Beach volleyball? In Canada? Hell yeah!

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Canadians Chaim Schalk and Ben Saxton have finished third in two of the last three Swatch Major Series stops this season. Photocredit: Andreas Langreiter.

Is the first thing you think about Canada beach volleyball?

No, probably not – right?

Well we’ll have you know that beach volleyball is thriving in Canada – and we’re going to tell you why.

So here are five reasons why Toronto is the perfect host city for this year’s season finale – the Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals Toronto.

1. The Canadians are very, very good at beach volleyball. Yes, you better believe it. You only have to look at the qualification for the Copacabana: four Canadian teams made it through to Brazil – and only Holland, Brazil and the United States could boast that kind of dominance. And, furthermore, the FIVB World Tour rankings also have a flurry of Canadian stars who just missed out on qualification.
2. It’s been too long! Canada has been starved of top-level beach volleyball over the past few years. While the players have begun to strut their stuff on the world stage it has been five years since the last international event in Canada. Plus, you have to go all the way back to the year 2000 for the time Toronto last hosted an international tournament on the sand. And now they are itching to make this competition the best ever.
3. The Canadian public are crazy for beach volleyball. Did you know that more than 700,000 Canadians play beach volleyball? Well now you do. Of this figure, 54,000 are registered with clubs, all hoping to someday follow in the footsteps of the likes of Ben Saxton and Heather Bansley. We think it’s going to be quite an atmosphere on Center Court when the home team plays…
4. The Canadian media treat the players like stars. And so they should! But seriously, the beach volleyball players on the World Tour are household names in Canada. When the news broke that Toronto was hosting the Swatch World Tour Finals, social media went into meltdown and Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk even appeared on Canadian breakfast television
5. Location, location, location. Did you see the pictures from the press conference when we finally revealed Toronto was the host city? If not, check them out – will there be a more stunning backdrop to beach volleyball than the city skyline of Canada’s most populous city? We think not. And that’s one good reason why we’re heading there! See you soon, Toronto!

How’s this for beach volleyball with a view? Photocredit: Dale Tidy.