The 2023 Volleyball Yukon Beach Championships have ended, marking the end of a busy and successful summer for the Subzero Volleyball Club, its athletes and coaches, according to an Aug. 18 statement from the club.
The tournament was organized by Volleyball Yukon and took place Aug. 12 and 13 on the Centre scolaire secondaire communautaire Paul-Émile Mercier-F.H. Collins Secondary School sand courts behind the two high schools on Lewes Boulevard in Riverdale.
The statement noted the Subzero teams earned impressive results in all three divisions they participated in.
In the youth U16 male category, the Subzero teams swept the podium. Going undefeated through pool play and the playoffs, the duo of Chris McCarron and Carlos Magsucang defeated Maze Clement and Joe Popadynec, the latter of whom recently returned from the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in Halifax where they won gold in the U16 division.
Popadynec’s teammate at NAIG, Kaelen Basnett, teamed up with Cy McDowell to earn third place at the Yukon Championships.
In the U16 female category, the sibling squad of Denise and Mikhaela Alfaro defeated the “Subzero Sand Sistas” — Emily McCarron and Wylloh Dinn — in the final.
It was clear the first (Alfaro sisters) and second (McCarron and Dinn) place teams saved their best for when it counted in the playoffs as they had entered the playoffs seeded outside the top four. Finishing in third place were Avery Kinsella and Emery Twardochleb.
In the adult 17 and over category, Subzero coach Frank Oblak and Squash Yukon head coach Gyanendra Singh took the victory over Jerry Wu and Conlan Wilson. Lily Kremer and Jennifer Tuton won third place.
In addition to its podium finishes, Subzero said in its statement that the club is very proud of all 27 of its youth participants out of the 30 total who participated in the tournament.
“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,” it said.
The statement thanked 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 Ghùch Tlâ Community School have had on increasing the popularity of beach volleyball in the Yukon,” the statement read. “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.”
The club said that though the beach season is now over and formal winter team training is still months away, it is excited to offer a number of camps and clinics during the fall.
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com