The Chronicle Herald
Canada’s May up to challenge
Defending world champ seeks repeat in Halifax
By BRIAN FREEMAN Sports Reporter
Tue, Aug 30 – 4:55 AM
Garrett May won’t have the element of surprise on his side this time.
The Toronto teen shares the No. 1 men’s seed at this week’s FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch junior world championships in Halifax but he’s also breaking in a new partner and wearing a big bull’s-eye as the defending champ that everyone’s gunning for.
“I can’t really fly under the radar like I have before,” said the 19-year-old, who paired up with Sam Schachter of Richmond Hill, Ont., to win the 2010 crown in Turkey.
“But that’s OK. I’m ready for the new challenge. It’ll be definitely a new experience but I’m very excited for it.”
Being staged in North America for the first time, the world junior tournament for competitors under 21 gets underway with qualification rounds Wednesday at the temporary waterfront stadium dubbed the Sands at Salter. Qualifying play is followed by two days of pool action, playoff matches on Saturday and medal games Sunday.
Both the men’s and women’s events feature 24-team main draws, with 20 of the teams pre-seeded and the final four to be determined in the qualification round. There are a total of 29 men’s teams and 32 women’s teams registered, meaning nine men’s and a dozen women’s teams will duke it out in qualifying.
Canada has three men’s and three women’s entries, all in the main draw.
May and partner Danny Demyanenko are the top seeds on the men’s side, while Nick Del Bianco and Ben Chow make up the second Canadian duo and William Sidgwick and Fiodar Kazhamiaka the third.
Victoria Altomare and Melissa Humana-Paredes are the top-ranked Canuck women’s team. Sarah Gosselin and Sara Robichaud comprise a second unit and Alexandra Hudson and Charlotte Sider the third.
May and Schachter were seeded 18th in Turkey in 2010, when they knocked off the sixth, seventh and 10th seeds, then completed their Cinderella story with a 21-23, 21-16, 15-13 victory over second-ranked Alvaro Filho and Vitor Felipe of Brazil in a 64-minute championship match.
The win gave Canada its first medal in the 10-year history of the tournament.
“To get there and to achieve our goal, it was unbelievable,” May said. “It was such a happy experience and looking back one of the proudest moments of my life.”
With Schachter too old for the junior division this year, May recently paired up with Demyanenko, a towering 17-year-old from Toronto who placed fifth in the 2011 world youth championships. Demyanenko stands six foot eight; May is six foot two.
“Danny’s a bit younger than Sam but Danny is just as big and just as powerful,” May said. “I love playing with him. He’s a big block, he’s fun to play defence behind and he’s a big swinger so I look forward to playing some more with him this week in Halifax.”
The duo made their competitive debut with a top-10 finish in last weekend’s open men’s division of the national championships. May said he thought the partnership showed promise in its first outing.
“I’m very confident. Danny and I had a good showing this weekend. There are a lot of great teams going to the tournament in Halifax and it will be very competitive so Danny and I are just gonna try our best and take it one rally at a time and we’re both feeling great.”
Admission to the opening-day qualification rounds is free.
