Nov. 13, 2025: The 48 top beach volleyball teams in the world in each gender are in Adelaide, Australia for the 15th edition of the Beach Volleyball World Championship, which begins on Friday.

Canada has three teams competing at this World Championship.

Olympic silver medalists Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, both of Toronto, are among the contenders this week in Australia. Both athletes have played in World Championship finals before, with Humana-Paredes winning gold in 2019 and Wilkerson taking silver in 2022.

"I think any opportunity to play in a major championship like this, it feels special and they are all unique and different in their own way, and we bring the past experiences into each time we play. Our standards keep evolving and changing as we progress in our careers and as a team,” said Humana-Paredes. "Heading into this Worlds, we have high standards, coming off the Olympics and our past Worlds’ experience, we know what we want for our team and for Canada."

It's also not the first time she’s competed at a major event in Australia, winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 held in Queensland.

"We are really excited to be here. Australia has always done a good job hosting events and this is another example of that. They have a great sport community and have a strong sporting culture. … The organization is very intentional and focused on the athlete experience. I’m excited to see the stands full!"

The men’s team of two-time Olympian Sam Schachter (Richmond Hill, ON) and relative newcomer Jonny Pickett (Wiarton, ON) are set to begin their Worlds campaign on Nov. 15 in Pool K.

"It’s been a journey getting to the World Championship, as it started early in the year. It’s pretty cool to be here at my first senior Worlds. It’s important for me to stay present and enjoy the moment," commented Pickett. "We’ve had a good block of training and luckily, I have a veteran partner who has been to many Worlds before. I have great people around to support me. … It’s a dream come true really to be here and it’s all part of a journey in my sports career.”

Marie-Alex Bélanger (Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, QC) and Lea Monkhouse (Mississauga, ON) are also representing Canada in Australia.

The pair competed earlier this year in Montreal together and kick off the Worlds for Canada on Nov. 14 at noon local time (Australian Central Daylight Time, which is 15 and a half hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time).

• Schedule and results: https://bit.ly/4qUvzw1

VBTV offers worldwide coverage of all matches, and in Canada CBC Sports streams matches live as well. Streams can be found here:
https://www.cbc.ca/player/sports/live or on CBC Gem

Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca