The Belgian Beach Tour is looking back on a successful summer. The renewed format, with tournaments divided into one-, two- and three-star events, lowered the entry barrier and brought fresh energy to the circuit. Organisers and players alike embraced the formula. As the season reaches its climax, Nieuwpoort is taking centre stage. This weekend, the coastal city hosts the final three-star event. One week later, the Nieuwpoort organisers will welcome the highly coveted Masters Finals.
Things are becoming increasingly impressive by the sea. DBV events, the city of Nieuwpoort and Volley Vlaanderen are joining forces for ten unique days: a summer sports programme on the coast, a cross-country race finishing on the centre court, youth championships and a corporate tournament. There is plenty to experience.

For many teams, this weekend’s three-star tournament is the ultimate dress rehearsal for next week’s grand finale. We begin — noblesse oblige — with the women. Reigning national champions Louka Maertens and Lisa Van den Vonder will be present on Nieuwpoort’s beach courts. They are determined to defend their title successfully.

Defending champions face young challengers
Maertens-Van den Vonder can expect strong opposition, including from Simone Vervloet and Lente Thant. This young top duo has already completed an impressive and packed international summer campaign.
Together with Tes Waegeneers, Vervloet won the West European championship (WEVZA) in Lorca, Spain, and a few weeks earlier she had also claimed an impressive fifth place at the U18 World Championship in Arnhem with the same partner.
Thant, meanwhile, competed on the World Tour in Leuven with Youna Coens. That temporary partnership also secured fifth place in Lucerne, Switzerland.

This summer, Vervloet and Thant confirmed their quality on the FIVB World Tour with solid finishes in Madrid, Geneva (13th) and Cervia (9th). On the Belgian tour, they dominated with victories in Ghent and Torhout, along with a third-place finish in Leuven.

They will be looking to score twice in Nieuwpoort. For now, this will be their farewell tour on Belgian soil, as from September they will continue their elite sporting careers in the United States at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

The circuit’s chameleon
The move to the American college competition brings us naturally to Youna Coens. Together with Ines Piret, she combined her studies with top-level volleyball in the United States last season. Next year, she will continue that path at Grand Canyon University.
With Piret temporarily stepping away, Coens was forced to become the Belgian Beach Tour’s chameleon this summer, teaming up with different partners and producing several promising results.

With Dutch professional player Annique Tavernier, she won bronze in As and finished fourth in Leuven. Alongside Jade Van Deun, she placed ninth at the international tournament in Bridlington, while she finished 13th at the World Tour event in Rzeszów with Xien Van Snick.
Her most remarkable story, however, came in Hemiksem. An absolute blind date on the sand with Hélène Rousseaux — who had recently won the tournament in Chaumont — produced a brilliant and completely unexpected result. The two had never met or even spoken before. Yet Coens-Rousseaux finished third.

Passion for beach volleyball
Olga Troshina and Xien Van Snick are another duo travelling to the coast with clear ambitions. Originally from Leningrad, Troshina has been an established figure on Belgian courts for years, both as a player and as a coach with Brussels Beachvolley. Pure beach volleyball passion.
That wealth of experience, combined with Van Snick’s drive, proved to be a winning formula this season. The duo finally claimed gold in Leuven, after silver medals in Ghent and As and a fourth-place finish in Hemiksem.

Van Snick, who also competed internationally with Youna Coens at the Rzeszów World Tour event, is ambitious. She wants to finish her beach season with a medal before shifting her focus back to indoor volleyball with Michelbeke.
Finally, Britt Ruysschaert and Jade Van Deun should not be forgotten. The Antwerp duo is enjoying an excellent run and has shown that it possesses the winning formula. They won in Haacht and Hemiksem, took bronze in Ghent and finished just off the podium in As.

They also made an impression internationally with a ninth-place finish at the World Tour event in Leuven. Their dedication reflects the growing status of beach volleyball. Van Deun continues to combine beach and indoor volleyball with Amigos Zoersel. Versatile attacker Ruysschaert has permanently put away her indoor shoes at Antwerp, but she cannot let go of her passion for the sand.

A dream final in the men’s event?
Now to the men. If it were up to the neutral spectator, Nieuwpoort would be heading straight towards a final between defending champions Louis and Gilles Vandecaveye on one side and Joppe Van Langendonck and Kyan Vercauteren on the other.

The Vandecaveye brothers won the Belgian title last year after a breathtaking final and have carried that outstanding form seamlessly into this season. Their impressive international campaign stands out: gold in Geneva and, even more remarkably, the top spot on the podium at the FIVB World Tour event in Leuven for the second year in a row.

They have also made their mark on the national circuit. Their victory over Van Langendonck-Vercauteren at the Belgian championship event in Leuven, after a genuine thriller, was particularly significant. It may offer a preview of the clashes to come in Nieuwpoort.
Extending their national title would be the ultimate reward, especially for Gilles, who will join Knack Roeselare as a full-time professional next season. Louis will continue to defend the familiar colours of Marke-Webis.

On the other side of the net, Joppe Van Langendonck and Kyan Vercauteren will obviously be looking to make their mark as well. The young duo has completed a gruelling but rewarding FIVB season. With gold in India, bronze in Leuven and respectable 17th-place finishes in the Philippines and Turkey, they demonstrated their international progress.
Their 18th place in Gstaad may sound modest, but in the context of an Elite tournament, among the absolute world’s best, it was invaluable experience. In Saquarema, Brazil, the Belgian pair also reached the pool stage and competed alongside the stars of the FIVB Elite.

At home, they dominated in Hemiksem and As and took silver in Leuven. Missing out narrowly on qualification for the European Championship in Stare Jablonki, Poland, is currently providing them with extra motivation. They are determined to erase that disappointment with a win at the final event and victory in the Masters Final.
Experience, sea wind and dangerous outsiders
It would not be wise to reduce the Nieuwpoort tournament to a duel between two teams. The podiums at the various events on the Belgian beach circuit have been too diverse for that. Nieuwpoort’s unique setting will undoubtedly produce more surprises.

Beach volleyball by the sea means dealing with the elements, and that is where the invaluable experience of Tom van Walle and Dries Koekelkoren comes strongly into play. Sporza will broadcast the semi-finals and finals live.
The former internationals Koekelkoren-van Walle bring plenty of experience. They know better than anyone how to turn the wind and weather conditions to their advantage. Their form curve is rising sharply, and they have a gift for peaking during decisive final stages. They may therefore be the ideal outsiders to derail the dream final.
We are also looking forward to several duos that, on a good day, can make life extremely difficult for any favourite. Dennis Deroey saw his regular partner Martijn Colson leave for head coach Zanini’s indoor squad, but found a more than worthy replacement in fellow Red Dragon Seppe Baetens. It is a tandem packed with explosiveness and experience.

Christophe Witvrouwen and Daan Hendrikx are traditionally at their best when the stakes are highest and the conditions are toughest. Berre Peters and Wout Nuyttens form another duo with enough collective strength to unsettle any favourite.

Casper Willems and Arne Darras are without doubt the revelations of the current Belgian circuit. They have nothing to lose. There are surprises every year, and this duo may well produce the ultimate upset.
Could the battle for the Belgian title therefore be much more open than initially expected?

Text: Walter Vereeck
Photos: Rudy Pollé