BUCS Beach and Club Championships review

Four days of action-packed beach volleyball unfolded in wet and windy Sandbanks, as over 400 students took part in the BUCS Beach Championships and more than 300 players competed in the UKBT Club Championships.

Thursday and Friday saw BUCS Beach return to Bournemouth, with the University of Nottingham aiming to defend their men’s title from last year, while Durham looked to finish the season with some silverware in the women’s competition.

Nottingham topped their pool, led by Rob Morgan, who returned to the sand after winning gold last year alongside Slater Bird. This time, he partnered with Ben Gladstone. Both players have featured in the Super League throughout the season and brought their experience to the beach. They were tested in a thrilling pool match by the Heriot-Watt duo of Paterson and Paterson, who pushed them to a deciding third set, which the Nottingham pair edged 16–14.

Paterson and Paterson also featured in the Club Championships, representing St Andrews, and were joined by Nottingham’s Cole Turnbul.

Morgan and Gladstone powered through the competition with wins on Thursday evening against Durham, followed by victories over Bath and Bournemouth on Friday morning, earning a place in the final. There, they faced UCL, the same university they met in last year’s final, though this time with a new pair: Saunders and Pugaet. UCL had gone unbeaten through the pool stages and claimed wins in the Friday knockout rounds against Newcastle, UEL, and a fiery London clash with King’s College.

The final proved to be a showstopper. UCL took the opening set before Nottingham responded to force a decider. In the end, it was the London side who broke their streak of near-misses and clinched the title after three consecutive years of falling just short.

On the women’s side, Durham aimed to defend both their BUCS Beach gold and earn their first top finish of the 2024–25 season.

Their campaign began with a tough loss to Newcastle, where Boardman and Monterio secured a 2–0 win. Durham bounced back strongly, defeating Reading and then Bath to reach the quarterfinals, where they overcame Cardiff in a tight 2–1 match. That set up a familiar semifinal against Derby, their opponents at the same stage last year. Once again, Durham came through to reach the final.

There, they met Edinburgh’s pairing of Clark and Uslu. After a narrow opening loss to Bournemouth, the Scottish duo found their rhythm with impressive wins over UCL in the quarterfinals and a narrow victory over UEL in the semis.

The final was a fierce battle. Both teams showed power and resilience, taking the match to a deciding third set. But it was Durham who prevailed, repeating their championship-winning performance and securing a strong finish to their season.

Full results of the championship, trophy and shield can be viewed here. 

At the UKBT Club Championships, Deep Dish Crystal Palace aimed to make it three consecutive titles, while Fireball set their sights on reclaiming the men’s and women’s crowns.

On the women’s side, Richmond started strong, going unbeaten through the pool stages and dropping just one set to Deep Dish Bournemouth.

In this competition format, each team fields two pairs, with each match win earning a point. The first team to reach two points wins the matchup. If both teams win one match each, a golden set is played to decide the winner, setting the stage for some high-stakes drama.

Fireball South West also had a solid pool performance, dropping only one set in their opener against Oxford, which went to a deciding third set. From there, they built momentum, knocking out last year’s champions Deep Dish Bournemouth in the quarterfinals and defeating the University of Nottingham in the semifinals to reach the final.

Richmond’s route to the final saw them take down Fireball London and Deep Dish St Albans in the quarters and semis, respectively. With both teams eyeing the women’s title, the final lived up to the hype, culminating in a nail-biting golden set. Richmond edged it 16–14, sending the crowd into celebration.

In the men’s competition, Fireball South West looked to defend their crown, and did so in dramatic fashion.

They sailed through the pool stages with wins over St Andrews, Everton, Oxford, and Skyball. In the quarterfinals, they faced Cardiff, and once again, a golden set was required to separate the teams. Fireball prevailed, booking a place in the semifinals.

Their semifinal opponent was St Andrews, who had come through a tight quarterfinal against Richmond, also requiring a golden set. In another close match, Fireball South West emerged victorious, setting up an all-Fireball final against Fireball North Devon.

Fireball North Devon had impressed throughout, notching pool wins over EBVC, Richmond, and Aurora. Their most intense challenge came in the quarterfinals, where they faced elimination after Morgon and Pollock lost the first match. Lawson and Soczewka stepped up to win the second and clinched the golden set to send the team through. They followed that up with a semifinal win over SideOut, who had just battled past Skyball in another golden set.

The final was a true showdown. Gleed and Bello defeated Morgon and Pollock in the first match for South West, but Dunbavin and Morgan lost to Lawson and Soczewka, pushing the championship into a deciding golden set.

South West started strong and never looked back. Bello and Gleed outpaced their English teammates, Lawson and Soczewka, to claim the men’s title and cap off a thrilling tournament run.

Alongside the main events, trophy, mixed, and junior competitions contributed valuable points toward the overall club leaderboard. Richmond secured the top spot, thanks in part to dominant performances in the under-18 girls category and their women’s championship victory.

This meant Crystal Palace fell just short of retaining their Club Champions title for a third year in a row—and a new London side, Richmond, rose to the top.

With their victories, both Richmond and Fireball earned spots in the European Club Championships.

Full results can be found here.