Escaping the early stages of the Canadian winter to the sunny tropics of Southeastern Asia, a handful of Ontarians are ready to compete at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships in Phuket, Thailand.

The teams of Emma Glagau/Ruby Sorra and Ava Mann/Jamie Santer are Canada’s entries for the women’s tournament and Cameron Chadwick/Martin Licht and Daniil Hershtynovich/Kaden Schmidt are entered in the men’s bracket. These athlete have honed their craft for the sand through their clubs and Team Ontario programming with many fresh in their post-secondary pursuits.

The Championships qualification phase began December 5 (Eastern Standard Time) with  Glagau/Sorra starting preliminary round play against Larissa/Duda of Brazil. The duo won the matchup in two sets (21-16; 21-19). 

Chadwick/Licht began their campaign taking on Czech Republic's Kurka/Oliva. After a marathon first set victory, the Canadians pulled away to win the contest in two sets (34-32; 21-19). Both Canadian teams now join the other two in the main draw.  Of the Canadians, Man/Santer are the highest seed at 9 in their tournament.

The U19 World Championships will conclude on Saturday, December 11 (Indochina Time). Coverage of the event will be on the FIVB U19 World Championships website.