COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 3, 2018) – The 2018 USA National Beach Tour Championships has selected Siesta Key, Florida, as host for the juniors’ event set for July 19-24. The tournament expects to feature over 400 boys’ and girls’ teams from across the country ranging in age from 10-18.
The USA National Beach Tour Championships culminates a series of qualification events beginning in February. The top four pairs in each division from Beach National Qualifiers (BNQ) and a select number of bid winners as part of the Beach Regional Qualifiers (BRQ) earn spots into the national championships event. BNQ winners will earn bids to the National Open Division at the national championships. Designated BRQ events in each region will earn Regional Division bids to the national championships.
The 12U and 16U age groups in both genders will compete July 19-21 with titles in the National Open, Region and Patriot Divisions. The 14U and 18U age groups for both genders compete for Open, Region and Patriot Division titles from July 22-24.
Each team must have at least one player that has earned a bid to qualify their team in the National Open or Regional Division. The Patriot Division has been established to enable participants who have not earned a bid to compete at nationals.
Siesta Key hosted for the 2017 USA Junior Beach Tour Championships, which has now evolved into the USA National Beach Tour as announced earlier this fall.
“We are honored to bring this event back to Siesta Key,” USA Volleyball Manager of Beach Events Mark Paaluhi said. “Siesta Key is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and an amazing place to play beach volleyball. Nearly 450 beach pairs from across the country enjoyed our 2017 event in Siesta Key despite many weather-related challenges.”
“Visit Sarasota County is excited to have the USAV National Beach Tour Championships return to Siesta Key Beach in 2018,” said Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County. “The 2017 Championships was a great success and we are looking forward to hosting the athletes and their families again this July.”
The adults’ USA National Beach Tour Championships site and dates will be announced in the coming weeks.