Back on the beach

Top New Zealand beach volleyball player Brendon Heath, pictured here at the New Zealand open tournament, is back home after the Mount Maunganui tournament he was playing at last weekend was rained off.

Heath and playing partner Edwin O’Dea headed into the tournament as the top seed combination and they were looking forward to playing against some of the top players from across the world including Germany and France.

The pair were defending champions from 2010 and after day one of games they were sitting in second place.

But Heath says that due to 100 knot winds and torrential rain, the tournament had to be called off with all top players sharing the competition points and prize money.

Heath now looks forward to training and preparing the national volleyball squad for the New Caledonia Pacific Games later in the year – although the codes to be contested by Cook Islands at the games are yet to be confirmed.