April 18, 2022: Canadian beach volleyball players were featured in several international tournaments this past week.

The new duo of Olympian Brandie Wilkerson and Sophie Bukovec, both of Toronto, finished fifth at the Beach Pro Tour Itapema Challenge in Brazil. The Canadians lost in the quarter finals to Germany’s Borger/Sude in a tight contest 0-2 (19-21, 25-27) on Saturday.

Canadians Dan Dearing (Georgetown, ON) and Sam Schachter (2016 Olympian, Richmond Hill, ON) won the men’s title at the Punta Cana Qualification Tournament for the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships on Sunday afternoon. Dearing and Schachter defeated a team (Mora/Lopez) from Nicaragua for gold. They qualify for the 2022 World Championship, which will be held in Italy in June.

Also at the NORCECA Punta Cana Qualifier for the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, BC natives Megan and Nicole McNamara lost a tight battle with Cuba’s Martinez and Echeverría. Cuba won 2-0 (24-22, 25-23). The Canadians still took silver and a berth to the Worlds.  Full results at www.norceca.net

Meanwhile, Canada’s Amanda Harnett and Alina Dormann won the bronze match at the Beach Pro Tour "Future" tournament in Songkhla, Thailand. On the men’s side, MacNeil/Russell of Canada placed 17th at the same event. Future event matches can be found on the Beach Volleyball World YouTube channel.

For more information on the Beach Pro Tour, https://en.volleyballworld.com/beachvolleyball/competitions/beach-pro-tour-2022

Photo: FIVB