NEVZA Beach events celebrated as big success

With local support from East Riding of Yorkshire Borough Council and Skyball Beach Volleyball Club, the three–day NEVZA Beach England 2025 tournament for Senior athletes was staged on the town’s South Beach (27th to 29th June) and followed for a further three days by the NEVZA Youth Beach Championships 2025 (1st to 3rd July). 

It saw teams from six member countries – Denmark, England, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – compete for gold medals and, in the case of the Youth athletes, CEV European Beach Championships 2025 qualification spots. 

“I am very pleased to have had Volleyball England as the organiser for two successful NEVZA beach volleyball events again this year,” said Dahl, who is also the Swedish Volleyball Federation Secretary General. 

“For many players, these events are an important first experience of international competition, and for spectators it is a glimpse into what might be the future stars of beach volleyball. 

“I hope that Volleyball England will return as organisers for several years to come.”

32 teams (16 women, 16 men) battled it out in the Senior competition across 56 matches, with Nina Pavolva and Sunniva Helland-Hansen (Norway, Women) and Niko Gleed and Enrique Bello (England, Men) the two winners.  

Another 47 teams (23 women, 24 men) contested NEVZA Youth across 97 matches. 

Stine Finholth and Oda Skarlund (Norway, U18 Women), Tale Fosseil and Melina Mol (Norway, U20 Women), Sebastian Kjemperud and Ludwig Ringøen (Norway, U18 Men) and Andreas Brinck and Villads Napier (Norway, U20 men) were victorious across the four categories. 

Volleyball England’s Chief Executive Officer, Charlie Ford, said: “I am incredibly pleased with how the NEVZA Beach events unfolded this year. 

“The success of the tournament was made possible by the tremendous help and support from Leeds Gorse and Skyball, as well as the local schools who provided an enthusiastic army of volunteers throughout both tournaments. 

“We are also deeply grateful to East Riding Council for their ongoing commitment and support. These events continue to grow stronger each year, and we are excited to build on the infrastructure and experience gained to not only keep hosting NEVZA Beach events in England, but also to explore adding Beach Pro-Tour events to our calendar in the near future.” 

In the Youth event, teams who were knocked out in the earlier rounds were given the chance to play each other in extra matches. 

The final day also saw those not involved in the semi-finals, finals and third/fourth place matches take part in a Queen & King of the Court event. 

Feedback from the competing teams has been overwhelmingly positive and Finland’s Head of Delegation, Heikki Paija, said: “This was a very well organised tournament – the staff and volunteers did a fantastic job. 

“Our juniors players enjoyed it a lot and had many great encounters with players from other countries. We are looking forward to coming next year with even more teams.” 

After providing the host venue for the first time last year, Skyball were pleased to take on the role again in 2025.  

“We’re incredibly proud to have hosted the second edition of Beach NEVZA here in the UK,” said Club Chair, Pete Makowski. 

“The event was a fantastic success, showcasing top-level talent and bringing the beach volleyball community together. A huge thank you to all the volunteers from Skyball – especially Gabi, Jozef, Marzena, Jack, Sally, Dave, Penny, Jitka, Martyn, as well as Shane for his amazing PA work – who gave their time and energy to make it happen. 

“We’d also like to acknowledge the invaluable support from the Gorse Academies Trust, whose staff (Elaine, Nelson and Pete) helped with coaching and contributed greatly to making this event possible. 

“A big shout-out, also, to Elliot Hudson College for providing an excellent workforce during their work experience day to help set up the event. 

“We’re excited to keep building on this momentum for the future of the sport.”

Read more about the NEVZA competitions on the event's home page by cicking here.