National Gatorade Beachvolley Tour kicks off

The first tournament of the National Gatorade Beachvolley Tour organised by the Malta Volleyball Association was held in Birzebbuga on the 8th of July. The first leg of the Tour saw the participation of eight female and eight male teams.

For each category, teams were divided into two groups. In the womens’ competition, Melissa Cheviron and Dominika Dwornizak won all of their games finishing at the top of their group, with Alison Borg and Marjoe Falzon placing second. In the other group, Viki Sebok and Agata Bartlomiejczyk came first with Dorianne Caruana Bonnici and Gertrude Zarb finishing runners-up. Semifinal matches were subsequently played between the Borg/Falzon and Sebok/ Bartlomiejczyk teams, with the latter winning 2-1. The second semifinal between Cheviron/ Dwornizak and Caruana Bonnici/Zarb was won by the former 2-0. The Cheviron/ Dwornizak pair won the final match against Sebok/ Bartlomiejczyk 2-0.

In the mens’ category, the Birkirkara Volleyball Club duo Robert Balzan/ Manuel Raffa won an intense final against Oscar Bjorlin/ Edjis Grins. The mens’ event proved to be very competitive with all teams playing great beachvolley. Eventually, semifinals matches were played between Balzan/Raffa and Stellmach/Muncan, and between Bjorlin/Grins and Marembert/ Beseme.

David Bonnici, MVA Vice-President, said that the National Gatorade Beachvolley Tour, launched last year, was once again proving to be very popular, with the particpation of the top volleyball pairs on the Island. Bonnici also thanked event sponsors Gatorade for their support. MVA President Jesmond Saliba stated that over the past years, beachvolley has seen a visible renewal, with national competitions over summer becoming a regular fixture. He also refered to another landmark event, the ‘Algida Beachvolley in the City’ in Valletta between the 17th and 22 July, saying that this initiative “would help promote beachvolley in Malta, as well as the islands’ potential as an international beachvolley venue”. The next tournament in the MVA National Gatorade Tour will be played at the Birzebbuga sand court on the 15th July between 9:30 and 16:00. Interested teams are to register with the MVA by Thursday the 12th July.