Fun in the desert

The Timeout Beach Series 2018 made it to five out seven events recently and once again it was a raving success.

The Timout Kalahari Open took place at the Tivoli Southern Sky Guest Farm for the fourth consecutive year. Players took part in three categories and they were: 2-a-side Men’s, Ladies and Social.

A total of 20 teams entered and they not only fought to be the Kalahari Open Champions, they were also battling it out for the cash prize. Sand was specially brought to the farm to create three unique volleyball courts for the event.

In the social category, 6 teams battled it out in a round robin format to try and reach the final on Sunday. In a very close competition 2 teams emerged the strongest and both moved to the semi-finals. Abiatar Andreas and Gidoen Shikesho and Lars Fischer and Michael Vente, showed great control of the ball with Abiatar and Gideon winning all 5 of their pool games.

The first semi-final saw Abiatar and Gideon take on Steffi Foertch and Jay-Cee Lourens. After three exciting sets of beach volleyball, Abiatar and Gideon advanced to the Social final and Steffi and Jay-Cee to play for 3rd / 4th place (21:8, 13:21 & 15:10). The second semi-final also went 3 sets with father and son, Torsten and Julian Horenburg taking a dramatic victory over Lara and Michael. The match finished 19:21, 21;11 & 15:13 in favour of the Horenburg’s.

The match for 3rd place saw Steffi and Jay-Cee fight hard and a very close match finished 2:0 with Lars & Michael finishing just ahead and taking 3rd place.

The final proved to a very exciting match with Abiatar and Gideon, looking confident after winning all their pool matches. But Julian, who is only 12 years old from Khomas Region, playing his first every tournament final and father Torsten, weren’t going to let them take it easily. The lead changed several times but Abiatar and Gideon pulled away from 17:17 to win the first set 21:18 and then the second set 21:14 to become Social Champions.

The ladies’ competition brought together 6 teams fight for the title. The pool play saw Rosi Hennes and Simone von Wietersheim win all five of their matches and advancing to the semi-finals. Kim Seebach and Almut Hoffmann also advanced, only losing one match in a three-set epic against Rosi and Simone.

The semis went to the form book with Rosi and Simone beating Wendy Kanangolo and Anna 2:0 in the first semi and Kim & Almut winning over Cathy Thomas and Hendrina Lindongo 2:0 in the second semi.

The 3rd place match was a very close affair, with Cathy and Hendrine taking both set and winning bronze 21:16, 21:18.

The final saw 4 of the most experienced beach volleyball players in Namibia go head-to-head one more time and they didn’t disappoint. Kim showed her experience with a few strong attacks and she and Almut took the first set 21:18. In the second Rosi and Simone dug deep and found some great defensive moves that earned some valuable points to keep up with the consistency of Kim and Almut.

At the business end of the set the pressure told and Rosi and Simone pulled away and took the second set 21:16. The third and final set was a battle right to the end with Rosi and Simone pulling away to take the set and the match 2:0, 18:21, 21:16 & 15:11 to become Timeout Kalahari Open Champions 2018.

The men’s competition consisted of 8 teams, divided into two pools, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the semi-finals. The team of Bernhard Schurz and Jan-Eric Sack looked good as they won all their pool games in pool B. The second place in group B had to be decided by points difference after the remaining 3 teams all won one game and lost two. Rico Kuehnle-Kreitz and Thilo Wilckens finished 2nd in the pool with -2 points deference. The other semi-finalist were Nikolai Glick and Clemens and Salomo and Philip who won 2 matches each in pool A.

The first semi-final was won by Salomo and Philip 2:0 and the second semi was won by Bernhard and Jan-Eric 2:0 to set up a very exciting Final. In the 3rd place match saw Rico and Thilo play a very controlled game and took the bronze medal, winning 21:16, 21:15.

The final saw a strong performance from Bernhard and Jan-Eric who took the first set 21:12. The second set saw the lead go one way then the other, finally the paring of Bernhard and Jan-Eric got a 2-point break and didn’t look back winning the final set and the match 2:0 – 21:12, 21:13 and take the men’s title of Timeout Kalahari Open Men’s Champions 2018.

The Timeout Beach Series 2018 makes its sixth stop at Mole Beach, Swakopmund for the Fabupharm Swakop Masters on Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th November 2018.