Edinburgh 2006 Results

Photos from the 2006 event

20th-23rd July 2006

Thousands of people took to Edinburgh's newest beach to enjoy a four-day festival of beach volleyball at Princes Street Gardens which took place between Thursday 20 and Sunday 23 July 2006.

The Speedo Urban Beach Tour came to the city to showcase world-class players in the Urban Beach Tour and to give local children and adults the chance to experience the Olympic sport for themselves.

Junior coaching sessions played a major part of the Tour, with local children benefiting from the expertise of 2004 Scottish volleyball champions, Shauna Mullin and Jennifer Thom and international beach volleyball champion, Denise Austin.

Denise said: "The children really enjoyed the coaching and they were very enthusiastic!

"Hopefully it's given them a real taste for beach volleyball and - who knows - we may even see some of them in the UK team in time for the London 2012 Olympics!"

There was also fun for the adults, as 12 teams fought for the title of ‘Champions of the Speedo Urban Beach Volleyball Challenge'. Rucanor Jets won the tournament and were presented with a trophy and medals by Richard Callicott, chief executive of UK Sport, and Margaret Ann Fleming, chairperson of the Scottish Volleyball Association.

For once the UK weather held-up and thousands of spectators soaked up the sun and watched the players spike, pass and dive their way to victory.

Erik Milowski, Volleyball Development Officer for City of Edinburgh Council, said: "It was great to see the people of Edinburgh having the opportunity to play on a real beach court with the stars of the sport.

"Everyone who took part really seemed to enjoy themselves and it was a great visual experience for the spectators too!"

The professionals also took to the sand over the weekend with Team Edinburgh's Mel Coutts and Shauna Mullin winning the first leg of the Speedo Urban Beach Tour in an exciting three-set final against English duo Lucy Boulton and Zara Dampney.

In the men's event, Englishmen Jody Gooding and Morph Bowes beat South Africa's Brett Goslett and Richard Payne in two sets.

The next stop for the Speedo Urban Beach Tour is Birmingham's Victoria Square from 3-6 August, followed by Cardiff Bay between17-20 August.

The Speedo Urban Beach Tour is organised by event management company Polar Productions, working together with the National Volleyball Associations and the British Volleyball Federation, the City of Edinburgh Council and Speedo International."

Tim Cantle-Jones, director of the tour, was delighted with the success of the event. He added: "This was a fantastic event for both participants and spectators and to be playing in such a beautiful setting as Princes Street Gardens was the icing on the cake."

"The City of Edinburgh Council has been an enormous help throughout the Speedo Urban Beach Tour and we really appreciate their support."

"We fully expect Edinburgh to be a regular fixture on the Urban Beach Tour circuit and we're looking forward to coming back next year!"