Mr.Adam Maskell

FIVB Beach Volleyball Coach

Dear Coach Adam,

WELCOME MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF VOLLEYBALL SOUTH AFRICA

The President of Volleyball South Africa (VSA), Mr.Anthony Mokoena joins his Management and Executive Committees and the general South African volleyball fraternity in extending a warm and cordial welcome to you and trust that your stay in South Africa will be a pleasant and rewarding one.

While we waited patiently for your arrival in South Africa, we are now ecstatic that you are finally here in our midst ready to begin with, inter alia, the preparations of the women and men’s teams for the upcoming BRICS Games scheduled to take place in Durban from 18 to 21 October 2023. The annual BRICS Games are held amongst the members countries viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and host nation South Africa.

Our participants for the Olympic Games Qualifier wait with great eagerness for you to put them through the paces to be medal hopefuls and claim the top spot as the African Zone 6 champions. Thereafter the African continent’s representatives will be decided at the final round of qualifiers for places in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

We are confident that with you driving our Beach Volleyball programme South Africa will soon regain the top spot that it occupied a decade ago in beach volleyball on the African continent.

Jabulela ukuhlala kwakho (Isizulu for Enjoy your stay)

Thank you.

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Provincial Presidents & Secretaries
Colleagues,

CHAMPIONS CUP DATES CHANGED TO 10-14 OCTOBER

At the outset we apologise for any inconvenience caused with the dates of the 2023 Champions Cup being changed from 26-30 September to 10-14 October to accommodate for television coverage by SABC Sport. The championship will be staged at UKZN Sports Centre.

Host province Kwa Zulu Natal informed the VSA President that SABC Sport was not available to cover the event on the original dates of 26 to 30 September but were prepared to give the Champions Cup event full coverage on the sports channel that has millions of viewers. Given the huge spin-offs for volleyball, the VSA President and his Manco unanimously agreed to accede to KZN Volleyball’s request to accommodate SABC Sport Television on the new dates 10-14 October at UKZN Sports Centre, Durban.

In addition, the new dates will obviate a clash with the Zone V1 Nations Cup to be held in Harare, Zimbabwe from 22 September to 1st October.

An added incentive for the teams participating in this Champions Cup is that KZN Volleyball has secured a sponsor for prize money.

Information regarding the dates for the Preliminary Enquiry & Technical Meetings will be communicated to the membership shortly.

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VSA President, Mr.Anthony Mokoena was beaming with delight when South Africa was included in the 12 nation U18 Commonwealth Youth Games Beach Volleyball Championship as South Africa is one three African countries to participate in the event. The beach volleyball championship is scheduled to take place at Pigeon Point Beach Facility on the island of Tobago in the West Indies from 4-11 August 2023.

According to President Mokoena international youth competitions are an ideal platform to expose South Africa’s emerging talent in the beach volleyball. With South Africa being blessed with pristine beaches, many of them acquiring ‘’Blue Flag’’ status and the country’s fine weather conditions have given South Africa the nod from the FIVB as a growth point for beach volleyball on the continent.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s medal hopefuls for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games hail from the coastal provinces of KZN and the Western Cape, viz Deloshen Valaitham and Jayden Christiano Cupido. The duo will don the South African colours as part of SASCOC’s Team South Africa for the multi-code Youth Games to take place on the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago.

Both lads have distinguished themselves early in their respective careers as indoor volleyball players, notching up several individual special awards at the levels of the annual National Schools Volleyball Championship and Volleyball South Africa’s Inter-Provincial Tournaments (IPT) before making the transition to the beach volleyball format of the game.

According to Jayden Cupido his mother, Lesinda Cupido’s love for volleyball inspired him to take up volleyball as his sport of choice in 2019. While Jayden will be making his debut in the international arena, a seemingly daunting task for a youngster, especially playing in a foreign country, the Capetonian can be assured of support from his beach volleyball coach, Koali James Possa from the Free State who is one
of nine (9) FIVB accredited Beach Volleyball Coaches in South Africa. Given Possa’s vast experience as a player and coach, Jayden will be expertly guided to achieve the results.

Jayden’s partner, Deloshen will play the role of ‘’big-brother’’ giving him much needed support on and off the field of play. At the age of sixteen (16) Deloshen represented South Africa in three (3) international beach volleyball championships: In 2022 Deloshen partnered with the tall and lanky Heiko Guther from Gauteng for the U19 World Championship in Turkey. Once again Deloshen was called upon, amongst others, to represent South Africa in the World Elite 16 Beach Volleyball Championship in Cape Town in November 2022. The Elite 16 caters for the world’s best senior players many of whom make a living by playing beach volleyball on a full-time basis on the FIVB Beach Volleyball Circuit. Thando Ngobese from KZN was Deloshen’s partner in the Cape Town event.

In 2023 Deloshen teamed up with Limpopo’s Kemo Macks Otsweleng as one of South Africa’s representatives in the Zone V1 Beach Tour in Durban. SA’s senior players, Leo Williams and Danilo von Ludwiger won gold at the Durban championship.

Over the past two years, Deloshen Valaitham’s explosive performance on the beach volleyball courts ‘’earned’’ him the title of the number one beach volleyball player in the youth category in South Africa. Emerging from a volleyball playing family, it came as no surprise when the youngster quickly took to the game. Coached by his dad, Rowan from the age of four (4) Deloshen rose to becoming the most feared attacker in the indoor and beach volleyball format of the game in the youth and senior categories. His trade mark scorching power service strikes fear in the hearts of his opponents.

