The Frisco Mo Revolution Team Beach Battle formed this summer as a six-week league on Tuesday nights for a team of 3 pairs to compete as a squad against other squads on the sand. The team is split up as 1s pair, 2s pair and 3s pair. Due to the pandemic, many clubs ended their season early, so what was supposed to be a club vs club competition turned into teams, however many happened to be from the same club.
Initially director Heather Curley planned for 24 teams, and despite the coronavirus pandemic, the league filled with 36 teams.
Nine outdoor sand courts are being used every Tuesday night at Center Court in Waukesha along with 3 courts at Malone Park in New Berlin.
“When indoor shut down we didn’t think we had a chance to play so I am very glad that we have this opportunity to give our athletes a chance to get back out there and play the sport they love” shares Curley.
League Format
The league includes three Divisions: 13s/14s girls, 15s/16s girls and High School Boys. There are 20 teams in the 13s/14s division (19 girls and one boys team), 8 teams in the 15s/16s girls division, and 8 teams in the High School boys division (one 18s girls team & seven boys teams). The registration was $550 for a team of 6, which is $92/player for the 6 weeks.
The competition format includes match play for the first three weeks, then bracket play for the remaining 3 weeks. All matches are reffed by college beach players from Bryant & Stratton College (as a fundraiser), Revolution Volleyball Academy Coaches, and athletes from the 18s teams.
For more information on the Team Beach Battle league click here.
12 and Under Program
In addition to the beach league, Revolution Volleyball Academy is also running a six-week beach program for athletes ages 12 and under called Lil REVS. The program has 70 total athletes that train Tuesdays from 4:00-5:15pm. The program is comprised of 30 athletes at the 12s age level that have instruction for 20 mins and then play 4v4, and 40 athletes at the 11s and under age levels that have 1 hour and 15 mins of just beach instruction. The program is $75/athlete.
Between the two programs, over 350 athletes have the opportunity to train and compete in the sand through the Team Beach Battle and Lil REVS beach program.
“The benefits of playing beach volleyball over indoor is great for the athletes’ overall development” adds Curley. “It’s an opportunity for athletes to learn and fine tune their skills. With fewer players on the court, players need to do a little bit of everything and take care of all aspects of the game including passing, hitting, blocking, digging and serving.”
To maintain safety, the league is taking the following COVID precautions:
- Spray bottles filled with soap water, hand sanitizer and towels at every reffing station.
- Referees spray the balls between matches.
- Referees use an electronic whistle instead of a mouth whistle.
- Athletes are asked to wear their hair back in a ponytail and headband to avoid touching their face.
- Athletes bring their own water bottle marked with their name, hand sanitizer and towel.
Heather Curley is the head beach and indoor volleyball coach at Bryant & Stratton College which is currently the only college in Wisconsin to offer beach as a collegiate sport.
Revolution Volleyball Academy is a member of the Junior Volleyball Association.
For more beach education click HERE.
