30 July 2026 – We are keeping it short and concrete this time: three videos worth your while, one date you had better put in your calendar – and a format that just produced the finest images of the summer in Hannover. All three are connected, by the way.

1. Three videos for the summer break

Berlin goes for the first German club title

For the very first time, Germany crowned beach volleyball club champions this year – at the Allianz German Beach Club Finals from 23 to 26 July on Opernplatz in Hannover, as part of “Die Finals”. Right in the middle of it: the Hauptstadt Beacher from Berlin.

Volleyball Deutschland sat down with the Berliners shortly beforehand. They discuss the unfamiliar format, their team dynamics – and, of all things, the tactics for a possible four-against-four decider. Watching it, you have no idea yet just how much that would decide their tournament.

“Der 1. Deutsche Vereins-Titel soll in die Hauptstadt” · Volleyball Deutschland · 14 July 2026 · 6:57 min (German)

So what exactly is a “club champion”?

Briefly explained, because it really is new: German beach volleyball titles have always gone to pairs – two names, one title. At the German Beach Club Finals, a club becomes champion for the first time. Each club fields four players, and every tie starts with two classic 2-vs-2 matches. If it is 1–1 after that, a Golden Set in 4-vs-4 to 21 points decides it – all four on court at once. Suddenly there is a bench, a team spirit and something to cheer for, instead of pure individualism. Luis Kubo of the winning side put it like this: “A new team feeling has emerged. It was something very special to keep our fingers crossed for the two on the bench.”

The eight clubs at the premiere:

• Women: Eintracht Spontent (Düsseldorf) · Berlin Recycling Volleys · Olympischer Sport Club BW · 1. Beachclub Kiel
• Men: Eintracht Spontent (Düsseldorf) · Beachvolley United (Munich) · 1. Beachclub Kiel · Hauptstadt Beacher (Berlin)

So two of the six medals went to Berlin – at the very first edition.

School exams, Olympic training centre, Olympic goal: 20 minutes with Momme Lorenz

The name should ring a bell: in June, Momme Lorenz won the second Berlin stop of the German Beach Tour at Funkhaus Beach together with Tilo Rietschel – a first German Beach Tour title for both – and in July he also reached the final in Munich I. What many people do not know: he is just 18 and sat his school-leaving exams alongside all of it.

This portrait follows him between tournament trips, training at the Olympic training centre in Berlin and the goal above everything else: Los Angeles 2028. It also shows what elite sport at that age does to an entire family. Twenty minutes well spent – and the best answer to the question of how much Berlin talent is currently out there in the sand.

“Der große Sprung | Episode 1: Momme Lorenz” · Falk Fuhr Friends · 1 July 2026 · 20:00 min (German)

The shooting-star question: how do you win three tournaments in one season?

The third video is a long, calm interview – and the best thing you can watch about German beach volleyball right now. Paula Schürholz has won three German Beach Tour stops this season: Düsseldorf alongside Kim van de Velde, then Berlin and Munich with her new partner Elea Beutel. D.SPORTS met her over an iced coffee – about the secret behind her success, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and how she rewards herself for tournament wins.

“Shootingstar im deutschen Beachvolleyball – Paula Schürholz im Interview” · D.SPORTS · 23 July 2026 · 23:49 min (German)

How do you win that many tournaments? Three points she names herself

1. Trust your gut when choosing a partner. Schürholz and Beutel had already played together as juniors, back then without the spark. Over the winter she deliberately chose Elea despite other options: she had “a gut feeling” that it could turn out great – and is extremely glad she listened to it. Today, she says, both know what they want: “We both have our goals in mind, our drive.”
2. Fight for every last point. That, she says, was the most striking difference at the most recent tournaments: “We simply fight for every last point” – which is how they manage to turn “really wild matches” around after all. Those tight ones delivered the titles, see the Munich II final at 21–23, 25–23, 15–8.
3. Two profiles that complement rather than duplicate. She describes Beutel as an “incredibly physical player” – barely taller than herself, but with a jump and hitting power among the very best in the country. She herself brings game intelligence, ball control and creativity, plus fast sets. Her conclusion: that is exactly why they are “an extremely uncomfortable team” to play against.

2. Important: BeachMitte winter booking opens on 10 August

And now the part you really should not skim. Summer still feels endless, but the indoor courts are being allocated right now.

🗓️ Monday, 10 August 2026, 10:00 am

That is when the online allocation of season tickets for the 2026/2027 winter season at BeachMitte begins – for the six-court air dome. The season runs from 19 October 2026 to 2 April 2027, with 22 or 24 slots depending on the weekday.

Anyone who has ever discovered at 10:01 that their preferred slot was gone knows the drill. If you are new to this: please read the notes and conditions under “Dauerkarte” calmly beforehand.

