Polish Delight in Blackpool

The Federation International of Volleyball brought the under 21 junior world beach championships to Blackpool this weekend. It being a gloriously sunny day I thought a nice tram ride along the promenade and a quick sit through a game or two would be a pleasant way for the family to spend the afternoon. None of us knew anything about volleyball – beach or otherwise so we weren’t sure what to expect or how complicated the rules might be – I need not have worried.

A temporary arena had been erected onto one of the newly built promenade headlands and as we approached it created quite an impact. Four stands for seating with each of the 29 participating countries flags flying in the gentle breeze made quite an impression and as we walked towards the entrance we could see the competitors warming up on the practice area.

Having found ourselves a good spot in the sunshine we sat down in time to see the mens bronze medal match between Russia and Germany. Russia won the game and we learnt the rules of the game – very easy. So easy in and enjoyable in fact that we stayed for the rest of the afternoon to see Poland beat the Netherlands in the ladies final and Poland beat Brazil in the mens final.

We had a wonderful afternoon (I have to admit the weather played a part in our enjoyment of the day) and best of all the event was FREE. It’s just a shame that more people didn’t come and take a look, there was plenty of seating. But with Blackpool hosting other beach volleyball tournaments over the next three years we have already booked our seats.