Deloshen and Jayden depart for the Commonwealth Youth Games in the West Indies on Friday, 28 July and return on 14 August.

The VSA President joins his Management Committee and the Executive in conveying their best wishes to the youngsters and will be rooting for them all the way to the podium.

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Volleyball South Africa President, Mr.Anthony Mokoena recently sent a congratulatory message to Deloshen Valaitham from KZN and the Western Cape’s Jayden Christiano Cupido ahead of their departure to represent South Africa at the 7th U18 Commonwealth Youth Games scheduled to take place on the islands of Trinidad & Tobago in the West Indies from 4 to 11 August 2023.

More than one thousand athletes and para-athletes between the ages of 14 to 18 will participate in seven (7) codes of sport managed by 500 officials. Deloshen and Jayden will represent South Africa at the Commonwealth Games Beach Volleyball competition to be hosted at Pigeon Point Beach Facility on the island of Tobago in the West Indies. While the focus for the team will be to make it to the podium as medallists the VSA President has reminded the boys that they also play an ‘’ambassadorial’’ role in projecting a positive image of South Africa in the international arena.

The President joins the volleyball fraternity in congratulating the youngsters on their selection as South Africa’s representatives at the Commonwealth Games and extends his best wishes to them.

The team departs on: 28 July 2023
Return date to South Africa: 14 August 2023
Koali James Possa from the Free State Province is the coach of team. Possa is one of nine (9) FIVB accredited Beach Volleyball coaches in South Africa.

Say NO To Gender Based Violence Say NO to Racism

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The Mpumalanga and Kwa Zulu Natal Provinces dominated the 2023 VSA’s Inter Provincial Tournament which was held on the 27th-30 th of June 2023 in Limpopo,Polokwane at Ngaoko Ramatlhodi Sports Complex. This year’s edition was attended by 6 teams in both boys’ and girls’ categories. The provinces that made their appearance at this year’s tourney are; Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Kwa Zulu Natal, North
West, Free State and Gauteng. It was unbelievable to witness both Mpumalanga and Kwa Zulu Natal young stars reclaiming the glory by winning the tourney twice in a row from 2022 IPT.

On the boys’ side, KZN squad approached the tournament as the top-seeded team and displayed an outstanding performance by winning all their five matches played in the round robin stage, to secure the semi-finals spot. The KZN young stars showed wonderful volleyball actions in the semi-final encounter by beating Limpopo regardless of their home ground advantage by 3-1 scores to register the final spot.

The KZN stars in making did not disappoint the parents who travelled all the way to show their support by overcoming Mpumalanga by 3-0 in a very interesting final match. In the battle for bronze medal, Gauteng also walked away with a bronze medal after defeating Limpopo by 3-1 scores.

On the girls’ side, Mpumalanga, the reigning champions on their campaign towards defending their gold medal also demonstrated an incredible performance during the round robin matches by finishing on top of the log. The MP young rising stars proved that they were the defending champions by crushing Kwa Zulu Natal by 3-2 in a highly contested semi-final match to make their way to the gold medal game.

The unstoppable and brave MP starlets confirmed that winning is a usual practice on their side by overthrowing their counterparts from North West Province by 3-0 in the final match. KZN again on girls’ side completed the podium after punishing Gauteng in the 3 rd /4 th playoffs by 3-0 scores.

In terms of individual performance, MP and KZN still dominated the list of players who walked away with special accolades as they were honored for their brilliant and excellence performance displayed during the IPTs.

Boys’ category
 Ally Tariq (KZN) – Best Setter
 Yashin Naidoo (KZN) – Best Blocker
 Sphesihle Mtetwa (Mpumalanga) – Best Defender
 Deloshen Valaithhum (KZN) – Best Attacker and MVP

Girls’ category
 Thabisile Raphanyana (Gauteng) – Best Setter
 Lesego Malebo (North West) – Best Blocker
 Mapaseka Mahlangu (Mpumalanga) – Best Defender
 Sarah Mnguni (Mpumalanga) – Best Attacker and MVP

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The curtain came down on the five gruelling days of practical and theoretical components of the FIVB Coaches Course Level 1 in Bloemfontein on Saturday, 10 June with a closing ceremony at which successful candidates were presented with their internationally accredited coaches’ qualification.

While the VSA President, Mr.Anthony Mokoena was very complimentary on the achievements of the successfully coaches who attained a 98% pass rate, he alerted them to their responsibility of applying their newly acquired coaching skills at the level of clubs, districts, schools and the province. Mr.Mokoena added that coaches need to acquaint themselves with the VSA Code of Conduct, the Safeguarding
Policy and acquiring Police Clearance which is a prerequisite before commencing with coaching.

The VSA President expressed his gratitude to the FIVB Instructor, Mr. Shadrack Modiakgotla from Botswana for the professional manner in which he conducted the course. The FIVB Instructor was presented with a gift as a token of appreciation from Volleyball South Africa and from those that participated at the Bloemfontein course. ‘’ While the course was gruelling, pushing the participants to the limit to perform the skills repeatedly as demonstrated to them, the fun aspect in the learning process
was not forgotten,’’ added the VSA President. Words of praise were conveyed to Shadrack Modiakgotla from the participants representative, Ms. Sashnee Nair at the closing ceremony for sharing his expertise,
wisdom and encouragement during the practical and theoretical sessions.

