Daniel Fiddick, Bermuda’s flag-bearer at the NatWest Island Games in June, and Christina Duff clinched the pairs title at the Corona Co-Ed Beach Volleyball Tournament at Horseshoe Bay on Saturday.

Fiddick said the Island Games, held in Gotland, Sweden: “was an awesome experience.”

He added: “It was so nice to be able to lead the Bermuda team in there. I was so excited for the Games to start. It was definitely a huge honour.”

Bermuda finished seventh overall, losing 3-0 to defending champions Saaremaa in their first game and hosts Gotland 3-2 in their second. A victory over the Cayman Islands was followed by a defeat by Jersey, but they beat Guernsey and Caymans again without dropping a set in the seventh-to-ninth place play-off round

“We had a bit of a tough start, and the team we played against first played really well and we didn’t play that great. from then on out we just put ourselves in a tough spot,” Fiddick said. “We didn’t finish as well as we wanted too, but by the end of it we were playing a lot better and gelling together as a team, we probably just needed a bit more time together beforehand.”

Still, Fiddick loved going to Gotland.

“I’m half-Swedish, so it wasn’t that strange! But I’d never been to Gotland before, and it’s nice to see the culture,” he said. “All the islands are so welcoming. Everything’s organised, like the transportation and food. It’s a great way to experience those places.”

Fiddick says he prefers beach, but loves both playing on the sand and on the court.

“Beach is a lot more about control, finesse and finding the open spot, especially when it’s windy like this,” he said. “Whereas, indoor you have more people to cover you if you’re slightly out of position, so [in beach] you have to be able to read the game really well, your partner as well as the other team, and it’s a lot slower to move in the sand.

“I really like beach, I like the two-on-two. It feels more like a chess match. I love indoor as well, especially playing with my team here.”

The next beach tournament is the Coppertone Same Sex Tournament, on Saturday, August 26 at Horseshoe Bay, starting at 10am.