As hosts of a beach volleyball tournament, ACS Cobham ensured a brilliant and informative session was had by all

ACS International School Cobham hosted a beach volleyball tournament for independent schools at Barn Elms Sports Centre in the summer term. Not only did students have a ball, but they received top-flight coaching from England stars Joaquin Bello, Javier Bello, Jess Grimson and Daisy Mumby. Lycée Français won the boys’ prize, while Lakenheath High School triumphed in the girls’ event.

In all, 27 pairs of students, aged 14-17, entered the event, representing nine independent schools from across England: Sevenoaks School, Lycée Francais, Brighton College, Epsom College, Lakenheath High School, TASIS, Tiffin School, ACS Cobham and ACS International School Egham. Alongside the student tournament, there were adrenaline-filled matches from the beach volleyball stars, giving students an unmissable chance to see the best of the best in action on the court.

Beach Ball
Independent schools from across England competed and had coaching from star players

Javier Bello says: “It was great to see so many young players enjoying beach volleyball and we really hope to see it consolidated in the school sports event calendar. It was a perfect day in the sunshine, and the tournament produced some exciting matches and rallies”.

“Beach volleyball is a hugely popular sport across the globe, with many opportunities available for talented players. Yet, here in the UK, it is still a relatively niche sport. Our beach volleyball competition, which is a first-of-its-kind for independent schools in England, was developed to raise the profile of this exciting sport, while allowing students from all over the country to compete against others with similar abilities,” says Chris Hykiel, ACS Cobham’s beach volleyball team coach. “We hope the event is a small stepping stone towards putting the UK on the world map for beach volleyball and, importantly, will inspire more children and teenagers to take up the sport.”

ACS Cobham acs-schools.com/cobham

Further reading: Fantastic sports – going beyond the usual school team games

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