During the presentation ceremony Mr.Mokoena was beaming with delight when he heard that two female participants had topped both the practical and theoretical components of the coaches’ course. Tarryn Sita Singh from Gauteng was the number one candidate in the practical component while Cape Town’s Aneta Friedricksen scored the highest marks in the theoretical exams of the course.

However, flying the flag of the male dominated coaches’ course was Clinton Stemmet from the Mother City who was declared as the course’s top contender. Over the years Clinton Stemmet represented South Africa at both the indoor and beach volleyball format of the sport in the international arena.

According to Mr.Mokoena the newly qualified band of coaches gives VSA the latitude to deploy them to serve in an assistant coaches role to gain much needed experience from Head Coaches who have been serving the sport for a number of years. The plan is to groom these coaches to eventually take over the reins as head coaches of national teams in the near future. ‘’ A directive will be sent from my office to the provinces from which these coaches hail, to make liberal use of their newly acquired skills in development programmes and coaching at all levels deemed necessary by the provincial Presidents.

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Social media was awash with a multitude of images highlighting the success of VSA’s glitzy Opening Ceremony of the FIVB Coaches Course, Level 1 hosted at the Bon Hotel in Bloemfontein. The well attended function by members of the Free State macro sporting structures and invited guests set the stage for the eager participants to pull out all the stops to attain the international coaching qualification.

Not even the chilly Bloemfontein weather could put a damper on the spirits of eagerparticipants to end the 4 -day gruelling session clutching a FIVB Coaches’ certificate in their icy hands. According to VSA President, Mr.Anthony Mokoena past experience has shown that sheer guts and determination are the hall marks of success at these coaching courses. Mokoena who has taken off from work to oversee the programme feels that by the enthusiasm and skill levels exhibited by the participants more than a 98%
pass rate could be achieved.

Meanwhile, immediately after the official opening ceremony FIVB Instructor Shadrack Modiakgotla from Botswana swung into action with the first of many theory sessions, inter alia to apprise the participants of the introduction of ‘’mini-volleyball as a precursor to the six-person format of the game. Being a versatile sport played by both young and old it was prudent to introduce children to learn the joys of participating in mini-volleyball through training and playing the sport.

While the Instructor put the participants through their paces learning the skills involved in mini-volleyball at the Tempe Military Base Sports Hall the ‘’joys of participation’’ in the sport was upper most in their minds.

Day 2 programme continues at the Tempe Military Base Sports Hall on Wednesday, 7 June.

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The South African nationally qualified volleyball coaches were rubbing their hands in glee when VSA President Mr. Anthony Mokoena announced early in the year that the FIVB Coaches Course, Level 1 will be hosted in South Africa in June 2023.

The response from the South African coaches was overwhelming for the course taking place from 6 to 10 June 2023 at the Tempe Military Base Sports Hall in Bloemfontein. The 30 member participants eager to upgrade their national qualification to the internationally accredited FIVB Coaches Course Level 1
comprised 26 from across South Africa and 4 from neighbouring Zimbabwe.

According to the VSA President the response augurs well for the provinces and for the National Federation as only FIVB accredited coaches will be considered for coaching positions in all the National teams. ‘’ In a short space of time provinces will have to implement the rule of having FIVB
accredited coaches in their respective teams,’’ added Mr.Mokoena. ‘’What is very heartening is that female coaches have opted to take their rightful place in the male dominated arena,’’ said the VSA President.

The FIVB Instructor, Mr.Shadrack Modiakgotla who hails from Botswana is no stranger to South Africa as he played club volleyball here when he was a student at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) where he graduated with a degree in Sports Management. The official opening ceremony of the FIVB Coaches Course, Level 1 is scheduled to take place at the Bon Hotel in chilly Bloemfontein from 8:00 – 10:00 on 6 June 2023.

Dignitaries from the Free State Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC); the Free State Sports Confederation and special guests are invited to the glitzy function.

According to VSA’s General Manager, Mr.Thierry Mabeka the theory and practical components of the course will held at the Tempe Military Base Sports Hall.

The closing ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Bon Hotel on Saturday, 10
June starting at 18:00.

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Mpumalanga women’s teams surprised many when they set the a new record at the 2022 Junior IPTs and at the National Volleyball League respectively. The Mpumalanga U/19 young stars became the champions of the 2022 U/19 IPTs after showing great volleyball performance. It was a new record in the history of SA volleyball that a team from Mpumalanga can punish highly respected provinces at the IPTs which was hosted on the 11th to the 15th of July 2022 in Limpopo Province, Polokwane (Ngoako Ramathlodi Sports Complex). The young stars won all the matches until the finals. Drawing from the IPTs semi-final fixtures, the unstoppable Mpumalanga defeated KZN by 3-0 to secure the final spot. The Mpumalanga young stars further defeated North West by 3-0 on the battle for gold medals to become the Champions of the 2022 Inter Provincial Tournament (IPT).

