ACS Cobham Hosts Beach Volleyball Tournament

ACS Cobham has hosted a first-of-its-kind beach volleyball tournament for schools across England

Students from across England gathered in London to compete in the UK’s first-ever beach volleyball tournament for independent schools. During the event, hosted by ACS International School Cobham, at the Barn Elms Sports Centre on 6 May, students also received exclusive coaching from England’s highest-ranking beach volleyball players, Joaquin Bello, Javier Bello, Jess Grimson and Daisy Mumby; all of whom are due to compete at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Twenty-seven pairs of students, aged 14-17, entered the event, representing nine independent schools from across England: Sevenoaks School, Lycée Francais, Brighton College, Epsom College, Lakenheath High School, TASIS, Tiffin School, ACS Cobham and ACS International School Egham. Lycée Francais won the Division 1 Boys’ tournament and ACS Egham placed second. ACS Cobham won the Division 2 Boys’ event and Brighton College placed second. In the Division 3 Boys’ tournament, Epsom College placed first, with Tiffin landing a close second.  

Winning the Division 1 Girls’ tournament was Lakenheath High School and ACS Cobham achieved second place. In Division 2 Girls’, ACS Egham placed first and Brighton College second. In the Division 3 Girls’ event, ACS Cobham landed first place, with ACS Egham achieving second place. 

Alongside the student tournament, the world-renowned beach volleyball stars also played their own adrenaline-filled matches, giving students an unmissable chance to see the best of the best in action on the court. Impressed by the high standard of the students’ performances, the professional players also each selected a Most Valuable Player (MVP), who will receive a special award. The MVPs were: 

• Arthur from TASIS, nominated by Daisy Mumby
• Sammy from ACS Egham, nominated by Javier Bello
• Chloe from Lakenheath High School, nominated by Jess Grimson
• Isabella from ACS Cobham, nominated by Joaquin Bello

Javier Bello, comments: “It was great to see so many young players enjoying beach volleyball and we really hope to see it consolidated in the school sports event calendar. It was a perfect day in the sunshine, and the tournament produced some exciting matches and rallies. We look forward to seeing the students and staff again at ACS Cobham’s Sport Awards and being a part of this vibrant community.” 

Chris Hykiel, ACS Cobham’s beach volleyball team coach, said: “Beach volleyball is a hugely popular sport across the globe, with many opportunities available for talented players. Yet, here in the UK, it is still a relatively niche sport. Our beach volleyball competition, which is a first-of-its-kind for independent schools in England, was developed to raise the profile of this exciting sport, while allowing students from all over the country to compete against others with similar abilities. We hope the event is a small stepping stone towards putting the UK on the world map for beach volleyball and, importantly, will inspire more children and teenagers to take up the sport.

“I would like to thank our VIP ambassadors for volunteering their time at the event to coach and inspire the budding young players; strong role models are fundamental to the success of any school sport. At ACS Cobham we already have a strong track record of indoor volleyball and we are keen to expand the beach volleyball offering at our school; both for our own students and for other secondary schools in our local area. I have been impressed by the commitment of our student pairs who have displayed a natural talent for the sport, having only trained on beach volleyball courts for three months ahead of the tournament.”

ACS Cobham students benefit from state-of-the-art sports facilities on campus, with an arena housing a volleyball show court featuring tiered seating for 280 spectators. These outstanding facilities are also offered to ACS Cobham’s local partner state schools for their use. ACS students have the opportunity to train regularly at beach volleyball courts in London.

See ACS Cobham’s online listing here.