The final duels for the Nysa 2023 Beach Volleyball Championship took place over the weekend. The event, which was supported by Bioagra, was attended by over 160 players from all over Poland.

As before, the Nysa Championships were played on the pitches on a unique beach on Lake Nyskie. The fans could enjoy the matches and the wonderful view of the wide body of water with mountain peaks in the background.

For the first time the competition, lasting a total of 10 days, was held in the women’s and men’s categories. Over 100 male and 60 female players took part in the championships. An impressive number of 320 matches were played throughout this year’s series of qualifying tournaments and finals. 

Players playing in indoor games of Plus Liga (men) and Tauron Liga (women) were among the starters. Interestingly, this type of volleyball is as effective and fast as indoor volleyball, but it can be much more exciting. In this discipline, players representing lower leagues or even playing only to maintain physical condition have a chance to win duels with professionals.

Wojtek Kondracki explains this phenomenon by saying that although technical skills and experience in the game are the basis for success, the conditions on the beach even out or sometimes even reverse the odds. Rebounding into a block or impact is hampered by sand, which can be hot and dry like dust or wet and muddy. Matches are played in the open air, regardless of the weather. For example: in last year’s games, at times, the sand on the beach in Nysa reached a temperature of over 70 Celsius degrees.

The organizer of the tournament is the Beach Volley Nysa Volleyball Club. This year’s event was combined with the Grand Prix of the Opole region organized by the Opole Volleyball Association. The Nysa Championships are listed in the central system of the Polish Volleyball Association. This means that the players who took the first 4 places received points in the national ranking of beach volleyball players.  

Nysa Beach Volleyball Championship – results

In parentheses, the home club of the player or players, or the city, if the player does not participate in Plus Liga (men) or Tauron Liga (women).

Men:
1. Szymon Bąk / Mikołaj Sarnecki (Kędzierzyn Koźle). 
2. Tomasz Wierzbicki / Paweł Malicki (Wrocław).
3. Mateusz Biernat / Szymon Gregorowicz (clubs: Czarni Radom / Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie). 
4. Patryk Szczurek / Łukasz Owczarz (club: PSG Stal Nysa, Nysa).

Women: 
1. Paulina Bałdyga / Monika Jagła (Bydgoszcz / club: Chemik Police).
2. Agnieszka Krawczyk / Olga Klocek (Kraków). 
3. Małgorzata Vlk / Kamila Pawlak (Janków Przygodzki). 
4. Karolina Kmita / Karolina Nowak (Katowice).

Photos: Volleyball Photography, Pan Kukurydza