The YXY Beach Volleyball Club held the Midnight Sand beach volleyball tourney Tuesday.

The tourney took place from 3:30 p.m. to midnight at the new Sport Yukon beach volleyball courts behind CSSC Mercier and F.H.Collins in Whitehorse.

29 teams competed in six categories, with several players competing in multiple categories.

The Star stopped in Tuesday evening to check out the action.

Tournament organizer Shannon Poelman of YXY said, “It’s our first tournament I think, this year, for any club. For our club, it’s an athlete fundraiser for travel. We have intentions to go out to Island Open in Parksville and to B.C. Provincials in Vancouver.” (Parksville is on Vancouver Island, about 20 km north of Nanaimo.)

Poelman said they were struggling to keep the tourney on schedule.

“We’re a little bit behind at the moment but we’ll catch up.”

The tourney was a best of three format, although they had to modify that later on due to time constraints.

In beach volleyball, the first two sets go to 21, unlike indoor, which goes to 25.

The third set, if necessary, goes to 15.

The teams switch sides every seven points due to environmental conditions, including wind, sun, etc. to create fair conditions for both teams.

Poelman said, “I think it’s a good chance to start the season off with some good play. I find that players, their level of play and skill just bump up. We had our junior girls play earlier and it was amazing to watch their first game, as compared to their last games.

“So (it’s) that opportunity to bump up the level for the summer and then kick into high gear for training for tournaments.”

In Coed Four versus Four, Kiss my Ace silenced the Silencers 2 sets to 0 by scores of 21-18 and 21-12.

Dennis Ybanez of Kiss My Ace said “It was fun. My first time playing in the sand.”

The Ace’s Roi Agapito added, “I was actually struggling at the beginning, but

it was fun. This is, I think, my second or third time playing outside, so I’m looking forward for more games.”

Agapito said they normally play indoors during the winter.

“In the summertime, we usually spend as much time outside, camping, anything that has something to do with outdoors.”

A humble Agapito said he was “happy with my team. They did great.”

Kim Garaygay, Angelica Manondo and Stephen Masih also played for Kiss My Ace.

Next up for Kiss My Ace was a showdown in the sand with Blue-CoopJay.

The teams split the match, with Kiss My Ace taking the first set 21-12 and BlueCoopJay coming back to take the second set 21-19.

Kiss My Ace won on total points, 40 points to 33. A third set wasn’t played due to time constraints.

BlueCoopJay’s Cooper King and Chayce Tuton said the match was fun, although Tuton said, “We were a little rocky at the start.”

King added, “It’s a lot better now that the sun’s cooled down. It was pretty rough the first bit we got here. It was plus-26 and no shade.”

The other members of BlueCoopJay were Jennifer Tuton and Lily Kremer.

BlueCoopJay then took on the Silencers (Lisa Stewart, Nick Hyatt, Blanche Pagobo and Malcom Muir).

Due to time constraints, one set to 28 was played, with the Silencers again being silenced 28-14.

Following the match, Chayce Tuton said, “It was lots of fun. It’s fun playing with everyone. We know each other pretty well, so it’s just kind of out here having fun, not too, too competitive.”

Both boys were still feeling good despite a long day and multiple matches.

BlueCoopJay ended up fourth in Coed Four Versus Four.

They were well-represented in the winner’s circle, though.

Jennifer Tuton and Kremer won the Senior Girls Two versus Two division.

Chayce Tuton and King also took first place in the Senior Boys Two versus Two division.

Kiss my Ace took the Coed Four Versus Four crown.

The Silencers finished fifth in the division.

Noah Zaidan and Jeremias Lopez triumphed in the 14/15U Boys division.

Zaidan double-dipped with his sister Lexi for the Mixed crown.

In the 14/15U Girls division, Emily McCarron and Sian Hamilton came out on top.

Prizes included gift cards.

Sponsors included Reflex, Dairy Queen, Booster Juice and the City of Whitehorse.

Next up is training for Parksville, July 20-23 and Vancouver, the first weekend in August.

There will be Yukon Beach Champs, with a start date to be determined.

Poelman added, “We got funding from CanNor to build these courts.” Poelman said she was glad “that we got that funding to be able to get kids out in the summertime and just enjoy, so lots of fun.”

After the tourney, she added, “The turnout was amazing, and I think athletes had a great time.”