Singapore beach volleyballers Eliza Chong, Trevis Tan, Nicholas Kiu and Alicia Tan were unexpected stars at the recently concluded DP World Tour Singapore Classic Golf Tournament
Singapore national beach volleyballer Eliza Chong (right) attempts a spike against teammate Nicholas Kiu. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
The sun hung low in the sky while the cool evening breeze carried the snappy remixes of the DJ through the air.
In the golden sand were national beach volleyball players Eliza Chong, Nicholas Kiu, Alicia Tan and Trevis Tan. Handfuls of sand were launched into the air and wayward balls flew out of the court and into the adjacent water.
But it was not the sea they were next to. They were at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club — playing in the waste bunker beside a water hazard for the first time as round one of the DP World Tour Singapore Classic came to a close.
Singapore national beach volleyballers featuring at the DP World Tour Singapore Classic golf tournament. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
“For me, I think this experience is a very eye-opening one,” said Kiu. “Definitely I feel this kind of event gives the chance to exchange cultures between both sports.”
The location inspired the unusual idea, said Patrick Bowers, Founder and CEO of Vantage Pointe — the event delivery partner for the tournament.
“We have a lovely backdrop with a lovely bar and grill, and so we thought ‘why not pull it together?’. It made total sense when you saw the whole thing,” he added.
The match was part of a line-up of fringe activities at the tournament which included “Monster Ping Pong” and “Giant Jenga”, and was fully backed by the host venue.
Bowers said his team’s aim was to change the demographic that is interested in golf by attracting sports fans who may be interested but are intimidated by the niche sport.
Singapore national beach volleyballer Trevis Tan (right) attempts a spike against teammate Nicholas Kiu. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
“It’s an older demographic,” said Bowers, “but what about the youth, the youngsters — the Instagram crowd, the Tik Tok crowd? They don’t have an opportunity to experience golf or to even come to a golf course, especially in Singapore.”
They thus chose beach volleyball, a “younger, more attractive sport”, to blend with the more traditional golf.
“When I received this invitation from Patrick, I felt that this opportunity to combine both beach volleyball and golf was unique and exciting,” said Chong. “All of us were very eager to be part of this.”
Chong added that the versatility of the sport also made it ideal for the collaboration. “As long as we have a land of sand, we are able to set up anything.”
Compared to their usual playing ground in soft beach sand however, the players noted that the bunker provided a more stable ground which allowed them to jump higher. The court was also slightly smaller than a standard court.
Singapore national beach volleyballers featuring at the DP World Tour Singapore Classic golf tournament. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
“To really get to the ball I think we needed to jump into the water,” said Kiu jokingly.
For the match, Bowers’s team set up safety measures which included having a boat that could hold two people in it. These boats were also used by helpers to pick up the balls that landed in the water.
In the end, Kiu and Alicia Tan took the victory while Bowers and his team have successfully opened up a new world of possible partnerships between different sports. The volleyball players were optimistic for future tie-ups as well.
“We definitely foresee more potential collaborations between beach volleyball and golf in the future,” said Chong.
“There’s definitely a lot of opportunities and a variety of areas to have a fusion of sports in Singapore,” added Kiu, who hopes events like this will allow Singaporeans to get in touch with more sports in the future.