Bermuda is sending men’s and women’s teams to participate in the inaugural Caribbean Zone of the North and Central American Under-23 Beach Volleyball Tour this year.

Leg one of the under-23 tour will take place in Trinidad & Tobago from tomorrow to Sunday with the men’s team consisting of Connor Somerville and Ben Barnett while Amber Simons and Kaylee Trott will be the women’s team representatives.

All of these athletes have come up through the Bermuda Volleyball Association’s junior programmes and have made the transition from indoor to beach volleyball.

Denise Somerville, travelling coach and team manager, is confident in the team’s ability to perform at a very high level and says the players are ready for the challenge.

“There is a lot of passion and excitement coming from these young players, and the determination and dedication they have shown during training and tournaments locally is remarkable,” Somerville said.

“They are locked and loaded and ready to represent their country."

Bermuda's teams have benefited from the skills of visiting coach Amilton Barreto de Barros Jr. The coach is on contract with the FIVB, the world governing body, to visit different countries and help bring their athletes up to the next level.

De Barros has been in Bermuda for the past three months working with beach volleyball player.

Elisabeth Rae, the BVA co-president, said: “The international experience of Coach Amilton has been invaluable in the preparation of Bermuda's teams.

“The BVA is very excited about the development of its beach volleyball programme, and look forward to continued participation in the Caribbean zone.

“Bermuda will also be participating in the second leg of the Trinidad & Tobago under-23 beach tour from August 26 to 28. We will be sending another under-23 women's team, made up of Megan Hands and Natalie Gazzard. The travelling coach for leg No 2 is Jonathan Gazzard.”