Playing volleyball on Copacabana Beach may sound like a fantasy occupation but for the GB men and women’s beach volleyball teams it represents the next serious step in their bid for medals at the London Olympics.

They flew to Brazil this week to take part in the inaugural FIVB World Tour event of the season in Brasilia, the first of 16 events in 13 countries which will demonstrate the progress of the GB teams towards their ultimate ambition: success in London.

A week-long training and practice stint on the beaches of Rio will be followed by the competition proper next week, and the women’s team of Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin will be hoping to approach the form that led them to their first top ten finish in Kristiansand, Norway, last season.

The men’s team, Gregg Weaver and Robin Miedzybrodzki, are cementing a partnership that came together for the last event of the season 2009 when they did well to qualify and finish 17th.

"It’s an exciting opportunity to see how we compare with the rest of the world at this early stage," said Matt Grinlaubs, the GB coach and former Australian Olympic beach volleyball competitor. "We’d obviously like to get in the groove and win some matches. No matter how hard you train during the winter, there is nothing to replicate competitive international matches."

Both teams will have to come through qualifying to reach the main draw, where they may face any of the seeded teams including the dominant United States or Brazilian teams.

The professionalism of GB beach volleyball has grown significantly since the sport was introduced into the Olympics in 1996 and a full preparation programme was set up at Bath University three years ago, specifically targeting London 2012. Both Dampney and Mullin were recruited from the indoor game.



Dampney (pictured left) is a law graduate who grew up on a farm on Dorset, now - among other things - a wedding venue. She may be one of the few active British Olympians who can claim to own a set of pet peacocks. Mullin (pictured right) is a former Scottish indoor volleyball international, whose father played gaelic football for Donegal and whose ambition is: "To be in the top ten teams in the world and medal at the Olympics."

Weaver, originally from Poole,  was lured back to Britain to join the squad, having spent three years in California where he met his wife, Leanne, currently teaching maths at a secondary school in Wootton Basset. His partner from Edinburgh, Miedzybrodzki, was on-course for a career in golf (playing off a handicap of four as a teenager) when he was diverted into volleyball at school.

By the time the sand goes down in the Horseguard’s Parade as the venue for the London 2012 beach bolleyball competition, both squads are intent on a higher profile for the sport that goes beyond bikinis and encouraging results amongst top-class world competition.

The winter training schedule has been characterised by an immensely-busy travel schedule due to a lack of an indoor training facility anywhere in the country. A usable venue, located in a Bristol warehouse, was closed down last October and, as yet, no new premises have been identified. Both teams have therefore been constantly on the move to train round Europe, from Tenerife (five times in the case of the women) to Hamburg, Berlin, Prague, Athens and Toulouse.

"It does takes its toll," said Miedzybrodzki. "If we could train at home, we could continue with the support of our strength and conditioning coach, and our physio/masseur at Bath University,  which would mean getting more out of training and keeping on top of injuries. It would be much more productive and we would be able to invite teams over to train with us. At the moment we’re on the road for most of the year."

Award-winning sports columnist, feature writer and chief interviewer at the Daily Telegraph for 12 years, Sue Mott is now much in demand in her new freelance capacity. A major contributor to television and radio - all terrestrial channels, Sky, ESPN and Radio 5Live - she has covered all the major sporting events including World Cups, Olympics, Wimbledon, Commonwealth Games, Athletic World Championships, FA Cup Finals and several Test series.

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