated USD 217,600 in coach support to the Netherlands Volleyball Federation. Their women`s pairs are coached by Cypriot Antreas Savvidis and his staff.
Both Dutch finalist duos reached the final undefeated, winning four matches each. In the semifinals, Van Vegten & De Groot had a tight 2-0 victory (23-21, 24-22) over Italy`s Piccoli & Foresti, while Bak & Gras defeated another Italian pair, Luna Cicola & Andrea Maria Nucete, 2-0 (21-15, 21-14).
The third-place match was a nail-biting three-set affair, with Piccoli & Foresti ultimately prevailing 2-1 (14-21, 23-21, 18-16) over Cicola & Nucete to secure the bronze.
The Rimini tournament saw 13 women`s teams from Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Switzerland participate.
EEVZA U20 Beach Volleyball Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania
At the EEVZA U20 Beach Volleyball Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania, Ukraine`s Dmytro Kozii & Sviatoslav Nahornyi won the men`s gold medal. Poland`s Jakub Krzeminski & Wiktor Musial took silver, and home favorites Raigardas Macionis & Dovydas Sinkevicius of Lithuania earned bronze. In the women`s event, Zuzanna Kudlik & Zuzanna Rapczynska of Poland claimed gold, with Sofiia Kurnikova & Kateryna Biliak of Ukraine winning silver, and Deneva Sauberga & Rezija Puskundze of Latvia taking bronze.
The success of these young athletes is also supported by the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program. Ukraine has received significant funding (USD 670,000 since 2022) to continue volleyball activities. The Lithuanian federation`s beach volleyball department has been granted USD 477,000 for coach support (men`s pairs coached by Aigars Birzulis) and coach development. The Latvian federation has received USD 210,000 for national beach volleyball teams (youth duos coached by Aleksandrs Solovejs, Sandris Andrejevs, Inga Koklaca) and equipment.
Detailing the men`s tournament, Ukraine`s Kozii & Nahornyi had an impressive run, winning all six matches with only one set dropped. They upset top-seeded Lithuanians Macionis & Sinkevicius 2-0 (22-20, 22-20) in the semifinals and then defeated Poland`s Krzeminski & Musial 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) in the final. Krzeminski & Musial had reached the final by beating Latvia`s Markuss Maculevics & Oskars Kilks in their semifinal.
The home crowd celebrated as Macionis & Sinkevicius secured the bronze medal with a 2-0 win (21-18, 21-14) over Maculevics & Kilks in the third-place game.
In the women`s U20 event, Ukraine`s Kurnikova & Biliak won all five matches leading to the final. Poland`s Kudlik & Rapczynska also won five matches but had lost one in pool play to the Ukrainians. However, in the gold medal showdown, the Polish pair turned the tables with a hard-fought 2-0 victory (23-21, 21-17) to claim the title.
In the semifinals, Kudlik & Rapczynska swept Lithuania`s Gunda Brazaite & Dominyka Lape 2-0 (21-11, 21-8), while Kurnikova & Biliak overcame Latvia`s Deneva Sauberga & Rezija Puskundze in three sets (21-15, 21-23, 15-10). Sauberga & Puskundze then came back to win the bronze medal match against Brazaite & Lape in three sets (18-21, 21-9, 15-7).
The EEVZA U20 Championships in Vilnius featured 15 men`s and 15 women`s teams from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood