VSA President, Mr.Anthony Mokoena was beaming with delight when South Africa was included in the 12 nation U18 Commonwealth Youth Games Beach Volleyball Championship as South Africa is one three African countries to participate in the event. The beach volleyball championship is scheduled to take place at Pigeon Point Beach Facility on the island of Tobago in the West Indies from 4-11 August 2023.
According to President Mokoena international youth competitions are an ideal platform to expose South Africa’s emerging talent in the beach volleyball. With South Africa being blessed with pristine beaches, many of them acquiring ‘’Blue Flag’’ status and the country’s fine weather conditions have given South Africa the nod from the FIVB as a growth point for beach volleyball on the continent.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s medal hopefuls for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games hail from the coastal provinces of KZN and the Western Cape, viz Deloshen Valaitham and Jayden Christiano Cupido. The duo will don the South African colours as part of SASCOC’s Team South Africa for the multi-code Youth Games to take place on the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
Both lads have distinguished themselves early in their respective careers as indoor volleyball players, notching up several individual special awards at the levels of the annual National Schools Volleyball Championship and Volleyball South Africa’s Inter-Provincial Tournaments (IPT) before making the transition to the beach volleyball format of the game.
According to Jayden Cupido his mother, Lesinda Cupido’s love for volleyball inspired him to take up volleyball as his sport of choice in 2019. While Jayden will be making his debut in the international arena, a seemingly daunting task for a youngster, especially playing in a foreign country, the Capetonian can be assured of support from his beach volleyball coach, Koali James Possa from the Free State who is one
of nine (9) FIVB accredited Beach Volleyball Coaches in South Africa. Given Possa’s vast experience as a player and coach, Jayden will be expertly guided to achieve the results.
Jayden’s partner, Deloshen will play the role of ‘’big-brother’’ giving him much needed support on and off the field of play. At the age of sixteen (16) Deloshen represented South Africa in three (3) international beach volleyball championships: In 2022 Deloshen partnered with the tall and lanky Heiko Guther from Gauteng for the U19 World Championship in Turkey. Once again Deloshen was called upon, amongst others, to represent South Africa in the World Elite 16 Beach Volleyball Championship in Cape Town in November 2022. The Elite 16 caters for the world’s best senior players many of whom make a living by playing beach volleyball on a full-time basis on the FIVB Beach Volleyball Circuit. Thando Ngobese from KZN was Deloshen’s partner in the Cape Town event.
In 2023 Deloshen teamed up with Limpopo’s Kemo Macks Otsweleng as one of South Africa’s representatives in the Zone V1 Beach Tour in Durban. SA’s senior players, Leo Williams and Danilo von Ludwiger won gold at the Durban championship.
Over the past two years, Deloshen Valaitham’s explosive performance on the beach volleyball courts ‘’earned’’ him the title of the number one beach volleyball player in the youth category in South Africa. Emerging from a volleyball playing family, it came as no surprise when the youngster quickly took to the game. Coached by his dad, Rowan from the age of four (4) Deloshen rose to becoming the most feared attacker in the indoor and beach volleyball format of the game in the youth and senior categories. His trade mark scorching power service strikes fear in the hearts of his opponents.
Deloshen and Jayden depart for the Commonwealth Youth Games in the West Indies on Friday, 28 July and return on 14 August.
The VSA President joins his Management Committee and the Executive in conveying their best wishes to the youngsters and will be rooting for them all the way to the podium.
Released by
Donovan Nair
Secretary- General
072 372 2283
For media enquiries;
Jacob Thamaga
PR & Media Director
072 594 5972
thamagajacob@gmail.com