Kids' Beach Volleyball Competitions in the UK

Beach volleyball is a great sport to be involved in. It will help your child to stay fit, teach them a range of fundamental sporting skills, meet new people and keep their minds happy and healthy. There is also the opportunity to progress in the sport.

Compared to some sports, beach volleyball is slightly less common, so the opportunities to play are fewer; however, this does not mean they do not happen, or that the sport is without fantastic opportunities. The governing body for beach volleyball is Volleyball England. Their website has plenty of information for you to delve further; however, at a quick glance, here are some available tournaments and places your child could compete in beach volleyball. 

Local Tournaments

If you’d like your child to begin competing, the first place to look is your local club, wherever that may be. If it is a large club, like SideOut beach volleyball club in London, there will be enough players to compete against others within the same club, and they can form in an in-house tournament. If you’re playing in smaller areas, such as Croyde, Devon, there will be the chance to experience competitions against other friendly, local clubs and across the region. Other local clubs who would have friendly tournaments include Exmouth, Weymouth, Bournemouth and Worthing.

These are usually amateur competitions, but they are great for building skills of play and confidence for the sport and an excellent first step towards more significant tournaments.

Junior Competitions

Volleyball England has recognised a recent increase in the uptake of children in the sport and has created a tournament suitable for juniors. This allows slightly more experienced players to work towards their next goal. Junior competitions are open to players from any club in the country as long as they play at a reasonable standard. Your child’s coach will be able to organise and enter them.

The UK Beach Tour Grand Slam (UKBT) and the FIVB World Tour Event are the main competitions for top beach volleyball players and are arranged in a series of tournaments across UK beaches, including Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs in Dorset. From these tournaments, young players will also gain:

A National Ranking

Young players' national ranking is based on their top 8 scores from the UKBT and FIVB World Tour events, which is calculated from the scores from games played over the course of a year. The national ranking is a great way for children to see how they’re getting and improving. It will also help them play against others of a similar standard.

A Champion Race Ranking

This is similar to the National Ranking. However, it is an accumulation of all points earned at every tournament from the season’s beginning to the end.

Because beach volleyball involves great strength, skills and coordination, reaching the level to play these games takes time and commitment. Currently, the age groups for the Tournaments are under 12, under 14, under 16 and 18. However, this doesn't mean younger elite players can’t join in the fun.

Photo by sergio souza