The sun is shining, the birds are singing, spring is in the air, so it's time for beach volleyball. The Belgian Beach Tour starts on 4 May in Haacht and this year is a varied collection of regular heats and editions of Queen&King of the Court.

The apotheosis and Master Finals will take place on 15, 16 and 17 August in Nieuwpoort. Of course, the CEV Beach Pro Tour in Leuven cannot be missed either.

At Volley Vlaanderen's press conference, the enjoyment of play for all was emphasised. Stijn Van Kerckhove, director of Broad Sports and Sports Promotion, pointed out that the programme in all cities and all streets will be carefully put together to appeal to a wide audience. ‘We are introducing, in addition to the youth competitions and the Belgian championship, the Urban Volley Games, in which anyone can participate,’ explained Stijn Van Kerckhove. ‘Very little equipment is needed for these initiatives. Moreover, these games, which include SmashCourt Circle, SmashCourt Square and SmashWall, make the sport more accessible to everyone, regardless of age or experience.’

The second edition of ‘Beach Volley Nieuwpoort’ was announced with much bravado. The first acquaintance and collaboration was a hit last year. It will - sports alderman Wim Demeester promises - again be a ten-day sports festival at a unique location on the seawall, with atmosphere as warm as the sun on the sports beach. Nieuwpoort has ambitions to become the capital of beach volleyball. ‘We are a #sports experience more city. This unique event totally belongs in a series of sports activities in our city.’


Dries Koekelkoren, here you are as the proud chairman of Beachvolley Vlaanderen announcing a new summer where beach volleyball is more than a sport. It is an experience, a coming together of passion, competition and fun. But at the same time, the top sports school in Leuven is disappearing.

Dries Koekelkoren: ‘Good that you ask this question, because there is a lot of confusion about that. Not everything in the top sports operation has been discontinued. The national selections continue to work, albeit within the projects of the regional provinces. Training sessions are no longer centralised as they used to be, but they are still being organised. For example, a training course is currently running in Lorca, Spain. You have the talents in the U14. They advance to the national youth selections. Then you also have the pledge work. It doesn't lie still."’

Something is moving in the beach landscape. Janne Devos, former trainer of the top sports school, is starting a project in which she wants to offer motivated players extra training moments at various locations in the country. Ines Piret and Youna Coens chose to combine studies in the USA with an intensive beach volleyball course.

‘I applaud these initiatives. It offers opportunities, it improves quality. Flemish Brabant is already working on a strong project. The other provinces are also very active with an ever-improving and ever-growing programme. Players who are not in the national selection can possibly join the top via this route.

The American adventure also fits in with the promising work. What do you do as an 18-year-old when you have ambition in beach volleyball? Studying in the USA - with the combination of top sports studies - is then a good possibility and an interesting option. Coens-Piret, by the way, will form a new duo during the Belgian championships. Looking ahead, the possibility remains that these two girls will also participate in international tournaments.’

After the dropping out of top player Sarah Cools - together with Lisa Van den Vonder still the Belgian figurehead of women's beach volleyball - it is up to the new batch to grow.

‘I strongly believe in a number of young talents. There are a lot of skilled players who trained in Leuven. They will continue to work on a weekly basis winter and summer. And interesting things are still happening. There is the winter beach in Anderlecht. Many attractive activities also take place there throughout the year. Pascal Hens is organising the seventh edition of his ‘Scalle Beachvolley Activity’ in the beach-hall of the sportkot in Leuven next weekend. That is a wonderful indoor beach tournament for international youth teams.’

Kyan Vercauteren and Joppe Van Langendonck. The gold at the U21 World Cup is still reverberating. You get the chance from Volley Vlaanderen and Sport Vlaanderen to aim for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Is this a goal or a dream, as the race to Los Angeles was briefly slowed down by Joppe's injury.

Joppe: ‘That injury is completely behind us. We are going full steam ahead to qualify for LA 2028. It remains a goal. We consider it a realistic dream. We are convinced we can make it. We still have a lot of steps to take, we realise that. But there really are possibilities.’

Kyan: ‘We are 61st in the rankings now. If Joppe hadn't been injured last year, we would have been much higher already. The teams around us, who all have about the same number of points, are very close together. A few good results will undoubtedly provide a big jump in the world ranking. It could go fast. To eventually get to the Olympics, we have to dare to aim for a top-20 place.’

What all still needs to be done to get to the world top?

Kyan: ‘The first steps have been taken. All of our programme is now geared towards beach volleyball. That gets absolute priority. Because of injury risks, I was not allowed to continue the indoor competition at Vamos Stekene. A very difficult decision. Hard for the club, because at the time we were at the very top of the first national series. But Sport Vlaanderen thought I should concentrate unconditionally on the beach project. They didn't want to take any risks. So the focus goes exclusively to volleyball in the sand.’

Joppe: ‘Of course we have to train a lot to get to the world top. Not only the training hours will be important, the confrontations against other teams will also provide a lot of learning moments. Sparring against stronger teams will make us better. We regularly train with pairs in the Netherlands. They are real top teams. We find that we really learn a lot then.’

Kyan: ‘We especially have to build up our game experience during those many confrontations. Last year in India and Brazil we narrowly lost 2-1 to strong duos. We want to turn that into a win this year. To do that, we need to consistently reach our level, without dips at the end. It will undoubtedly help us from next weekend during the FIVB international tournament, when we will do the right things more times - especially in moneytime. Sometimes that is done without thinking, going full for the point. Sometimes it is by executing a phase of play, which we have already practised hundreds of times in training and which we know will bring success.’

Top sport costs money. You are handsomely supported by Sport Vlaanderen. The recent appeal during the television broadcast of ‘De Zevende Dag’ was therefore remarkable. You are well known in the VRT building, especially after the crowdfunding action last time.

Joppe: ‘We were invited to the television studios for the second time. Surely our search for sponsorship paid off. We found two sponsors willing to help us. We are also better supported in the framework. I constantly had a physiotherapist at my disposal during the rehabilitation of my shoulder. We do not yet have a whole battery of coaches, scouts, video analysts, physiotherapists and assistant coaches. We will have to get some high-profile results before we get to that point. But we are looking at the whole story positively. Tomorrow we leave for Mexico, for a first tournament in the Challenger category. With many top teams and teams that were there at the Paris Olympics. That will be a very big challenge in Yucatan, we are very much looking forward to it.’

Text: Walter Vereeck