The key points so that no double bookings happen:

• Only one person per group books. Multiple bookings cannot be refunded.
• Check your PayPal account limit in advance – otherwise the payment is declined at the decisive moment.
• Double-check day and time before you confirm.
• Only book a season ticket if your group is genuinely sure – they are transferable, but not cancellable.

One click too many is annoying, one click too few just as much. Set an alarm.

3. Four against four: the format everyone is talking about

In Hannover it turned into a thriller

The first 4-vs-4 of its kind took place on the opening day in Hannover – and the Golden Set promptly became a crowd magnet. Anyone who thought it was merely a pretty add-on was quickly proven wrong: it decided half the event.

The Berlin women of the BR Volleys made it their speciality: Louisa Lippmann, Mareet Maidhof, Melanie Paul and Tabea Schwarz needed the Golden Set in every single one of their four ties – and in the end took the title 21–16 against Eintracht Spontent in front of 1,500 fans. “The four against four was simply outstanding. Everyone played her part and we complemented each other perfectly,” said Melanie Paul afterwards. For Lippmann, a four-time indoor champion, it was a first gold on sand.

The Hauptstadt Beacher also reached the final exclusively via the four-player format – the Golden Set went their way twice, once by the narrowest of margins at 23–21 against Kiel. In the final, Mio Wüst was then missing through injury; his 17-year-old brother Filo Wüst, a freshly crowned U18 world champion, stepped in and promptly won the first set 21–12. In the end Eintracht Spontent prevailed 2–0 – Lukas Pfretzschner converted the match ball with an ace after fending off three set points. The premiere drew around 40,000 spectators across four days. You may safely call that a success.

In California it is about 200,000 dollars

That the four-player game works is something the United States noticed earlier. At the Newport Beach Volleyball Invitational, world-class athletes play four against four – over a single weekend, on 17/18 October in 2026, for an advertised prize purse of 200,000 US dollars. It was founded in 2023 by AVP legend Steve “OB” Obradovich after he learned what top players sometimes earn at regular tournaments.

How serious the professionals are about it showed at the premiere: several US stars skipped an international tournament carrying Olympic points in order to play fours in Newport instead. Volleyballmag writer Tom Feuer explained why: longer rallies, more tension – and, thanks to substitutes and a coaching bench, a team feeling the two-player game does not offer. Two fours recordings on the McKibbin brothers’ YouTube channel each passed half a million views.

To be fair: there is still no genuine professional fours league in the United States. What exists is a richly endowed showcase event, a huge recreational base and a youth format. Obradovich himself called Newport “our beta testing”.

The five key differences from classic 2 against 2

The basis is the official FIVB rules for 4 vs 4 compared with the 2-vs-2 rulebook 2025–2028:

1. A squad instead of a duo. In fours, four players are always on court and the squad may include up to six people plus a coach. In twos, a team consists exclusively of two players – full stop.
2. Substitutions exist. Up to four per set. The 2-vs-2 rulebook states literally: “There are no substitutions.” Whoever gets injured is out – and so is the team.
3. A coach may coach. In fours he sits on the bench, requests time-outs and substitutions, and may give instructions while walking during the change of ends. In twos, only the captain may request interruptions.
4. Far fewer changes of ends. Fours: once per set (at 11 and 8 points respectively). Twos: every 7 points, and every 5 in the third set. That alone noticeably changes the rhythm of a match.
5. A fixed service rotation. The server moves one position clockwise when the team wins back the right to serve – yet everyone may still position themselves freely on court, there are no positional faults as in the indoor game. And that is where the real appeal comes from: genuine specialisation. Setter, blocker, defender – everyone plays to her strengths. Or, in Melanie Paul’s words: “Everyone played her part.”

What stays the same – and we say this because a lot of nonsense circulates online: court size (16 × 8 m), net height, scoring (21/21/15), three touches and the block counting as a touch are identical in both formats. No bigger court, no lower net.

And on our own doorstep?

Fours arrived long ago. The DVV Beach Bundespokal has been played as four against four in its youngest age group since 2024 – most recently from 23 to 26 July at Bernsteinsee in Velten, right on Berlin’s doorstep. More touches, more children playing at the same time, less frustration on the bench.

There are worlds between an under-15 court in Brandenburg, a sold-out Opernplatz in Hannover and 200,000 dollars in California. The format is the same. If you want to know where this is heading, watch the youngsters.

Fancy trying fours yourself – or simply working on your technique before the indoor season starts? Take a look at our beach volleyball camps.

Next time: why so many of us play with shoulder pain – and what sports medicine says actually helps.

Your team at Berlin-Beachvolleyball.de