Plans to build volleyball centre at university

Jake Sheaf from Volleyball England (left) and Mark Jeffreys from BCU (right) standing on the site the centre will be built

A "world-class" indoor beach volleyball court is set to be built at a university in Birmingham.

The centre will be the only one of its kind to open year-round in order to allow both professional and amateur athletes to continue training through the winter months.

As part of the construction, the facility will reuse sand from the beach volleyball courts set up for 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The facility is due to be constructed by the end of the year and is predicted to cost £320,000.

Volleyball England has partnered with Birmingham City University (BCU) to house the centre.

It will be constructed at BCU’s sports headquarters in Perry Barr.

The £320,000 four-court facility will be open to elite athletes, students and the local community.

'High-performance programme'

Charlie Ford, Volleyball England chief executive, said plans were already in place to establish multiple facilities in and around Birmingham that provided an outlet for local, regional, national and international activities.

He said: "This new facility at BCU will be a huge help in strengthening the infrastructure and awareness of beach volleyball in England, particularly in the West Midlands.

“There is also a firm commitment from BCU and Volleyball England to develop a high-performance programme that provides educational and athletic development opportunities for aspiring beach volleyball athletes.”

'World-class facility'

Mark Jeffreys, Director of Sport and Physical Activity at BCU said: : "You wouldn’t expect to find a world-class beach volleyball facility in the heart of the Midlands, so this is a very welcome addition."

Former beach volleyball professional Jake Sheaf said the centre would have a massive impact.

“I was lucky enough to compete for England for over a decade on the World Tour, European Tour and at the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

“One of the biggest challenges we faced as full-time beach volleyball athletes based in England was all-year-round access to a suitable facility that allowed us to train at the frequency and intensity we needed to continue climbing the world rankings.

“This new facility will make a huge difference to our ability to compete at the top level.”

The centre, which will be open year-round to allow UK athletes to continuing their training into the winter months, is due to be built by the end of the year.