The Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Tour will follow with under-19 and under-21 athletes competing from February 7 to 9.
The tour is part of the lead-up to the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and is an opportunity for the volleyball community to reunite after 12 months apart.
Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games medallist Chris McHugh is teaming up with Paul Burnett after they won the men’s title at the Asian Beach Volleyball Championships in November last year.
“We’re lucky in our sport to be able to visit some pretty incredible locations and to be able to have some of those in our own backyard and get to play at them this summer is a great opportunity,” McHugh said.
“It was great to be able to have a full domestic beach volleyball calendar last summer and I’m looking forward to another year of Australian beach volleyball.”
A record 87 teams have registered for the event.
Volleyball Australia chief executive Andrew Dee said the event had become a key part of the sport’s calendar, attracting players from across the country.
“The 2022 ABVT will also be the last chance for our high-performance athletes to play in a home series before they head to the 2022 Commonwealth Games,” Dee said.
Cobram-Barooga Business and Tourism chairperson Nicky Goldsworthy said the event was great for the region and showcased Thompson’s Beach as a “truly iconic” beach.
”This event ... provides a great opportunity for us to get to see some of the best players in the world right here in Cobram-Barooga,” she said.
"With a record number of teams competing, and bringing with them over 200 players, coaches, umpires and support staff, here for over a week, the event will provide a great shot in the arm for our tourism and hospitality industries that we know have done it so hard over the last two years.”
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