FAQ's: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT IS INTER-BEACH & WHERE DID THE EVENT CONCEPT COME FROM?

Learn about our INSPIRATION & HISTORY and unique and exciting event FORMAT

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WHAT IS THE JUNIOR PATHWAY FOR BEACH?

Competition levels currently include:

• Junior UKBT & UBKT (1-5*) 

• Inter-Regional Beach - typically second weekend in July, selections by region

• Commonwealth Cup (formerly Home Nations) attended by U21 teams from WAL, NIR, SCO & U19 teams from ENG (for ENG, selection in previous years has been done by Volleyball England, 2022 is an exception).

• NEVZA (Northern European Zonal Association) - usually Sweden in July age groups U17 & U19, typically 2 or more pairs participate in each age bracket/gender, also offers regional events for senior athletes.  For juniors, this event has not happened since 2019 but should resume in 2023.

• CEV European Junior Championships - once a year in the summer in varying locations across Europe U18, U20 and U22 age groups - 1 pair attends from ENG. At this level you can quality and be selected for for non annual events like FIVB Junior World Championships (U19 and U21), Youth Continental Cup and also Youth Olympics.

• Once athletes reach senior level for ENG they can then compete in the FIVB World Tour (Professional circuit) -- currently England has more than 20 athletes competing in FIVB events--including athletes who have played in both Inter-Regionals AND Home Nations!

 

WHY IS THE AGE CUT OFF BY BIRTH YEAR AND NOT SCHOOL YEAR? 

Inter-Beach events were designed to allow young beach players a performance development experience. As NEZVA, CEV and FIVB all use the year of birth for age groups for beach and indoor, it is logical to use the same criteria for progression through the beach performance pathway.

WHY COMMONWEALTH CUP NOW INSTEAD OF HOME NATIONS?

Due to reasons outside of our control the Home Nations event has evolved this year and aptly renamed Commonwealth Cup in '22 (to support the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham) and now International Cup in 2023.

 

Despite the name change, the format and intent of Home Nations is the same. As a parent to a junior athlete, I feel very passionate about running this style of events where we deliver the value of creating an international experience for many of the young, aspiring players out there.

HOW DO I REGISTER? 

Entries will be listed on the inter-beach.net website as they come in plus a reserve list, spaces are limited to eight squads per gender and one squad is four players/two pairs.

HOW CAN I ORGANISE A TEAM?

Inter-Regional Beach is organised by the regions and International Cup this year is a combination of national and regional coaches/managers entering selected squads.  The Club Championship is open to all clubs to enter.

 

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE COSTS?

Event costs will vary depending on the duration, location and staffing of any event.  Inter-Beach events (to date) have used well maintained courts at Cardiff Beach Volleyball Centre, and provide fully qualified referees so the players to learn and focus on their own games. 

 

The two day coached competition format enables the players to make rapid advancements in their game play -- especially as this event provides a minimum of 6 full matches (21/21/15) per pair over 2 days.   

 

Additionally, we have dedicated photographer on site along with live-stream for as many courts as possible. Notably also, many coaches are volunteers but typically volunteers will need their costs reimbursed so this may impact the total amount you are asked to pay by your team.

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And finally, we appreciate how expensive things are at the moment and aim to keep the costs as low as possible whilst delivering a high quality pathway experience.  For instance, we always ensure to provide a budget accommodation option to all attendees.   If you would like suggestions on fund-raising, please contact us.