2016-11-07 14:00:00 CEST
Beach volleyball is still going strong in November!
Barbora Hermannova and Marketa Slukova reigned supreme on home sand at the weekend. Photocredit: Martin Steinthaler.
The international beach volleyball season gets under way on the glistening sandy beaches of Fort Lauderdale in just three months!
Yes, the opening tournament of the 2017 season kicks off with the Swatch Major Series’ eagerly-anticipated return to Fort Lauderdale on 7 February.
But the stars of beach volleyball are far from hibernating this winter. Oh no. In fact, for many players the season has only just finished!
The Brazilian tour is in full swing, while this weekend saw two tournaments bring the curtain down on European circuit.
And the winners were more than happy to show off their medals and smiles from success on the sand in the CEV events.
This Instagram photo shows all of the happy winners of the CEV Satellite in Pelhrimov in the Czech Republic.
Gold CEV SATELLITE Pelhřimov! #winners #beachvolleyball #beachwell #PerusicSchweiner #PerunDave #happy @christiansorum @mathiasberntsen96 @flos.224 @kiki_misa_beachvolleyball_team @bara.maki.beach a Perun #nemainstagram #utáhlmě :D
See this Instagram photo by @david_schweiner * 59 likes
Among the grinning faces are 2016 Olympians from the Czech Republic, Barbora Hermannová and Marketa Slukova. The home favorites delighted the crowd by winning gold. Much to their delight! It was an early birthday present for Barbora - she celebrated turning 26 on Monday! Happy birthday, Barbora!
We made it to the top of the podium💪🏻❤️🏅Gold from CEV satelitte! We fought hard till the last ball hit the ground. So proud how we develop as a team!💪🏻 Great tournament, challenging competitors and lots of fun to battle with B🐯. * * #hughughug #happy #proud #team #growth #beachvolleyball #cev #makibara
See this Instagram photo by @marketa_slukova * 325 likes
Winners of European Setelitte ❤️💪🏻🏅 #winners #cev #teamwork #pelhrimov
See this Instagram photo by @bara.maki.beach * 233 likes
Elsewhere two Englishmen, Jake Sheaf and Chris Gregory, who we featured back at the A1 Major Klagenfurt as they travelled around from tournament to tournament in a van, were celebrating gold in another CEV event in Sweden.
jake sheaf on Twitter
What a way to end the season! NEVZA champs!! Shout out for all the support from back home! @whitbyseafoods @NurishmentActiv @VballEngland
For more heroes of the sport who have travelled around the globe digging and diving, it’s time to relax and spend time doing things other than beach volleyball.
Like three-time Olympian Phil Dalhausser. The American legend told us after the Swatch World Tour Finals that the off-season would be family time. And Big Phil is here starring in a video trying to amaze his children with a slam dunk…They don’t seem too impressed, though!
Daddy bringing the thunder!!👊🏻#dunk #nba #nextcareermove @oakley @redbull @66audio @rapidforcephs
See this Instagram video by @phildalhausser * 1,159 likes
Something that definitely left us impressed were the artistic skills of Slovakian star Tina Turnerova. We’re not entirely sure if the person on the left in the picture is wearing a colorful hat or if that is just an amazing haircut. Either way, we love it Tina!
Finally time to paint #finally #time #evening #art #paint #women #notreal #fantasy #faces #live #onpaper #watercolour #aquarelle #face #woman #girl #hair #picture #pose #myworld
See this Instagram photo by @tinaturnerova * 23 likes
Finally, if anyone thought that the interest in beach volleyball during the winter months is over then think again.
Take this photo that the FIVB uploaded on Sunday evening. In just 12 hours this photograph, of just two beach volleyballs lying innocently on the sand, was liked over 10,000 times on Instagram.
Weekends are made for playing #BeachVolleyball and #Volleyball! 😁😁😁🏐😍✌️ Who did you play with this #weekend? Tag them in the comments! #volley #vball #volei #voleibol #voley #voleyboll #voleybol #beachvolley #voleydeplaya #voleidepraia #sport #sundayfunday #fun
See this Instagram photo by @fivbvolleyball * 10.6k likes
There’s always time for beach volleyball…and in three months it will be back with a bang! Bring it on!