Bridlington Hosts England's First World Beach Pro Tour Volleyball Tournament

World-class volleyball players are set to descend on Bridlington's Belvedere Beach from Thursday as the town hosts England's first-ever World Beach Pro Tour event.

World-class beach volleyball players will assemble in Bridlington this week as the town hosts England's first-ever World Beach Pro Tour event.

The highly-anticipated competition will transform Belvedere Beach into a thrilling stage for elite international teams from Thursday 25 June to Sunday 28 June.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council has partnered with Volleyball England and local organisation Skyball Beach Volleyball Club to deliver the tournament, following a successful application to the European governing body, CEV.

The event is part of two full weeks of international beach volleyball action in the town, occurring between the Northern European Volleyball Zonal Association (NEVZA) Senior Championships and the NEVZA Youth Beach Championships.

The successful bid follows the ongoing development of the infrastructure needed to stage top-level tournaments. Two years ago, Bridlington hosted the NEVZA Youth Beach Championships for under-18 and under-20 players, which was extended last year to include senior players.

Councillor Nick Coultish, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:

"We are delighted to welcome this brand new event to Bridlington and build upon our long-standing partnership with Volleyball England.

We look forward to welcoming some of world’s best volleyball players to East Yorkshire in such a high profile, international event, which will provide a huge tourism boost to our local businesses, as well as attracting international visitors.

The Beach Pro Tour is the highest level of beach volleyball competition on the world stage. We hope this will inspire future generations of players, both across Yorkshire and the whole country."

A strong contingent of England players are guaranteed entry into the male and female events as the host nation. A maximum of three teams from the host country can enter the main draw, with a potential fourth team entering the qualification tournament.

The England squad will feature Yorkshire-born players Maks Makowski and Josh Cosgrove, who grew up playing on Belvedere Beach.

Maks Makowski said:

"It means so much to me. Bridlington Beach has been like a second home to us for years. We have spent countless days there training and simply enjoying the game.

We have the incredible opportunity to compete on the Beach Pro Tour at the first-ever event in England, at a place that holds so many memories for me and my family. It’s incredibly exciting and something I'm very proud of."

Josh Cosgrove said:

"There’s something different about competing in front of a home crowd, in a place that means so much to you personally.

It’s a real honour to represent Yorkshire and England on home sand."

Pete Makowski, Co-founder and Chair of Skyball Beach Volleyball Club, added:

"Step by step, we’ve been building something special on the golden sands of Bridlington.

To now welcome the first ever Beach Pro Tour event to England this summer is beyond anything we ever imagined. Skyball BVC and The Gorse Academies Trust will once again team up with Volleyball England to deliver another fantastic event."

Volleyball England’s Strategic Manager for An Ace Service, Rob Payne, said:

"We have shown over the last two years that Bridlington is a fantastic destination for international beach volleyball and we are proud and excited to have now earned the opportunity to stage an elite level event in the town.

With some amazing male and female players from across the globe, we hope that the volleyball community across the country are able to come out and support and make them feel welcome.

This is a landmark moment for us in our bid to make the sport more visible in the UK and we would like to thank the FIVB and CEV for allowing us to showcase what we have to offer."

CEV President Roko Sikirić said:

"I am pleased to see that beach volleyball is gaining momentum and expanding its reach with the delivery of the first event of this calibre in England and across the whole of the UK.

We are confident this showcase of the game will inspire many people to follow it more closely and hopefully the local youngsters will be inspired to pursue a career in the sport, thereby following in the footsteps of the highly successful Bello twins (Javier and Joaquin)."

In addition to the elite matches, players of all abilities aged sixteen and over can experience competing at the World Tour level when Skyball Beach Volleyball Club hosts a clinic.

Run in collaboration with Volleyball England, the sessions will take place on Saturday 27 June and Sunday 28 June, allowing participants to sample the same courts as the professionals before staying to watch the matches unfold.

All events will be free for spectators to attend, with a selection of matches set to be livestreamed online.