Florida Beach Tournament
Can-West Sports Group took another trip out of the country with their recent visit
to Clearwater, Florida. A group of young athletes joined Can-West Sports Group
as part of a beach volleyball travel team.
Our group included four Canadian Can-West athletes and two athletes from the
U.S that travelled to Florida to compete with us. It was great being able to
experience sport and build relationships with individuals across two different
countries over the course of the week!
Our team arrived in Florida August 2 nd and started our trip off with some fun group
activities. We spent a day walking around Busch Gardens Adventure Park in
Tampa Bay, Florida where we held a boys vs. girls scavenger hunt throughout the
park. It was a great team bonding experience, and the athletes had a great time
touring the park to see the animals and hopping on rollercoaster rides along the
way. The group also took a tour through the St. Petersburg campus of the
University of South Florida. It was interesting for the athletes to see how post-
secondary students experience their studies in Florida in comparison to Canada.
After all the fun, we got to work on the beach, playing in some practice sessions
before the start of the tournament. Our group was put through a morning beach
workout and skills training session and then ended off the preparation with a Can-
West mini beach volleyball tournament!
The beach volleyball action began bright and early Saturday morning as we had
athletes competing in the men’s and women’s open divisions at the SSOVA Pier
60 Championships. Our competition in the sand was very strong and our athletes
competed at a very high level against some great athletes. Despite the rising heat
throughout the day, our athletes persevered and played some incredible beach
volleyball.
Our second day included athletes competing in the 14u and 16u women’s
divisions, the men’s 16u division, and the co-ed division.
A lot of new skills were gained over the weekend, and we are thankful for the fun
that we were able to experience playing beach volleyball in a new place.
A huge thank you to the athletes who put so much effort into competing and
representing Can-West Sports Group in Florida! It was a great experience
travelling and competing in beach volleyball with these extremely talented young
athletes. We look forward to making an appearance at Pier 60 once again next
summer!
