Andorra’s Mitjana and Martinho take silver as Iceland’s twins go unbeaten at SCA U19 Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship

This past weekend, the SCA U19 Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship was held in Encamp, Andorra, thereby drawing strong participation from across Europe and earning praise for its organisation. The event did also count as a first-round zonal qualifier for next year’s #EuroBeachVolleyU20. 

The competition kicked off with the group stage, played on Friday and continuing Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon saw the quarterfinals and semi-finals take place, setting up a full day of medal matches on Sunday, which featured also the playoff games for places from fifth to tenth on top of the bronze medal match, and the final.

Ten teams from eight nations took part in the tournament: two pairs from Andorra, two from Gibraltar, and one each from Ireland, Scotland, Liechtenstein, Northern Ireland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland.

The Andorran duo of Alan Mitjana and Marc Martinho put together an excellent run through the competition, ultimately finishing in second place after falling in the final to a pair of twins from Iceland. The Icelandic brothers capped off a dominant campaign by winning the title without dropping a match all weekend.

The two finalist teams have also secured a place in next year's Under-20 European Championship. Meanwhile, Gibraltar’s two teams faced off against each other for the bronze medal.

Overall, the tournament stood out for its excellent organisation, with everything running smoothly from the group stage right through to the finals. The atmosphere throughout the weekend was fantastic, with music playing all day long and a real sense of camaraderie among players, coaches, and spectators alike. All in all, it was a resounding success on every front.