Meanwhile, the Mpumalanga womens’ senior team also fought the battle by reaching the finals at the 2022 National Volleyball League. The Mpumalanga’s team had displayed brilliant volleyball by reaching the finals on their first appearance at the highly competitive tourney. It was unbelievable to see Mpumalanga coming back very strong after losing their opening match to North West by 3-2 score. Quoting from the semi-finals, Mpumalanga outplayed Limpopo on the 2nd semi-final match by 3-0 to cement their final spot. The Mpumalanga stars walked away with the silver medal after losing to Gauteng in the gold medal match by 3-0. It was for the first time that Mpumalanga reached that far at a highly contested competition and it really demonstrated that teams are now coming with new techniques and approach to volleyball competitions.

Everyone is wondering if Mpumulanga will come back with the same performance in this year’s competitions. They rewrote history, will they maintain their status is a question. We shall see at the IPT which is set to take place on 26-30 Jun 2023.

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The top-ranking and veterans of the SA Beach Volleyball on the women’s side Palesa Masinga and Natasha Webber started their campaign in the Durban Open Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament on the right foot. The duo Palesa and Natasha who hail from Gauteng Province have shown great performance on their opening matches. The pair strategized well on the launching of the first ever Women’s Beach Volleyball tournament, taking advantage of being seeded number one in this tournament.

The silverware of Zone VI Beach Volleyball Tour, Palesa and Natasha are among the teams which finished on top of the Pools and eventually winning the quarterfinals match to secure the semifinals spot on Saturday, the 15th of April 2023.

The couple is expected to battle up against their counterparts also from Gauteng by the names of Nair and Krumples in the first semifinals. Natasha and Palesa were drawn in Pool A and managed to win all their matches played. This is how they’ve played on their road to the semifinals;

Pool results:

Palesa/Natasha 2-0 Myeki/Maguthu

Palesa/Natasha 2-0 Nyide/Sibanda

Palesa/Natasha 2-0 Moodley/Parsons

Quarterfinal results

Palesa/Natasha 2-0 Mosia/Halubi

Watch all the semifinals and final matches live on SABC 2

https://fb.watch/jW2dv8OZqr/?mibextid=l2pjGR

Sponsored by #LUX

#cantstoptherise#WomenInSport#genderjustice#GameChangeHers#ChangeTheAngletogether!

CAVB- African Volleyball Confederation

ZONE VI Volleyball National Federations

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The untimely death of Gershon Rorich, the legendary volleyball star and former VSA Beach Volleyball Director refers.

Volleyball South Africa (VSA) distances itself from assertions made by any individuals or organisations regarding the cause of death of the late Gershon Rorich.

VSA respects the Rorich family’s privacy in this regard.

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Capetonian, Gershon Brian Rorich, arguably South Africa’s most celebrated volleyball player the country has ever produced passed away on 3 April 2023. From being a master tactician who out-foxed and out-smarted his opponents on the indoor volleyball circuit, Rorich rose to the top of the beach volleyball rankings in South Africa and on the African continent in a short space of time.

The star performer started his volleyball career at Livingstone High School in the Mother City and later joined Pirates Volleyball club, a community- based outfit. It was the late Paul Parker who saw the ‘’genius in the making’’ in the 15 -year old Gershon. Joining Parker’s Black Panthers VC was a life changing experience for the youngsters who used the opportunity to hone his skills under Parker’s expert
guidance.

Gershon’s volleyball career was set in motion on an upward trajectory. A sparkling performance at a VSA’s championship in Durban in the 1990’s caught the attention of the volleyball selectors who immediately pencilled in the young Gershon’s name as a future prospect for the country’s national men’s team. Over a 20 -year stint in the SA National Team set up, Rorich earned several accolades including an offer to play professionally in Belgium.

Rorich’s transition from indoor volleyball to the beach volleyball format of the sport was seamless. He quickly became the most sought- after partner by fellow beach volleyball players who wanted to earn much needed ranking points and the cash on offer as prize money. However, when Gershon teamed up with fellow Capetonian, Adriaan ‘’Gosh’’ Strydom the duo made ‘’more than just waves’’ on the SA National beach volleyball circuit and on the African continent.

Gersh and Gosh, made the top positions on the podium their very own at all beach volleyball competitions they participated in. Over the years the duo became house-hols names whose mere presence on the beach volleyball circuit struck fear in the hearts of their opponents.

It came as no surprise when Gershon and his new beach partner, Colin Pocock emerged as the African continent’s representatives for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, beach volleyball competition. Rorich and Pocock wrote their names in the ‘’history books’’ as the first African team to finish in a creditable 9 th position in the global event in Athens, Greece. To-date no other African beach volleyball team has
come any where near the record set by Gersh and Colin.

As an indoor super star Gershon thrilled and entertained the crowds where ever he plied his trade. For a period of time in his illustrious playing career that began in Cape Town, Gersh went on to play for clubs in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KZN adding value to those teams.

Like all great sporting heroes Gershon chose to ‘retire’ from the sport he was so passionate about when he was at the ‘’top of his game’’ to pass his skills to aspirant provincial and national team hopefuls. During his ’’retirement’’ he vigorously promoted beach volleyball, mapping out South Africa’s plan when he served as VSA’s Beach Volleyball Director for many years. Through his beach volleyball plan Rorich’s intended for South Africa to regain its number one position on the African continent.

