Hello friends,

I’d say good morning or good afternoon but I am in that weird state of mind after a red-eye and still on a flight from Houston to Los Angeles where I know neither the time nor day nor year. Kinda like that scene from Jumanji when Robin Williams pops out of the game and ​exclaims WHAT YEAR IS IT? ​

Doesn’t help that I lost my phone in an Uber in Saquarema, either, so I’ve been way off the map (been kinda nice, actually).

I’ve been informed by some kind flight attendants that it’s still 2024. And that Brazil is still awfully good at volleyball. George and Andre ​won another gold in Saquarema​, making it four straight Challenges won by Brazil in Brazil — two for Evandro and Arthur, two for George and Andre.

Back on the home front, we had maybe our most impactful podcast to date, on Tim Brewster and Kyle Friend, and what might be the most unique relationship in beach volleyball: partners on the court, a couple off of it.

This week in SANDCAST-Land

This week’s podcast featured our second Canadian in a row: Sophie Bukovec. She’s had a topsy turvy few years, from playing — and thriving — with Brandie Wilkerson to a quick partnership with Sarah Pavan and, now, to Heather Bansley. Soph is a phenomenal guest: well-spoken, vulnerable, open to all of the topics. Highly recommend:

BTS of our Saquarema prep

I filmed a little behind the scenes vlog of what Saquarema looks like — it’s beautiful and I absolutely loved it — and what our tournament prep looked like prior to the qualifier and another main draw. ​Check it out. ​

We’ll have Frito coming to Guadalajara so we’ll have more of this — and much higher quality — then.

FUN NEWS! SANDCAST and Volleyball TV are partnering up. By the end of the year, the Road to Paris will feature highlights and clips from Volleyball TV to complement the coverage. Better yet: You can get 20 percent off your ​VBTV subscription​ if you use the code SANDCAST20.

News Around the Beach

  • LSU is the NCAA host with the most this year. Russell Brock and company hauled in an impressive collection of talent and televised what might be the best NCAA beach event of the year on VBTV. Love all of it. Lee Feinswog was on site to deliver the goods.
  • Guadalajara Challenge entry list is up. ​We’re right back in the qualifier. ​
  • Reminder of a new beach volleyball podcast. Taylor Crabb and Troy Field, longtime good friends, have launched a new volleyball podcast, ​The Right Siiide. ​ Go ahead and give them a subscribe.
  • New Olympic rankings will be up at VolleyballMag.com later today, but here’s a preview: The Brazilian men’s race is all but over, Laura Ludwig and Louisa Lippmann are charging, and the Canadian women’s race has only just begun.
  • Coming up on Wednesday we have Miles Partain and Andy Benesh, probably the most requested episode we’ve ever had. It might also be the best we’ve ever done.

If you enjoy the podcast or this newsletter — or both! — we’d love it if you could share it out! Word of mouth is the best way we grow, so share the love, and as always, let us know any content you’d like to see more of (or less of) and we’ll make it happen!

Much Love to the sponsors

We’re officially partnered with​ Better at Beach​! Don’t know how this took so long, seeing the massive overlap between our audiences. So if you want to get ​Better at Beach​, use our code SANDCAST for 10 percent off all of their products, from online classes to in-person camps and more.

We’ve been with ​Wilson Volleyball​ since day one, and we love the products they make — the best ball on the market, hands down, no questions asked. With season coming up, if you’re looking to get some new equipment, use our discount code: sandcast-20 for 20 PERCENT OFF.

We finally have an alcohol sponsor! Bartender in a Box is fueling some fun conversations on SANDCAST with its Mai Tais and Margs. $20 for a box that’ll feed 12? We’ll take it! Be sure to ​check them out​ for your libation needs!

Need to get hydrated? Waiakea has all kinds of ​fantastic deals online​, and good news for you (and us), you can get 20 PERCENT OFF using our discount code, Sandcast, at checkout. Aloha, y’all.

SANDCAST is fueled by a lovely mix of three main ingredients: We LOVE to do it, people enjoy listening to it, and sponsors fund our ability to do so. We only partner with sponsors we love, and we are so fired up to have ​Athletic Greens join the show​! And they’re hooking up our listeners with a ​full year of Vitamin D for FREE, as well as five totally FREE travel packs! ​​

Appreciate y’all for listening, reading, and loving the beach like we do.

Have a great week!

SHOOTS!

Tri and Travis (and Savvy)