The Alcohol. Think Again Beach Tour (ATABT) wrapped up this weekend at City Beach with another skillful display of athleticism on the sand and some very happy winners.

• Men’s Competitive Winners: Diego Venegas and Jalen Weerakody
• Women’s Competitive Winners: Leia Danusugondo and Phoebe Lewis
• Men’s Elite Winners: Mark Petersen and Trent Irwin
• Women’s Elite Winners: An extra special shout out to Volleyball WA’s State Teams & Events Coordinator Jackie Tamburri on her first tournament win, with partner Tessa Anderson who collected her third gold medal this season.

The ATABT 2020/21 series enjoyed a number of firsts.

This season saw the debut of a King & Queen of the Court tournament alongside the Scarborough Sunset Markets. Different to regular beach volleyball where teams play an untimed match to the best of 3 sets, this format was an elimination-style beach volleyball race played to a ticking clock, with the goal being to reach the highest number of points while on the Kingside/Queenside of the court. It was a mix of sport and show, and proved to be the perfect fit for a market crowd looking to be entertained.

With the help of naming right sponsors, Healthway, Volleyball WA were able to take the game to the regional towns of Geraldton and Mandurah for the first time, giving local teams a home court advantage.

The pack-down crew from the WA State Open at Scarborough Beach beat the countdown to a state-wide COVID-19 lockdown at the end of January.

The popularity of the event and it’s capacity to draw a crowd attracted some new sponsors to support specific events, including the City of Stirling, City of Mandurah and Southern Cross Austereo.

Multiple athletes shined bright in gold this season.

Although she didn’t collect a win in the final event, Shelby Maher was a dominating force this season with an impressive five wins with five different partners in the Women’s Elite division.  Tessa Anderson also made a statement this year collecting three gold medals with three different partners.

In Women’s Competitive, 16-year-old Phoebe Lewis won four out the five tournaments she competed in, making her the most consistent winner in that division. Two of those wins were celebrated with 16-year-old Jennifer Parker. 

For the men, Griffin Bateman collected the most gold medals this year in the Elite Division (3), with Daniel Piggott and Ky Landers coming in at close seconds, as individuals with two wins each. From a team perspective, Mark Petersen and Trent Irwin brought home two gold medals together.

The Competitive Division was a mixed bag of winners, with a completely different team winning almost every round. The only man to collect multiple gold medals was Oscar Love, who showed his strength at the end of the season, winning rounds six and seven with two different partners.

With participation numbers up this season, and six of WA’s beautiful beaches visited, each round was an exciting spectacle that showcased the appeal of beach volleyball not only as a competitive sport, but also an awesome way to live an active and healthy lifestyle.

Healthway’s Director of Health Promotion, Julia Knapton said it was fantastic to continue our almost 30-year journey with Volleyball WA in advocating healthy choices.

“We’re delighted to be aligned with Volleyball WA and their efforts to encourage participants to embrace the Alcohol. Think Again message,” Ms. Knapton said.

“Volleyball is a sport which offers amazing physical and mental health benefits and provides an opportunity to educate the community to prevent harms from alcohol.”

The last beach volleyball event for the season will be the WA Junior Beach Volleyball Championships, a local alternative competition for the WA State Team athletes who are unable to attend the Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Championships in Queensland due to COVID-19. This will be held at City Beach on the Anzac Day long-weekend from Sunday 25 – Monday 26 April, when the first few days of the National event will be taking place.

For more information about any of our upcoming events, please visit www.volleyballwa.com.au or contact the Volleyball WA office on 9228 8522.