Apart from his accomplishments as a volleyball star performer Gershon is credited with spearheading the organising committee for the annual Splash Festival Beach Volleyball Championship which is the longest running beach volleyball event in South Africa.

In addition, Rorich played a critical role in the delivery of the six (6) FIVB World Series Beach Volleyball Championship hosted by VSA from 1995 to 2022. The final one, the Elite 16 was hosted at Cape Town’s Grand Parade in November 2022.

While the curtain has come down on Gershon Rorich’s illustrious playing career and his involvement in the promotion of beach volleyball, his memory will be etched on the minds of the country’s volleyball community for decades to come.

According to VSA President, Mr.Anthony Mokoena, the untimely passing of the legendry Gershon Rorich has left a vacuum in the sport that will be difficult to fill as there is no indication presently that the records set by Gersh will be ‘’broken’’ in this life time.

The VSA President went on to say that Gershon’s passing is a painful reminder that tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone. Go well, Gersh !

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Dear Friends and Colleagues
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing on of Mr. Gershon Rorich of South Africa. Death
has robbed the African and World Volleyball family of a great man who distinguished himself as a
player, a coach, and an administrator.
Gershon had an illustrious career spanning over 3 decades. He captained one of the most successful
South African Men’s volleyball teams which were one of the continental powerhouses. He also was
one of the pioneers of African Beach volleyball and the story of the success of African beach
volleyball cannot be written without mentioning his name. He represented South Africa at the 2004
Athens Olympic games.
Gershon was also a tactician and a mentor who groomed many athletes past and present and was
always ready to share his knowledge and experience. Mr. Rorich also served as a member of the
CAVB beach volleyball commission and supervised several African beach volleyball competitions and
helped many African national federations in setting up their beach volleyball systems.
On behalf of the CAVB Board, staff, and the entire African Volleyball family I would like to extend my
heartfelt condolences to his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them in this time of grief, and
we stand by them in these difficult times.

MAY HIS DEARLY DEPARTED SOUL REST IN PEACE.

Yours Sincerely

Bouchra HAJIJ (Mrs)
CAVB President
FIVB Executive Vice President

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It was a glorious final day of the 7 th leg of the Zone VI Beach Tour for the South African contingent as 3 of its teams reached the finals of the competition viz. Leo Williams & Danilo von Ludwiger will square up against country men, Thokozizi Ndingi & Jonas Motlhobi in the men’s final while Palesa Sekhonyana & Natasha Webber take on the tournament favourites, Sinaportar & Muniango from Mozambique in the
women’s final. To-date the Mozambican pairing have not lost a match on the year-long Zonal Beach Tour. 

Match Report
DANILO VON LUDWIGER & LEO WILLIAMS VS THOKO NDINGI & JONAS MOTLHOBI (all South African)

With the scalp of the tournament’s top seeds, Ainadino & Monjane from Mozambique under their belt the South African pairing of Danilo von Ludwiger and Leo Williams were spurred on to make history as the first team from South Africa to win gold at the Zone VI Beach Tour.

However, their country -men, Thoko Ndingi and Jonas Motlhobi stood in their way to victory. Clearly Thoko and Jonas enjoyed great crowd support as Thoko is a resident of Durban and Jonas played club volleyball in KZN for many years. Taking advantage of the crowd support Thoko and Jonas were fired up to take on their more fancied opponents who hail from Cape Town (Leo) and Pretoria (Danilo).

While Jonas had a reputation of being a ‘master blaster’ attacker, he linked up well with Thoko whose clever use of the ‘cut shot’ and the occasion power drives kept them in the game against the team of Danilo & Leo that defeated the tournament’s number one seeds, Ainadino & Mojane from Mozambique in straight sets (2-0) in the semi-final stage to reach the final as the new favourites.

The opening set was tightly contested as both teams were probing each other weaknesses in order to exploit them to put quick points on the board. On several occasions the partisan crowd showed their appreciation equally with thunderous applause to both Jonas and Danillo when they fired home their trade mark bullet attacks. The fans enjoyed every minute of the hard fought rallies that kept the score
board ticking evenly.

Sadly for Thoko and Jonas when the scores were levelled at 13-13 they let the encounter slip through their fingers as unforced errors, especially poor service from Thoko at crucial times gave Danilo and Leo a 16-13 lead. With Danilo in superb attacking form he went on to close proceedings with a hard fought 21-17 score line.

The 2nd set was marred by a few ‘’suspect’’ calls from the referee against Danilo and Leo that put a momentary damper on their spirits. On the brighter side the power attacking ‘contest’ between Jonas and Danilo kept the crowd entertained. When ever crowd favourite, local lad Thoko popped up to execute his traditional ‘quick cut-shot’ it drew thunderous applause from the spectators.

Long rallies, solid blocking, deft touches into open spaces followed by desperate attempts to recover balls that came off the blockers hands kept the score board ticking. The crowd loved the ‘drama’ and salivated for more of that kind of action – packed volleyball.

With the scores at 18-16 in favour of Danilo and Leo, two (2) consecutive unforced errors from the crafty left handed maestro, Thoko Ndingi saw them staring at defeat. In the first instance a hard driven cross court – attack missed the side line by millimetres and zoomed out of bounds and into the spectators area (16-19). Losing his balance while moving away from the net resulted in Thoko ‘poking’ at the ball that
that failed to clear the height of the net (16-20). Refusing to roll over and play dead Jonas rose quickly of the burning sand and latched onto a short set off Thoko’s nimble fingers and powered off Danilo’s out stretched hands and out of bounds (17-20).

