Ottawa beach volleyball tournament brings students together, rain or shine

Around 1,500 high school athletes participated in a large outdoor beach volleyball tournament in Gloucester on Thursday. CTV’s Peter Szperling reports.

Students from Ottawa area high schools and from throughout Ontario and Quebec are taking part in a large outdoor beach volleyball tournament.

‘Sandstorm’ is one of the largest high school beach volleyball tournaments in North America, according to organizers. On Thursday, 340 teams, comprising of around 1,500 athletes, gathered to play at sand courts behind the Richcraft Sensplex in Gloucester.

“It sold out in about 24 hours,” says organizer Sarah McCaffrey. She says there are teams from Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, and even Montreal at the event. “It’s such a fun year-end event for coaches and students alike.”

The tournament is also a fundraiser, with proceeds going to supporting underprivileged youth, providing uniforms, equipment, travel, and sport leadership bursaries.

“There’s so many great things about sport. And what I noticed when I started teaching at Lester B. Pearson 20 years ago, is that not everyone has that access to sport that I did. And so, I tried to figure out what I could do about it,” says McCaffrey.

The day started with substantial rain and cooler weather, eventually calming around the lunch hour. That didn’t stop participants from having fun.

“Usually it’s a bit sunnier, but it’s just a good way to get out. There’s a bunch of schools here. It’s just nice to see people,” says De La Salle High School Grade 12 student Sophie Hynes.

Her team dressed up in costumes. “It’s our last year playing together, so we wanted to go all out,” she says.

“I’ve never seen this many volleyball courts in my life before. It’s pretty heart-touching, seeing this sport that I love, you know? Everybody enjoys their time, having a good time. And it makes me smile and makes me happy,” says Grade 12 Student Tyler Dolroso, who travelled with his team from Scarborough.

“I just love to hear them say like, ‘that was so much fun; we love volleyball.’ This is such a great time and that’s all I can ask for — just them having a great time and being such good kids,” says Dolroso’s coach, Melanie MacLean.