The monumental victory came Sept. 19 in the World Junior Beach Volleyball Championships in Alanya, Turkey. Schachter and Garrett May, both from the Toronto area, rallied to upset second-seeded Alvaro Filho and Vitor Felipe of Brazil, 21-23, 21-16, 15-13.

“It’s still hard to speak about how much that meant to me, my country and my family,” said Schachter, whose 18th-seeded team won all seven of their matches in Turkey’s blistering heat. “You never truly expect to be able to say you are the best in the world. So it was a real positive for volleyball in Canada. It showed we are more than just a hockey nation.”

Indeed, it was Canada’s first medal in the 10-year history of the event. One month later, the Canadian Sports Awards honored Schachter, 21, and May, 19, as the Junior Athletes of the Year. By then, though, Schachter had come to the realization that he needed to switch partners.

“Garrett and I really enjoy playing together,” Schachter said. “But he goes to school in the winter, and I need to train year-round to improve.”

A second important factor in Schachter’s decision was his quest for more size. At 6’5”, he was one of the smallest blockers on the FIVB Tour. Schachter formed a new partnership with 6’7” Maverick Hatch, whose partner had retired. In the new partnership, Schachter plays defender, so, in essence, he replaces the 6’2” May.

“Hatch touches 11’5”,” Schachter said of the Comox, British Columbia native, “and he has arms like a monkey.”

In their first three FIVB matches this year, Schachter and Hatch won five out of nine, finishing 41st in Brazil and in China and 25th in the Czech Republic. And on July 31, Schachter and Hatch won Center of Gravity, a pro beach tournament in Kelowna, British Columbia. The duo won four straight matches without losing a set.

“Sam’s style meshes with mine because we’re both really aggressive,” Hatch said. “He’ll hammer a ball, and I’ll put a rip on one, too. Physically, he has all the skills to be a great defender. It’s just a matter of time and added experience before he gets there.”

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The Toronto teen shares the No. 1 men’s seed at this week’s FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch junior world championships in Halifax but he’s also breaking in a new partner and wearing a big bull’s-eye as the defending champ that everyone’s gunning for.

“I can’t really fly under the radar like I have before,” said the 19-year-old, who paired up with Sam Schachter of Richmond Hill, Ont., to win the 2010 crown in Turkey.

“But that’s OK. I’m ready for the new challenge. It’ll be definitely a new experience but I’m very excited for it.”

Being staged in North America for the first time, the world junior tournament for competitors under 21 gets underway with qualification rounds Wednesday at the temporary waterfront stadium dubbed the Sands at Salter. Qualifying play is followed by two days of pool action, playoff matches on Saturday and medal games Sunday.

Both the men’s and women’s events feature 24-team main draws, with 20 of the teams pre-seeded and the final four to be determined in the qualification round. There are a total of 29 men’s teams and 32 women’s teams registered, meaning nine men’s and a dozen women’s teams will duke it out in qualifying.

Canada has three men’s and three women’s entries, all in the main draw.

May and partner Danny Demyanenko are the top seeds on the men’s side, while Nick Del Bianco and Ben Chow make up the second Canadian duo and William Sidgwick and Fiodar Kazhamiaka the third.

Victoria Altomare and Melissa Humana-Paredes are the top-ranked Canuck women’s team. Sarah Gosselin and Sara Robichaud comprise a second unit and Alexandra Hudson and Charlotte Sider the third.

May and Schachter were seeded 18th in Turkey in 2010, when they knocked off the sixth, seventh and 10th seeds, then completed their Cinderella story with a 21-23, 21-16, 15-13 victory over second-ranked Alvaro Filho and Vitor Felipe of Brazil in a 64-minute championship match.

The win gave Canada its first medal in the 10-year history of the tournament.

“To get there and to achieve our goal, it was unbelievable,” May said. “It was such a happy experience and looking back one of the proudest moments of my life.”

With Schachter too old for the junior division this year, May recently paired up with Demyanenko, a towering 17-year-old from Toronto who placed fifth in the 2011 world youth championships. Demyanenko stands six foot eight; May is six foot two.

