Sarah Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sam Pedlow/Sam Schachter have been announced as the Canadian selection to go to the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Both pairings will be the likely favorites to win the inaugural beach competition that will take place from April 6 to 11, 2018.
Pavan/Humana-Paredes have been a strong force in the beach world since teaming up prior to the start of the 2016 FIVB World Tour Finals that took place in Toronto, Canada. They were unsuccessful in their first tournament together, losing to former partner Heather Bansley and new partner Brandie Wilkinson in the country quota match to enter the World Tour field.
Since teaming up, Pavan/Humana-Paredes have finished in the top-10 of every FIVB World Tour event they have entered. Their first event was the four-star event in Rio de Janeiro where they finished in 2nd place up until they took first at the Porec Major on July 1. These finishes have left the pairing with a #2 ranking in the FIVB World Rankings, despite not having played since the World Tour Finals back in August where they finished in fourth place.
Now, the team is ready for the 2018 beach season following Pavan leaving Pomi Casalmaggiore early to focus on the beach season. Their consistent finishes internationally have propelled the squad to be the selection for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, a competition that takes place every 4 years. The pools for the Commonwealth Games have been determined recently, with Canada being in Pool B where they will square off against England, Trinidad and Tobago and Fiji.
Pedlow/Schachter have been a pairing for as long as their female counterparts, finishing in the top-10 of every FIVB World Tour event as well. Their highest finish was a fifth place position at the three-star event in The Hague, then again at the five-star Gstaad event. The men’s squad will also be featured in Pool B at the Commonwealth Games, where they are set to take on Scotland, Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone.
The first four days of play will consist of the preliminary competition while April 10 and 11 will be allotted for the semifinals and finals for both genders.
Leave a Reply