It was a day of mixed outcomes for the Bermuda teams on the opening day at the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association Under-21 Beach Volleyball Championships, in St Kitts & Nevis, on Friday.

Bermuda men and women are part of ten countries competing at this prestigious event. The top three teams of both genders will qualify for the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation World Championship qualifier tournament, to be held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, from July 3 to 7.

Hailey Moss and Kayley Hamilton, the women’s pairing, started brilliantly with a 21-4, 21-10 success against Azarraha Amritt and Shaylee Pinney, from the host nation, in pool C. They followed that up by defeating Gerelvia Spanner and Gercia Brown, of Sint Eustatius, 21-8, 21-9.

Playing in group D, the men’s pair of Anijhaé Dos Santo Martin and Kyle Mello, started off with a 2-0 loss to Julian Bristol and Komarr Fraites, from the host nation.

In their second match, the Bermudians again went down 2-0, this time to Zerick Walcott and Zibose Hamilton, of Grenada.

Brandon Sousa, the Bermuda Volleyball Association co-president Brandon Sousa, expressed his enthusiasm about the teams taking part in the three-day tournament.

“We are incredibly excited to participate in the ECVA Under-21 Beach Volleyball Championships in St Kitts & Nevis,’’ he said.

“Building on our recent success on the international beach volleyball stage, our teams have been training rigorously and are eager to compete. They are prepared to demonstrate their skills, competitive spirit and determination.

“Our ultimate goal at this event is to qualify for the NORCECA Under-21 Beach Volleyball World Championship qualifier in July, and we are fully confident in our ability to achieve this.

“We anticipate a fantastic competition and are confident that our athletes will make Bermuda proud as we aim to secure qualification.”