Coming out of a rally Danilo was poised to blast a quick set from Leo to close proceedings. However, Danilo chose to ‘roll the ball’ over Jonas’s huge block and landed ‘down the line’ in the back court area giving Thoko no chance of getting to the ball.

With a 2nd set 21-17 victory Danilo and Leo walked away with the zonal title as champions for the first time and a cash prize of $300. ‘’Hats-off’’ to the players, who despite the scorching Durban weather they did not fail to thrill and entertain the fans.

The final leg of the 8 leg Zone VI Beach Tour takes place in Vilanculos in Mozambique in February 2023.

Released by
DONOVAN NAIR
VSA SG

For Media Enquiries

Jacob Thamaga – VSA PR/Media Director (0725945972 / thamagajacob@gmail.com)

The post MEN’s FINAL: ZONE VI BEACH TOUR<br>NORTH BEACH, DURBAN appeared first on Volleyball South Africa.

It was a glorious final day of the 7 th leg of the Zone VI Beach Tour for the South African contingent as 3 of its teams reached the finals of the competition viz. Leo Williams & Danilo von Ludwiger will square up against country men, Thokozizi Ndingi & Jonas Motlhobi in the men’s final while Palesa Sekhonyana & Natasha Webber take on the tournament favourites, Sinaportar & Muniango from Mozambique in the
women’s final. To-date the Mozambican pairing have not lost a match on the year-long Zonal Beach Tour.

WOMEN’s FINAL
PALESA SEKHONYANA & NATASHA WEBBER (South Africa) V SINAPORTAR & MUNIANGO ( Mozambique)

As the tournament favourites, Sinaportar & Muniango from Mozambique were not going to allow their opponents from South Africa to prevent them from reaching the podium as the gold medallists. According to Sinaportar her Brazilian coach watched the South Africans’ semi-final encounter against the 3rd ranked team from Mozambique and has crafted a solid game plan for victory. What was very evident
from the outset was that the team from Mozambique had developed an excellent synergy after having played together for many years.

Taking the scorching weather conditions into account, Sinaportar & Muniango sacrificed power for ‘soft touches’ into open spaces that made the SA pairing work harder to recover balls that floated into the far reaches of the back court. Relying on their vast experience the Mozambican team took a 8-4 lead that immediately put undue pressure on their challengers.

While Palesa and Natasha are no strangers to this level of competition, they lacked game time together as a team to pose a real threat to the number one seeds. Given her experience Palesa knew that when things become decidedly uncomfortable one has to sacrifice power for controlled soft attacks into open spaces to pick up valuable points. With Palesa’s deft touches out of the reach of her opponents and Natasha’s
occasional power attacks the South Africans bounced back into contention. However, not to be out done Sinaportar and Muniango’s reliance on a variety of attacking options gave them the edge as they closed proceedings with a 21-13 first set win.

While the sizzling heat and the burning sand added to the woes of the South African pairing, Natasha Webber had to contend with an injured foot which she sustained during the semi-final match a day earlier. Normally an energetic athlete on court, Natasha mobility was hampered by her injury.

However, given the winning combination of the Mozambican pairing on the Zonal Beach Tour it came as no surprise when Palesa and Natasha succumbed to the top seeds by a 21-9 scoreline.

Released by
DONOVAN NAIR
VSA SG

For Media Enquiries

Jacob Thamaga – VSA PR/Media Director (0725945972 / thamagajacob@gmail.com)

The post ZONE VI BEACH TOUR 7 th LEG, AT DURBAN’s NORTH BEACH, 20 TO 22 January 2023. Final Day Match Report – Women appeared first on Volleyball South Africa.

Durban’s North Beach is proving to be an excellent ‘’hunting ground’’ for the South African teams participating in the 7th leg of the Zone VI Beach Tour. After the end of the round robin stage on Day one of the tournament,four South African teams: Ndingi & Motlhobi; Williams & Danilo (all men) and Palesa & Natasha; Karina & Tatiana (all women) progressed into the quarter final stage of the Zonal championship. It was the first time that so many South African teams achieved such a feat in an international zonal competition.

However, in the first semi-final clash South Africans Leo Williams and Danilo von Ludwiger were pitted against Ainadino Martinho and Monjane from Mozambique, the tournament’s top seeds who have not been defeated at any of the six (6) legs of the Zonal Beach Tours they participated in. Unfazed about the hype around the top seeds Williams and Danilo entered the court determined to unseat the reigning champions. Their gusty play and will to win immediately put their opponents on the ‘back foot’ as they struggled to contain the rampant attacking of Danilo von Ludwiger and the solid blocking of Leo Williams who took care of matters at the net. Much to the delight of the partisan crowd, Williams and Danilo raced to an unassailable 11-3 lead in the opening set. Although the team from Mozambique made every effort to get back into contention, they were unable to get the upper hand against the South Africans who thrilled and entertained their fans with a sparkling performance. Unable to withstand the pressure Monjane served into the net at a crucial time that handed Williams and Danilo a 20-10 lead. Still reeling from his blunder, Monjane hammers a spike into the net to give the South Africans a resounding 21-10 victory.

