British Olympic hopefuls miss out on bronze
15th September 2007Britain's Olympic hopefuls narrowly missed out on bronze at the 2007 Blackpool International Beach Volleyball Tournament tonight but whilst Denise Johns and Lucy Boulton went down to Finland in the decisive bronze medal match the tournament, won by (nation name), was hailed an organisational success for the resort.
"Today has gone extremely well", said Tournament Director, Jeff Brehaut. "We've had good attendances and Blackpool has a lot of potential".
That potential looks set to be realised as the resort has won the right to stage a European Tour event next year and has aspirations to be a World Tour venue in the future.
Jane Seddon, Director of Tourism from Visit Blackpool, said: "Blackpool was delighted to host this International Volleyball Event and looks forward to Blackpool being a firm fixture on this young and vibrant sport's key competition calendar".
Johns and Boulton, meanwhile, were a set and 3-8 down before pulling themselves back into contention in a tight-fought second set before the Finns,
twin sisters Erika and Emilia Nystrom, pulled away again to win using some clever, and feinting cut shots at the net.
"It just wasn't our night but we didn't give up and the crowd were great", said
Boulton.
"That wasn't our best showing", admitted Jones. "The Finns were very tough and put the ball everywhere we weren't".
In the final Ester Alcon and Olga Matveeva, playing for Spain, took the opening set 21-19, proving themselves the better technicians in the contest with Austrian sisters Doris and Stephanie Swaiger who had beaten the British duo to reach the final.
With Matveeva - originally from St Petersburg - in particularly good form, the Spaniards soon had control of the second set, too. They were 19-12 up before some great shots from Stephanie Swaiger gave the Austrians a glimmer of hope. The sisters fought back to within three points of the lead before going down finally 17-21 with the last rally of the match proving one of the best of the tournament.
Thousands of spectators turned out over the two days of the event which took place on Blackpool's promenade currently in the process of an £80 million regeneration.
Cllr Mrs Maxine Callow, Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Regeneration, Blackpool Council said:
"The development of beach sports is a key theme in Blackpool's events programme over the coming years, and we look forward to showcasing this exciting sport and encouraging its growth in popularity in the UK."
The tournament has received support from the North West Development Agency (NWDA). Peter Mearns, NWDA Executive Director for Marketing, said earlier in the week of the event:
“The NWDA is investing £3.5 million to support a programme of signature events in Blackpool over the next three years, as part of our commitment to the resort’s ongoing regeneration. Major events have an important role to play in Blackpool’s economic renaissance, helping to attract more business and leisure visitors to the area and raising its profile as a place to visit and invest. The Beach Volleyball Championships will be a fantastic addition to Blackpool’s programme of events this year, and will showcase the resort’s regenerated promenade, also part funded by the NWDA.”
A youth and community tournament took place in tandem with the main event. Young people from across the North West experienced the opportunity to get active and try the sport. The ultimately inappropriately named "Lost the Plot" team from Springfield Leyland were the winners with "Shabba" from Southport College taking second and "Black Beauties" from Holy Cross College in Bury in third.