Last week, teams from Argentina, the Cayman Islands, and the Netherlands, all supported by FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, achieved podium finishes at several zonal beach volleyball tournaments. Additionally, a knowledge transfer program under the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment initiative took place during the CAZOVA U18 Beach Volleyball Championships in Trinidad & Tobago.
WEVZA Beach Volleyball Tour in Modena, Italy
At the WEVZA Tour men`s event in Modena, Italy, Mart van Werkhoven and Cain van Hal of the Netherlands secured a silver medal. Local heroes Davis Krumins and Marco Caminati clinched gold, while compatriots Matteo Cecchini and Marco Ulisse took bronze. The Netherlands Volleyball Federation (Nevobo) has received significant FIVB Volleyball Empowerment funding (USD 217,600) for coach support, with their men`s teams trained by former European champion Michiel van der Kuip and his staff. Van Werkhoven and Van Hal fought through the playoffs after finishing third in their pool, ultimately reaching the final. Krumins and Caminati dominated the tournament, winning all five matches without dropping a set, including their final victory against the Dutch pair. The bronze medal match was an all-Italian affair, won by Cecchini and Ulisse. The Modena tournament featured 18 men`s teams from Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
CAVB Zone 1 Beach Volleyball Tour in Misrata, Libya
Argentina`s Juan Bautista Amieva Tarditti and Maciel Bueno Torres, beneficiaries of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, secured the gold medal at the CAVB Zone 1 Tour in Misrata, Libya. Silver went to Tunisia`s Mohamed Aziz Lenglize and Adem Elmeddeb, while Libyan hosts Anas Altllouah and Wael Almalti earned bronze. The FIVB has provided USD 42,000 in coach support for Argentina`s beach volleyball program, led by coach Giuliano Mezzagno. Amieva and Bueno demonstrated an unbeaten run, winning all seven matches, including their final victory over Tunisia in straight sets. Tunisia`s pair overcame Russia in a tight semifinal, while the Libyan team dramatically clinched bronze by defeating the Russian duo after trailing. Ten men`s teams from Libya, Argentina, Morocco, Tunisia, Russia, and Senegal participated.
CAVB Zone 3 Beach Volleyball Nations Cup in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Men`s Competition
Ghanaian duo Abdul Hameed Ibrahim and Paul Akan were crowned men’s champions at the CAVB Zone 3 Beach Volleyball Nations Championship in Abidjan. Benin`s Daouda Yacoubou and Mensan Tobby N Tohouegnon took silver, while another Ghanaian team, Eric Tsatsu and Philip Amissah, secured the bronze. Ibrahim and Akan dominated the tournament with a six-match unbeaten streak, only dropping two sets en route to their gold medal, including a straight-sets victory over Benin in the final. Benin had previously defeated Niger in their semifinal, and Ghana`s Tsatsu and Philip secured bronze in a close match against the Nigerien pair.
Women`s Competition
The women`s competition was a tight battle between Nigeria and Ghana. Nigeria’s Esther Onyinye and Mbah Pamela Bawa claimed the championship title, with Ghana’s Benedicta Mawuse Morti and Juliana Otcherewaa Aryee earning silver. The bronze medal also went to Nigeria, secured by Odoh Ifechukwu Faustina and Joy Lawrence. Esther and Pamela won the final in a thrilling three-set match against Ghana, marking their first dropped set in an otherwise dominant six-match unbeaten run. They had previously defeated their Nigerian compatriots in the semifinals. The bronze medal playoff saw Nigeria`s Faustina and Joy triumph over Ghana`s Joana Mensah and Grace Dagadu in a hard-fought three-set encounter. A total of 15 men’s and 12 women’s teams from Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Togo competed in Abidjan.
CAZOVA U18 Beach Volleyball Championships in Courland, Trinidad & Tobago
The CAZOVA U18 Beach Volleyball Championships in Courland, Trinidad & Tobago, hosted an FIVB Volleyball Empowerment-funded (USD 6,000) knowledge transfer program for national team coaches, led by the late Brazilian expert Paulo Moreira da Costa.
The Cayman Islands, a federation that has benefited from USD 84,000 in FIVB coach support for its beach volleyball teams, saw two of its teams secure medals. In the women`s event, Luna Ebanks and Krisi Smith won bronze. The women`s gold medal was claimed by Destiny Layne and Janica Grant of Barbados, who dominated the tournament without dropping a single set, defeating Nayah Alisha Whiitfield and Davy-Ann Eduards of Aruba in the final. Ebanks and Smith from the Cayman Islands recovered from a semifinal loss to secure their bronze medal.
In the men`s competition, home favorites Michael Burkett and Jeremiah Jankey of Trinidad & Tobago clinched gold, defeating Dylan Lynee and William Duty of the Cayman Islands in a thrilling three-set final. The Caymanian duo earned silver, while Luckenly Joseph and Julien Philippe of Haiti secured the bronze medal by beating Martinique. Nine men`s and seven women`s teams from Aruba, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Martinique, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Virgin Islands participated in the championships.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood