2 July 2019
The Inter Regional Beach Volleyball Championships 2019 is the first event of its kind in the UK and will take place on 13-14 July at the Cardiff Beach Volleyball Centre. Team from eight of the 10 regions will take part including; East Midlands (EM), London(LON), North West (NW), South East (SE), South West (SW), Wales (WAL), West Midlands (WM) and Yorkshire (YOR).
The competition format is similar to what the USA collegiate system (NCAA) and global volleyball governing body (FIVB) uses for their championships and Olympic qualifiers. So how does it work? Each regional team is comprised of comprises of four players who are designated as Pair #1 and Pair #2. In the competition, Pair #1 from Team A will play Pair #1 of Team B and the same for Pair #2. If at the end of those two matches the score is 2-0 to one region then the “dual” is over. However, if the matches finish 1-1 there is a deciding ‘golden’ set to 15 points where the coach can nominate any combination of the four Team players to take part.
The event is the brain child of Denise Austin, the Beach Volleyball Competitions Officer for the Academy of Beach Sports, based in North Devon. “The UK already has an Inter Regional indoor volleyball competition which is very popular amongst our talented young players, so we identified a gap to deliver a something similar on the sand,” Denise explains. “Our event includes many England International beach and indoor volleyball players and serves as a stepping stone for young players looking to take their game to the next level.”
The IRB event features England International beach players Carla Hulme (WM) and Alice Brand (WM), who recently played for England in the Middle European (MEVZA) U20 Championships in Slovenia. Additionally, the following IRB participants have been selected to represent England in the Northern European (NEVZA) Championships in Tylosand, Sweden later this month: Enrique Bello (LON), Alice Brand (WM), Lisa Canevari (LON), Kate Hill Anning (SW), Luke Honeybun (SE), Katie Keefe (LON), Jake Saunders (LON), Bartek Soczewka (LON), and Isabelle Tucker (SE).
The Full Regional Team lists with coaches (indicated with C), are as follows:
| First Name | Last Name | Region |
| Monica | Amabilino i Perez | East Mids |
| Freya | Baker | East Mids |
| Daniela | Costa Monteiro | East Mids |
| Maddison | Elsey | East Mids |
| Michal | Krawczyk | East Mids |
| Thomas | Graham-Jones | East Mids |
| Bradley | Masanga | East Mids |
| Kuba | Plotek | East Mids |
| Ian | Clews | East Mids |
| Gemma | McDougall | East Mids |
| Lisa | Canevari | London |
| Nina | Erminio | London |
| Katie | Keefe | London |
| Lucy | Knott | London |
| Enrique | Bello | London |
| Jake | Sanders | London |
| Bartek | Soczewka | London |
| Nasir | Khan | London |
| Elsa | Meserlian | C-London |
| Rhianne | Hambleton | North West |
| Frankie | Frize | North West |
| Aileen | Barry | North West |
| North West | ||
| Connor | Duffy | North West |
| Ethan | Lee-Akinya | North West |
| Nathan | Worsley | North West |
| Matthew | Wroe | North West |
| Aaron | McLoughlin | North West |
| Harriet | Breaden | South East |
| Emilie | Levich | South East |
| Isabelle | Tucker | South East |
| Zoe | Tucker | South East |
| Daniel | Furness | South East |
| Luke | Honeybun | South East |
| Ben | Osborne | South East |
| Antony | Wilson | South East |
| Arsene | De Kesel | C-South East |
| Freda | Bussey | C-South East |
| Ellie | Davis | South West |
| Amelia | Fumpston | South West |
| Kate | Hill-Anning | South West |
| Beth | Morgan | South West |
| Freya | Newton | South West |
| Maisie-Ella | Summers -WC | South West |
| Tom | Falkner Ham | South West |
| Dan | Huggins | South West |
| Ritchie | Lyall | South West |
| Jack | Midgley | South West |
| Daniel | Redstone | South West |
| Kian | Safaee | South West |
| Luis | Stansbury | C-South West |
| Dave | Gunter | C-South West |
| Florenie | Ermeje | South West |
| Katie | Anderson | Wales |
| Jess | Falkner Ham | Wales |
| Freja | Foot | Wales |
| Elisa | Ionascu | Wales |
| Conor | Robins | Wales |
| Sandra | Stoll | Wales |
| Alice | Brand | West Mids |
| Rebecca | Gaskell | West Mids |
| Carla | Hulme | West Mids |
| Iona | Young | West Mids |
| Jack | Dunkley | West Mids |
| Louis | Coggins | West Mids |
| William | Evans | West Mids |
| Daniel | Howe | West Mids |
| Yan | Naydenov | West Mids |
| Tyler | White | West Mids |
| Hannah Marie | Kettle | West Mids |
| Alistair | Donaldson | West Mids |
| Daisy | Cage | Yorkshire |
| Lauren | Jones | Yorkshire |
| Ben | Gladstone | Yorkshire |
| William | Miller | Yorkshire |
| Harry | Morgan | Yorkshire |
| Oliver | Quick | Yorkshire |
| Martyn | Quick | Yorkshire |
| Liz | Jones | Yorkshire |