Release: Beach Volleyball Teams Nominated For Youth Olympic Games
July 7, 2014
VOLLEYBALL CANADA NOMINATES BEACH TEAMS TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES
TORONTO — Volleyball Canada is pleased to announce the male and female beach volleyball teams that are being nominated to compete for Canada at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China, this August.
Jake MacNeil (Georgetown, Ont.) and Andrew Richards (London, Ont.) sealed their spot in the Youth Olympic Games last December with a thrilling 2-1 (17-21, 26-24, 15‑12) victory over a U.S. team during a NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation) Central Zone Boys’ Qualification Tournament at Seven Seas Beach in Puerto Rico.
“I never thought this opportunity was going to be possible,” said Richards. “It is like a dream representing our country in the Nanjing Games and I want to give credit to my partner, my coaches and my parents for all of their support during this process.”
Twins Nicole and Megan McNamara of Delta, B.C. will also represent Canada in Nanjing, after qualifying at another NORCECA event in Carolina, Puerto Rico, in mid-April of this year.
The powerful McNamaras beat Grenada’s entry 21-1, 21-12 and continued with a 21-11, 21-8 victory over a duo from Suriname to secure their pass to the Youth Olympics.
“We’re so excited and honoured to be able to represent Canada in Nanjing,” said Nicole shortly after her win. “We’d like to thank our parents and coaches for helping us accomplish this.”
A total of 36 teams will participate in each the male and female competitions.
“It is very rare for our young teams to get such a high-quality, multi-sport games opportunity,” said Volleyball Canada’s beach high-performance director, Ed Drakich. “We are looking forward to seeing what these young, talented athletes can do on the world stage.”
Leading the Canadian beach teams in Nanjing will be coach Mischa Harris of Vancouver, B.C., and team manager Marc Stromme of Windsor, Ont. The second Summer Youth Olympic Games will take place in China from August 16 to 28, 2014.
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Volleyball Canada:
Jackie Skender, Media Relations
Cell: 613-794-7676
Email: jskender@volleyball.ca
Canadian Olympic Committee Press Office:
Jane Almeida, Manager, Media Relations
Tel: 416-324-4120
Cell: 416-540-1788
Email: jalmeida@olympic.ca
Luc Beaudin
Coordinator, Communications and Media Relations
Cell: 514-206-6720
Email: lbeaudin@olympic.ca