Toronto, Canada, April 5, 2019 – Ben Saxton and Grant O’Gorman and twins Megan and Nicole McNamara will be nominated by Volleyball Canada as the NORCECA berths for the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Hamburg, Germany from June 28 to July 7.
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The berths, based on trials concluded today at the National Beach Volleyball Centre at Downsview Park in Toronto, are in addition to those gained through the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Rankings. The NORCECA qualification process sees the four highest ranked National Federations on the NORCECA Beach Tour each earn that country one spot per gender at the World Championships. Canada, USA, Mexico and Cuba are the four National Federations and trials took place to determine which teams would qualify from Canada.
Saxton/O’Gorman finished ahead of Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter and William Hoey and Jake MacNeil while the McNamara sisters edged Taylor Pischke and Sophie Bukovec.
Two women’s teams of Canada are currently top of the FIVB World Rankings and assured of a spot at the World Championships as Brandie Wilkerson/Heather Bansley and Sara Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes are currently ranked 1-2 in the world.
Pedlow and Schachter can potentially gain a berth depending on their ranking by early May. The Canadian pair are currently ranked 18th in the world.