Nick Coburn and the Aus Beach ParaVolley Team Use SVC for World Champs Prep

The Australian Beach ParaVolley team, which includes Victorian athlete Nick Coburn, has chosen the State Volleyball Centre at Dandenong Stadium as their base for final preparations before they fly to China to compete in the World Championships.

Support the Team through donation via ASF

The team will compete in the standing 3-on-3 discipline at the inaugural World Beach ParaVolley Championships in Chongqing, China, from 30 May to 2 June, and includes Brad Barclay from Western Australia and Japhy Duldig from NSW.

Volleyball Victoria CEO Cori Wilder said the State Volleyball Centre provided the obvious place for the Australian ParaVolley team to prepare for their upcoming tournament.

“Dandenong Stadium is the perfect place for them to prepare,” she said. “They will have access to three excellent indoor beach volleyball courts and the surrounding facilities, meaning they can engage in high quality uninterrupted training without having to worry about the weather outside. It’ll provide a fantastic platform for success in China.”

Access to the training environment at the State Volleyball Centre has been generously donated to the team by South East Leisure, who manage Dandenong Stadium and were keen to throw their support behind the cause.

South East Leisure’s General Manager – Stadiums, Ian Jenkins said they were thrilled to support the Australian Beach ParaVolley team. “In particular Nick, who has played at our venue for years. We wish the squad all the best and look forward to seeing them take to the sand in the green and gold,” Jenkins said.

The World Championships marks a significant moment for World ParaVolley tournaments and programmes after many were put on hold during the COVID pandemic.

Nick Coburn, who will get to prepare for the tournament back in his home state of Victoria, said he’s thrilled to be representing Australia at the Inaugural World Championships.

“Since the last World ParaVolley event in 2019, Volleyball Australia’s ParaVolley Program has been building steadily and it is great to be able to finally show off our development. Our team of three has a wealth of experience with over 50 years worth of Australian ParaVolley representation. With Brad and myself having played in two previous Beach ParaVolley tournaments, as well as Japhy who is coming back into the ParaVolley squad for the first time since 2005, we’ll be hoping for a strong result,” Coburn said.

Volleyball Australia Sport Delivery and Growth General Manager, Nam Pham said they were excited to be part of the first Beach ParaVolley World Championships.

“It demonstrates our commitment to nurturing this sport’s growth. We’re thrilled to see our athletes seizing this global opportunity, and we’re fully behind the future of Beach ParaVolley,” he said.

Travel costs for the team are fully self-funded. A fundraising page through the Australian Sports Foundation has been set up to take donations from those wishing to support the team on their journey.