With a change of mind set in the crucial 2nd set, Aindino and Monjane fought back and levelled the scores at 11:11. When Danilo posted a series of quick cross-courts attacks off Williams’ nimble fingers things became decidedly uncomfortable for Ainadino and Mojane. The South Africans lads took a slender 18-17 lead when Leo Williams fired home a cracking power attack that bounced off the base line. From that stage onwards it was an all Danilo ‘affair’ as the youngster powered past the number one seeds at will and closed proceedings with a blistering 21-19, 2nd set victory. In the 2nd men’s semi-final clash between Mondlane & Mongoi from Mozambique the tournament’s 3rd ranked team and South Africa’s Ndingi and Motlhobi it was the latter who clinched a place in the final when they won a hard- fought encounter against the lads from Mozambique. The opening set went in favour of Mondlane and Mongoi as they cleverly exploited the use of the soft attack over the blocker and found empty spaces down the line towards the back court. The South Africans failure to speedily overcome this set back saw them staring at defeat when the score was at 13-9 in Mozambique’s favour. Not to be out done Motlhobi’s occasional power attacks and Ndingi’s quick cross-court ‘cut shots’ brought them back into contention at 14-17.

However, Mondlane’s penchant for effortlessly choosing placement of attacks instead of power attacks befuddled the South African pairing who went on to succumb to a 21-19 first set loss. In the 2nd set the South Africans’ quick fire 5-1 lead was cut short when Mondlane and Mongoi combined well to level matters at 9-9. Spurred on by the fans the home side took a well -deserved 15-10 lead which they converted to a 21-15 ,2nd set win to level matters at 1-1. In the ‘do or die’ 3rd set Ndingi’s unforced service errors could have cost his team dearly. Eventually the South Africans triumphed with a 15-11 scoreline to meet their fellow country -men, Leo Williams and Danilo von Ludwiger in an all -South African men’s final at Durban’s North Beach on Sunday.

Entry to the matches is free.

Released by

DONOVAN NAIR VSA SG

For Media Enquiries

Jacob Thamaga – VSA PR/Media Director (0725945972 / thamagajacob@gmail.com)

The post ZONE VI 2023 BEACH TOUR North Beach, Durban 20-22 January. appeared first on Volleyball South Africa.

Durban’s North Beach, once a mecca of beach volleyball activities in the country came alive with the hosting of the 7th leg of the Zone VI Beach Tour from 20 to 22 January. In the set- up of the playing venue the organisers made sure that spectators have easy access to watch all the scintillating actions packed encounters on offer in all four courts during the three day event. Despite the blistering African sun, 17 men’s teams and 14 women’s teams rocked up at the hallowed North Beach arena to get a slice of the prize money and the coveted title of being zonal champions.

In the men’s category, the Beach Tour’s number one pairing of Ainadino Martinho and Manjane cruised through to the quarter-final stages with effortless victories against Keveshan and Shaylin (South Africa) whom they thrashed in straight sets, 21-8; 21-3. It was a case of ‘baptism of fire’ for the first timers at this level of competition. The champions went on to defeat Hazi and Hamzah, also from South Africa by a 21-12; 21-12 margin. A disappointing performance from Zimbabweans, Keni and Chidzwa resulted in their 21-8; 21-15 beating. In the women’s category, number one seeds Sinaportar and Muianga from Mozambique will be joined by Zimbabwe’s Marange and Gaza in the quarter-final stages of the tournament.

Both pairings are regular participants on the Zonal Beach Tour. South Africans, Palesa Sekhonyana and Natasha Webber made their intentions quite clear that they will be amongst the medallists when they won all their group matches defeating Phamotse and Tolofi from Lesotho by a 21-13; 21-19 score line and triumphed over Zimbabwe’s Muchaoona and Tsungie in straight sets, 21-4; 21-16. Palesa and Natasha will be joined by Karina and Tatiana in the quarter final stages of the event which are scheduled for day 2 of the championship. In the men’s category, South Africa’s ‘’dark horses’’, Jonas Motlhobi and Thoko Ndingi surprised their opponents by defeating one of the tournament favourites, Jack and Chiswaniso from Botswana, by 2 sets to 1, 21-12; 15-21; 15-13. The Botswana lads are ranked number 2 in the tournament. With the scalp of the number 2 seeds in their back pocket, Ndingi and Motlhobi went on to post comfortable scores against Krafft & Kesselmann from Namibia, 21-15; 21-13 and Valaitham and Kemoloide, (South Africa), 21-13; 21-4 to book their place in the quarter finals.

The newly formed South African pairing of Leo Williams and Danilo Ludwiger were made to fight all the way to get into the quarter finals. They had a morale boosting win against the much- fancied Zimbabwean pairing of Machona and Trymore with a 21-16; 21-15 score line. Their tightly contested encounter against Mozambique’s Mondlane & Mungoi ended in a 21-19; 21-17 win in the South Africans’ favour. The South Africans are in a celebratory mood at Durban’s North Beach as they have for the first time four of their teams in the quarter final stages of the Zone VI Beach Tour.

VSA President Mr.Anthony Mokoena was ecstatic with the results and promised to plough more resources in to the development of beach volleyball which is considered as the fastest developing sport on the African continent. In a television interview on SuperSport at the North Beach playing venue President Mokoena indicated that VSA awaits the arrival of a dedicated beach volleyball coach funded by the FIVB to fast-track the sport through -out South Africa.

