The 2023 Volleyball Yukon Beach Volleyball Championships marked the end of a very busy and successful summer for the Subzero Volleyball Club and its athletes and coaches.

The tournament was organized by Volleyball Yukon and took place Aug. 12-13 on the Mercier-F.H. Collins sand courts.

Subzero teams earned impressive results in all three divisions.

In the Youth (16U) Male Category, Subzero teams swept the podium. Going undefeated through pool play and the playoffs, the dynamic duo of Chris McCarron and Carlos Magsucang defeated Maze Clement and Joe Popadynec, the latter of whom recently returned from a terrific performance (winning gold in the 16U division) at the North American Indigenous Games. Popadynec’s teammate at NAIG, Kaelen Basnett, teamed up with Cy McDowell to earn third place at the Yukon Champs.

In the Youth (16U) Female Category, the highly skilled Subzero sister squad of Denise and Mikhaela Alfaro downed the “Subzero Sand Sistas”, Emily McCarron and Wylloh Dinn, in the final. Both teams entered the playoffs seeded outside the top four, so it’s clear they saved their best when it counted in the playoffs. Finishing in third were Avery Kinsella and Emery Twardochleb.

Lastly, in the Adult 17+ category, Subzero coach Frank Oblak and squash pro Gyanendra Singh took the victory over Jerry Wu and Conlan Wilson. Third place went to Lily Kremer and Jennifer Tuton.

In addition to these podium finishes, Subzero is very proud of all 27 of its youth participants (out of the 30 total) who took part in the Yukon Championships. Without them, their families, and their coaches – Frank Oblak, Taylor Phillips, Channelle Friesen, Katelyn Holway, Sean McCarron, and Caroline Holway, beach tournaments hosted at Mercier-F.H., Rotary Park, and in Carcross would not have been possible. Thanks as well to Volleyball Yukon for hosting a great tournament, despite the inclement weather.

On a related note, the club would like to recognize the positive impact that the Carcross Recreation Board and the sand courts at Ghuch Tla Community School have had on increasing the popularity of beach volleyball in the Yukon.

Under the guidance of Coach Oblak, Subzero has hosted two tournaments every summer in Carcross since 2021.

These courts have been used extensively by the club’s athletes but are also enjoyed by locals and tourists.

Though the beach season is now over and formal winter team-training still months away, Subzero is excited to offer a number of camps and clinics during Fall Development programming. Check out the club’s webpage for more information: https://leagues.teamlinkt.com/subzerov

– Submitted by Subzero Volleyball Club