Feet on the sand, fresh air in your lungs, eyes out on the blue horizon – this is exactly how volleyball is meant to be played – on the beach in Brighton and in the sunshine! With a clubhouse, café and mini-leagues available, this is a chance to build up a community around one of the most fun sports out there.
Yellowave Beach Sport, Kemptown
Set up in 2007 by Katie Mintram, her husband Spencer Mintram and her father Alan Randall, Yellowave Beach Sport aims to re-create the beach life Katie experienced living in California and Sydney. Dedicated to beach volleyball and other sand-based activities, there are courts available to hire as well as volleyball lessons and leagues running through the week. The price to rent a court is £28/hour and you can play with anything between two and six players a side, so there’s a maximum of 12 on the court at any time.
Beach volleyball classes run for beginners and intermediates on Saturdays and Sundays for under £10 per hour. This is a great way to develop your game and the sessions are run by qualified coaches who put the emphasis on fun, as well as learning the key skills required to play the game. Classes last an hour and incorporate a warm-up, drills and match play. These classes run throughout the year and are the best way to meet new players and get involved in the Yellowave community.
When you tire of using your hands, why not give footvolley a go – a Brazilian sport similar to volleyball but played with your feet, knees and head. This is a great option for any footballers, particularly those who enjoy doing ‘keepy uppies’.
From Wednesday to Friday, The Yellowave Beach Club holds classes for youngsters from 5- to 15-year-olds with a kids club (5-7), juniors club (8-11), seniors club (12-15) and academy (10+). As well as playing beach volleyball, children will participate in tag races and other challenges that develop hand-eye coordination and catching skills. Running in term time only, clubs start in the first week after the February half-term and run through until the Autumn half term.
If you are ultra-competitive or fancy playing more regularly, the sports club also runs leagues with each team getting a 45-minute slot per week to play three sets over 36 minutes. The leagues can be very busy so contact the club and enter as soon as possible so they can get your name on the waiting list.
You can also sign up for a private beach volleyball taster which can be great for parties, hen/stags and work socials. During an hour’s introduction, you learn to dig, set and spike and if your group is bigger than 12 then the organisers can book you on for additional courts and coaches.
Special events and tournaments run throughout the year with summer and pride events and music gigs. There is also a large clubhouse that can be hired out for business, community and social events and a lively café which has a decked area looking southwest across the volleyball courts to Brighton Pier. The café serves breakfasts, salads, sarnies, cakes, coffee, alcohol, smoothies, and ice-creams and a pizza oven is even fired up at weekends and in the kid’s holidays from 12 pm.
This location is also perfect to move on somewhere else – with the bars and pubs of Kemptown within easy reach.
Website: http://www.yellowave.co.uk/
Address: 299 Madeira Dr, Brighton BN2 1EN