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DONOVAN NAIR VSA SG

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Jacob Thamaga – VSA PR/Media Director (0725945972 / thamagajacob@gmail.com)

The post 7th LEG OF 2023 ZONE VI BEACH TOUR, DURBAN Day One: Results (Friday 20 January) appeared first on Volleyball South Africa.

CAVB Zone VI hosted the Technical Meeting for the penultimate 7th leg of its Beach Tour on Thursday, 19 January at Durban’s Maharani Hotel. The meeting was well attended by the 17 men’s teams and 14 women’s teams from Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. In his address to the gathering, VSA President Mr.Anthony Mokoena was lavish in his praise for KZN Volleyball for graciously offering to host the Beach Tour after Gauteng Volleyball Union informed the National Federation of its difficulties in delivering the event.

In addition, the VSA President expressed his gratitude to all the sponsors which included Aqua Darshan and the Southern Suns Hotel Group. The hotel group made available their conference facility free of charge for the technical Meeting and provided a smorgasbord of culinary delights for all the guests. After the draws were done by the Zone’s President, Mr.Khalid Cassam from Mozambique, there was an air of quiet optimism from the ‘’heavy weights’’ of the competition from Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe as they weighed up their options against the rest of the ‘pack’ Seemingly their only threat on their way to the podium was the newly formed South African pairing of Leo Williams and Danilo von Ludwiger who were making their debut as a pairing at this level of competition. Leo Williams who plays professionally on the European Beach Volleyball Circuit responded as follows: ‘’Only time will tell.’’

Released by

DONOVAN NAIR VSA SG

For Media Enquiries

Jacob Thamaga – VSA PR/Media Director (0725945972 / thamagajacob@gmail.com)

The post ZONE VI BEACH TOUR HOST TECHNICAL MEETING AT DURBAN’s MAHARANI HOTEL, Thursday 19 January 2023. appeared first on Volleyball South Africa.

The penultimate 7th Leg of the 8 Leg Zone VI Beach Volleyball Tour gets underway at
Durban’s North Beach from 20-22 January. After an absence of almost three decades international beach volleyball returns to the mecca of the sport in Durban.

The Zonal hierarchy planned the Zonal Tour to be played by the ten member states to create interest in beach volleyball and at the same time boost the growth of beach volleyball in the Zone. Attractive cash incentives as prize money have increased the number of participants in the ‘’fastest growing sport’’ on the African Continent.

The 8 Leg Zonal Tour started in Maputo, Mozambique early in 2022 was followed up by a sparkling event in Johannesburg, South Africa. The curtain comes down on the 8 Leg Zonal Tour in Maputo, Mozambique in February 2023. At the final leg cash prizes in US dollars will be paid to the top contenders of the Zonal Tour.

Meanwhile a record number of teams from South Africa have registered for the event, knowing full well that the road to podium will not be an easy one. Beach volleyball in Mozambique has ‘’skyrocketed’’ after the country enlisted the services of a Beach Volleyball coach from Brazil. After having played in six events the teams from Mozambique lead the Zonal Tour log.

Given their past glories on the SA Beach circuit South Africa’s hopefuls, Palesa Sekhonyana and Natasha Webber are confident that they will be among the medallist in Durban.

In the male category, the vastly experienced Leo Williams who plies his trade on the FIVB European beach volleyball circuit has teamed up with youngster, Danilo von Ludwigger, a medical student from Pretoria. The dup realises the enormity of the task. Danillo is tipped to be among the young players category together with Deloshen Valaitham, Kemoloile Osteweleng and Heiko Guther as future beach volleyball prospects. Leo and Danilo realise the enormity of the task at hand especially against Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Regardless they plan to upset the top contenders.

Released by
DONOVAN NAIR
VSA SG

For Media Inquiries Contact

Jacob Thamaga – VSA PR/Media Director (0725945972 / thamagajacob@gmail.com)

The post ZONE VI BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOUR, DURBAN, 20-22 January 2023 appeared first on Volleyball South Africa.

Deloshen Valaitham from Team South Africa is the youngest player to watch at the World Beach Volleyball Pro-Tour which is arranged to kickstart from tomorrow, 2nd to the 6th of November 2022 here in Cape Town Grand Parade. Deloshen, a 15-year-old youngest star hails from Durban and he’s currently doing Grade 10 at Greenbury secondary School. Valaitham Deloshen and the partner Thandolwethu Ngobese are in the qualification draw and they will lock horns with top teams in the world. Deloshen expressed that he is very happy to participate in the tourney of this magnitude. According by to him the tournament will be used to learn some new skills and, in a nutshell, to experience. Besides the local tourneys, Deloshen, represented South Africa at the U/19 World Beach Volleyball Champiknships which were held in Turkey.

Jacob Thamaga

VSA Media/PR Director

thamagajacob@gmail.com/0725945972

The post DELOSHEN VALAITHAM FROM TEAM SOUTH AFRICA IS THE YOUNGEST PLAYER TO WATCH ON THE MEN’S CATEGORY AT THE WORLD BEACH VOLLEYBALL CAPE PRO-TOUR. appeared first on Volleyball South Africa.