3 Weeks World Tour Marathon

The journey started on 18.02. 3 weeks, 3 tournaments in 3 countries with Coach Michel, blocker Miller Pata and defensive player Sherysyn Toko (Tini). The first flight departed at 7am for Sydney, which took 3.15 hours. Everyone was on time at the airport and motivated for the next 3 weeks. They spent one night at the beautiful Airport Hotel and enjoyed the pool and fitness room.

The next morning, they flew to Singapore in 7 hours, and then in 2 hours to Phnom Penh. The first 2-star World Tour tournament took place in the capital of Cambodia. Hoping to qualify and move to the player hotel, they shared a room in a hotel. It was only a 3-minute tuk-tuk ride to the tournament venue. After a short rest and light recovery, they trained on Wednesday 20.02, and then started the qualification games on Thursday. The first match against Israel was a clear victory of 21:18 and 21:13 for the team from Vanuatu. Both players did a good job, and especially the younger player Tini played well and took responsibility. However, the second match against the experienced and disciplined Japanese team was different. Miller and Tini lost the match with 21:15 and 21:12, and were thus out of the tournament. There was initial disappointment, but after the meeting and analysis in the evening, they identified clear shortcomings and Michel established clear structures for the next few days to enter the competition mode and look confidently towards India. They trained every day, and with the German team Klinke/Ottens being eliminated, they found a good training team and continued to work on technique and tactics. The following days went by and an evening drink with the Czech coach David was a welcome distraction for Michel.

Eventually, their days in Cambodia came to an end, and on Sunday, they continued their journey via Bangkok (1 night at the airport hotel) and Delhi to Visakhapatnam in India. They arrived at the hotel late in the evening on Tuesday 26.02, completely exhausted. Fortunately, the girls were already in the main draw, so each of them had their own room. The hotel was beautiful and had an amazing buffet. A small compensation for Cambodia :)

After two days of training, the tournament started on Friday 01.03 with a victory against the Russian team with scores of 21:17 and 21:13. It was a good performance, and the training had paid off. On the same day, they also defeated the team from the USA with scores of 21:16 and 21:17. Great. They also met the German team Dollinger/Kulzer there and played a few balls with them upon request, supporting them in their tournament victory ;) What a good coach!

On Saturday, they played the quarterfinal against another team from the USA. It was a tough match against the blonde twins born in 2001, who had also performed well in the tournament. But Vanuatu didn't give up and won the third set with a score of 15:10. They reached the semifinals. Wuhuuuu...

Unfortunately, the semifinal opponents were well-prepared and tactically clever Czech players. Vanuatu girls lost the first set with 11:21, and despite a late surge in the second set, they couldn't catch up and lost with a score of 16:21.

Afterwards, it was said: "Girls, please don't go to sleep or watch movies, stay active, recover a bit but be alert!" They followed the advice and were much more awake for the match for the third place against Austria. Unfortunately, they couldn't defeat the strong twins from Vienna and said goodbye to India with a satisfying and proud 4th place, with scores of 16:21 and 18:21.

Not reaching the final had one good aspect. Because the finalists finished the tournament around 7:30 pm, while their flight to Sydney was already booked for 9 pm. For the German team Dollinger/Kulzer, it meant going directly from the court, with sand and sweat in every crevice, to the plane in the last minute. One player even had their shoes stolen, so they had to walk barefoot across India, via Kuala Lumpur to Sydney. Amazing :D

And now the golden ending, because Michel and I were finally reunited, and it happened at the beautiful Manly Beach with great weather and a lot of high-level beach volleyball.

On 4.3, we both landed in Sydney and spent the first nights with the girls in a family room in a hostel (again hoping to be close to the main draw ;)) After training on Tuesday and some medical appointments for us, the qualification started on Wednesday. Like before, the warm-up in the morning apparently wasn't enough, and the girls lost the first set at 8:50 am with a score of 6:21 against the team from New Zealand. At 2:8 in the second set, some fans turned off the live ticker and were surprised when the final result came. As it often happens in women's volleyball, the tide suddenly turned. The New Zealand players made mistakes, and Tini and Miller suddenly got into the game. They won the set with a score of 23:21, and they didn't let anything slip in the third set. They won with a score of 15:11, surprising everyone at the court and at home. Wonderful...

Highly motivated, and with as little "chill mode and Vanuatu Island time" as possible, we prepared them for the second match against Poland. It started better, but they still lost the first set with a score of 16:21. In the second set, the score was 20:20, bringing a thrilling climax to the match. But this time, it wasn't meant to be, and after two unlucky actions, we lost the match with a score of 22:24.

That was really unfortunate, but the past three weeks had taken a toll on all three players, so it was also time for some rest and distance. Since Debbie, the president, was planning to join the tournament on Wednesday anyway, we booked a private double room in a super fancy surfer hostel right on Main Street, so that Debbie could share the room with the girls. It was also good for us, and with earplugs, the nights were perfect. We even got an upgrade and had our own bathroom in the room. That was a blessing with these chaotic girls... 😂

We didn't leave Manly for the remaining days. Every day, we watched matches, especially the German teams like Bieneck/Schneider, Borger/Sude, and Körtzinger/Schneider, who made it to the main draw. Among the men, only Flüggen/Ehlers were still in the tournament, but unfortunately, they were eliminated too early with a 13th place. It was also exciting to see the legend Kerry Walsh from the USA or the top team from Australia, who were knocked out by Borger/Sude in the quarterfinals. Besides the matches, we enjoyed the German bakery with Leberkäsbrötchen (meatloaf roll) for Michel, and really delicious vegan and vegetarian food, from fancy quinoa bowls to sushi :). We simply don't get that in Vanuatu 🤷🏼‍♀️. We also met Katha, a friend from Kiel who now lives near Manly, for coffee and a chat in the northern German dialect. The company of the German teams was really cool.

We were able to get everything for Anni's business, from business cards to folders and invoices. On the day of departure, we even had 2 hours before the flight to visit the exhibition "Body Worlds" in the Town Hall. It was very fascinating and refreshing. So, we were ready to return to Vanuatu :) Because there's already a lot waiting for us there. We need a plan for the girls and beach volleyball in Vanuatu in general, as we'll be going on the next trip in 4 weeks. This week, Anni's business will also launch, and we're incredibly excited and looking forward to it...