Beach volleyball pairs from all over the UK gathered in Bournemouth, England from 6-8 September to compete in the finals of 2024 UK Beach Tour (UKBT), and for the first time since the Tour was established in 2018, a Scottish men’s pair topped the podium as Tour Champions.
Coming together as a new pairing at the start of 2024, Ross McKelvie and James McHardy reached the semifinals of every UKBT event they competed in together in 2024 but always ultimately fell to their opponents. They made the podium twice with 3rd places at both the Bridlington Northern Open and Portobello Edinburgh Open and had to settle for fourth place finishes in the other competitions.
After a shaky start at the Tour Finals, however, dropping their first pool match on the rainy Saturday morning, they steamrolled their way through to the championship match without dropping a set. In the gold medal match they faced former pro athletes Australian Cole Durant and Dutchman Jan-Joost Van den Bogert. McHardy and McKelvie dropped their first set to Durant/Van den Bogert 17-21 before coming back to win 21-17 in the second and outlasting their opponents 18-16 in the third set to win it.
Speaking about their title, Ross McKelvie said:
“I’m absolutely stoked that all the time, effort and finances that both Jamie and I have put in this season has paid off as the domestic season comes to a close. This weekend’s results and performances are testimony to the coaching we’ve had this year from Sarah and highlights the importance of a structured training schedule that we haven’t had previously. This is my first UKBT Grand Slam win let alone British Championship, so to win it by beating a number of top English pairs along the way and in front of a packed Bournemouth Pier was truly special for me.”
Margaret Ann Fleming MBE, CEO of Scottish Volleyball said “Many congratulations to Ross and Jamie on such a significant gold medal podium finish and in a successful result. Scottish Volleyball offers our thanks to our High Performance beach partners FIVB. sportscotland and in the support given to our beach players from Scottish Volleyball members and clubs.”
Thanks also to UKBT for another great season and congratulations to Ross and Jamie on their victory from all at Scottish Volleyball.
