Features

20 Sarah’s Latest Love

Pavan on the beach

22 O’Gorman-Nusbaum

See silver in Croatia Canada comes close at both U21 and U23 Worlds

28 Pan Am Cup tests our women

We come up just short again in Peru

32 1984 Olympic team regroups

for Masters Games And some unfinished business…

50 A World League of our own

Canada rallies to earn a trip to the finals in Argentina

It’s been a most interesting few months since we last touched base, with World League a rollercoaster ride that sends Canada to Argentina to meet the big boys.  The Pan American Cup highlighted women’s indoor play.  On the beach, it was a glorious time, the U23 and U21 Worlds, the NORCECA and FIVB Tours and World Championships all proving fruitful for Canadians, with some groundbreaking performances, notably by coverboy Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk.  Profiled are two players very much involved in our successes indoors and outside, namely men’s National Team middle Adam Simac and rising beach star Jamie Broder. Not to forget superstar Sarah Pavan, who’s gone to the beach, at least for the summer.

We also got a piece on the upcoming Masters Games, at which Canada plans to make amends for 1984. Freeballs takes a roundabout look at our favorite sport and Last Word delves into the mysteries of team building. We’ve got some new contributors in 2012 Olympian Martin Reader and beach National Team coach Steve Anderson, plus regulars Mav Hatch (a man and his music) and Natascha Wesch.

In closing, TV coverage of World League was first-rate, so kudos to all involved.  It just didn’t sizzle, and that’s what got me thinking about sports that are better live than on TV, and vice versa. To me, football and baseball are better on the tube, hockey not nearly as good. Soccer is great either way, which may explain why it’s the world’s most popular sport hands down.