METRO NEWS HALIFAX

Dynamic duo to shake up sand

MATTHEW WUEST METRO HALIFAX

Published: August 31, 2011 1:57 a.m.

Garrett May and Danny Demyanenko are hoping to give Halifax beach volleyball fans something to cheer about this week.

The Toronto duo is the men’s team to beat this week on the waterfront’s Salter Lot, entering the FIVB world junior under-21 beach volleyball championships as the No. 1 seed.

May, 19, won last year’s event with Sam Schachter in Alanya, Turkey, and joined forces with Demyanenko, 17, after Schachter graduated to the senior level.

“I know Canadians are going to make it an incredible tournament to play in and we’re excited to be here,” May said. “We’re going to give it all we’ve got.”

May and Demyanenko form one of six Canadian teams at the event, with three on the men’s side and three on the women’s.

As a rookie at the event, Demyanenko hit the jackpot getting paired with May, who is competing at his third world junior championships.

“He’s been really enthusiastic, very supportive. … I’m definitely confident having him as my defender,” Demyanenko said. “It’s been a pretty easy transition and we’ve kind of meshed.”

The gold medal won by May and Schachter was the first for Canada at the world junior championships, which is now entering its 11th year.

May is hoping for a repeat performance with the event in North America for the first time.

“Danny and I have been working very well together,” May said. “He’s a great player, I’m very happy to be playing with him and we get along great. We need to work hard, take it one point at a time and see how things shake out.”

Teamwork

There are 20 teams in the men’s and women’s draws, with four more being added to each side through today’s qualification round.

Quarter-finals and semifinals will be held on Saturday, while the women’s and men’s finals are on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.

Single-day tickets for Thursday through Sunday start at $10 and can be purchased at sandjamhalifax.ca.

The temporary six-court facility features 2,000 tonnes of sand, which arrived via 66 tri-axle trailers.