The Coogee Beach Volleyball Association junior beach volleyball players have had an amazing 2022/23 season. With record numbers of members, the program saw 137 juniors from ages 5 to 17, training and competing across a variety of tournaments. Their hard work and effort paid off, with 12 players representing the Coogee Beach Volleyball Association at the Australian Championships, making it an incredible season for the group. Our dedicated coaches, Andrea Hutchinson, Jaka Murray, Roman Arkaev, Julius Chen, Arnaud Motreff and Marcos Molina are to be congratulated for their outstanding work this season. 

This season our juniors achieved outstanding success at an Australian level. At the Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Championships, 12 CBVA players participated. From these, four of them finished on the podium in U14 and U16 divisions.

One of these players was Sora Syrett-Lay, who competed in the U14 division and placed 3rd. His determination and pledge to win set him apart. Another successful junior was his team partner Jayden Waldao, who placed 3rd and earned a bronze medal too. Still in the U14 division, Zoe Smith also performed impressively, as did Frederick Baldow. Zoe is another Bronze medal winner.

In the U16 division, Aliyah Bensan, Maud Murphy, Elise Devitt and Spyridoula Karagiorgiou had a fantastic season with many medals, with Spyridoula just missing in the finals of the Australian Championship, and finishing 5th place. Caitlin Pahina competed in the U17 division and her sister Charlise joined her for the Australian Schools competition.

Finally, Cooper Ryan excelled and placed second, earning a well-deserved silver medal at the Australian Championships. Jude Hutchings and Cian Bligh also represented the club at this highest level of competition in Australia.

All these young players put in many hours of hard work to hone their skills and commitment to volleyball, their rewards were a fitting result of their effort and dedication. The 2022/23 season of Australian Beach Volleyball Tour has been a great platform for our junior players to express their talent and take their game to the next level. As the players move forward, continuing to build on their skills and performance, we expect a number of impressive achievements from this group in seasons to come. 

Rising above the challenges of the past year, the CBVA juniors rose to the task of preparing and succeeding in the tournament. I believe that their drive, talent and results reflected their dedication and commitment to beach volleyball. We believe this is an incredible achievement for the CBVA juniors, and we look forward to an even better 2023/24 season.