5 Olympians return as Volleyball Canada announces 2025 beach roster | CBC Sports

Volleyball Canada has announced its 2025 beach volleyball national team roster Wednesday, with five of the six 2024 Olympians returning to the squad.

Leading the way for the senior women’s team will be Paris Olympic silver medallists Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes. The two Toronto natives will be joined by Heather Bansley and Sophie Bukovec, both of whom also competed in Paris last summer.

The men’s side features two-time Olympian Sam Schachter. The 34-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., will return to represent the maple leaf for another year, joined by Tynan Gannett, Luke de Greeff, Martin Licht, Steven Abrams, Jonny Pickett, and Guillaume Rivest.

Schachter, a veteran on the men’s senior squad, will look to build on his previous Olympic experience. Rivest, Pickett and Licht all bring additional firepower after participation in the RBC Training Ground’s “Future Olympians” program.

WATCH l Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson earn silver for Canada at Paris Games:

Canada takes silver in women’s beach volleyball after loss to Brazil

Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson earned silver medals in the women’s beach volleyball final at the Paris Olympics after falling to No. 1-ranked Ana Patricia and Duda of Brazil in three sets.

As Canada’s stars continue to set the standard on the international stage, the next generation of talent is ready to step up. The Canadian NextGen team has had recent podium success on the NORCECA Tour.

Volleyball Canada’s chief sport officer Kerry MacDonald expressed optimism about the team’s continued progress.

“This year’s roster features an exciting blend of veteran talent and emerging stars,” MacDonald said.

“Building on the incredible achievements of Brandie and Mel in Paris, along with the strong performances of our NextGen teams, 2025 is shaping up to be a remarkable year for Canadian beach volleyball.”

Amy Ozee, a gold medallist at the sixth stop of the NORCECA Tour in Honduras in October, returns to the women’s NextGen team along with newcomer Emily Anderson. Marie-Alex Belanger, who played for Canada’s indoor national team from 2017 to 2022 and won two NORCECA silver medals for the NextGen team in the past three years, also returns alongside Lea Monkhouse.

While the senior team members will compete for points and prize money on the Beach Pro Tour in March, Volleyball Canada has noted that additional summer athletes will be announced at a later date.