Bradley Barclay recalls the thrill of competing on the world stage and representing Australia at the 2019 World Series China where his team finished 6th and is pushing to have standing beach volleyball included in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Following the announcement of Brisbane’s successful bid to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Australian Beach ParaVolley Squad has rallied to start the Talent Identification process.
“While the Brisbane Games might be 11 years away…… LA 2028 is only 7 years away which will hopefully be the first time Beach Para Volley will be part of the Paralympics”, the Squad said. “We need to grow the game at home and abroad starting now”.
The Australian Beach ParaVolley Squad will be hosting a training camp at the AIS in Canberra from September 17 to 19 for male and female athletes with a disability who’d love to represent Australia now and into the future. This is the first big step towards getting the sport into the LA2028 Paralympic Games.
Brad would have been at a tournament now in Slovenia and then Croatia but has been unable to travel due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Following the camp in Canberra he will continue his campaign to the Paralympics at the Australian Masters Games being held in Perth in October.
In a first, he has successfully lobbied to enter a team of three para beach athletes who will compete against teams of two non-disabled athletes in the 2021 Australian Masters Games. This is another opportunity for the team to test their skills and accumulate more court time in preparation for the Games.
To follow the Australian Beach ParaVolley Squad story look for them on Facebook @ausbeach.paravolley.
For more information on ParaVolley visit http://www.worldparavolley.org
And for all things Volleyball in WA contact Volleyball WA on 9228 8522 or [email protected].