“Danny’s a bit younger than Sam but Danny is just as big and just as powerful,” May said. “I love playing with him. He’s a big block, he’s fun to play defence behind and he’s a big swinger so I look forward to playing some more with him this week in Halifax.”

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The competition is the only Canadian stop this season on the FIVB World Tour Circuit.

Victoria Altomare and Melissa Humana-Paredes, both of Toronto as well as Jaime Broder of Victoria and Ashley Voth of Winnipeg both won their second round qualifying matches to join three other Canadian pairs in the main draw.

Canada’s other two entries in qualifying, Rebecca Billings of Ottawa and Kristina Vlcek of Toronto as well as Victoria Cowley and Alexandra Mingay, both of Toronto lost their second round qualifying matches. Cowley and Mingay will still advance to the main draw.

Pre qualified for the women’s main draw for Canada are Marie-Andree Lessard of Ville LaSalle, Que., and Annie Martin of Sherbrooke, Que.; Heather Bansley and Elizabeth Maloney both of Toronto and Kacie MacTavish of Sharon, Ont., and Julie Rodrigue of Quebec City.

On the men’s side, Maverick Hatch of Comox, B.C., (photo) and Sam Schachter of Toronto posted a second round win in qualifying to reach the main draw. Andrew Hinchey of Oshawa, Ont., and Ryan Vandenburg of Toronto lost in the second round.

Simon Fecteau-Boutin of Lévis, Que., and Cameron Wheelan of Barrie, Ont., as well as Felipe Humana-Paredes and Grant O’Gorman, both of Toronto, were eliminated in the first round of qualifying.

Canada’s pre-qualified men’s main draw teams are Christian Redmann of Toronto and Ben Saxton of Calgary;Josh Binstock and Richard Van Huizen both of Toronto and Martin Reader of Comox, B.C., and Chaim Schalk of Red Deer, Alta.

Main draw action gets underway Thursday at I’Externat St-Jean Berchmans and Seminaire des Peres Maristes.

The full draw and schedule is available at www.fivb.org

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Freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau was named the Male Athlete of the Year while long-track speedskater Christine Nesbitt earned top female honours. Ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were named the Partners of the Year and the Olympic men’s hockey squad captured the award for best team.

Moguls specialist Bilodeau won Canada’s first gold medal of the Vancouver Olympics, ending the country’s drought at Games held on home soil.

Nesbitt won gold in the women’s 1,000 metres in Vancouver. She went 4-for-4 at the distance on the World Cup circuit before the Games and all her rivals called her the favourite. The defending world champion struggled early in her race at the Richmond Olympic Oval, but recovered to finish strong and win the gold.

Virtue, from London, Ont., and Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., made history when they became the youngest skaters and first North Americans to capture Olympic ice dance gold. Less than a month later, they capped their undefeated Cinderella season with a victory at the world championships in Turin, Italy.

Sidney Crosby scored in overtime to lead Canada to a thrilling 3-2 win over the United States in the Olympic gold medal game.

Joannie Rochette of Ile-Dupas, Que., who skated to Olympic bronze just days after her mother’s death, won the Spirit of Sport Story of the Year award.

Beach volleyball player Sam Schachter was voted junior athlete of the year.

The Canadian Sport Awards are presented annually by the charitable True Sport Foundation and are given to the country’s top amateur athletes. The winners were chosen by an independent jury.

The winners were announced during the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Conference.

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The Halifax Waterfront, Canada was announced as the venue for the 2011 SWATCH FIVB Junior World Championships, due to be held from August 30-September 4, at a press conference held at the Delta Halifax, Canada on Tuesday.

The five day tournament will see over 400 delegates and athletes from more than 30 countries in Halifax for both the men’s and women’s championships.  On hand for the announcement was one-half of Canada’s gold medal men’s team, Sam Schachter.  He and team mate Garrett May were undefeated in their bid to take the 2010 international title home to Canada this past September in Alanya, Turkey.  “It was really surreal to win the championship and hearing today’s announcement and knowing that it is coming to Canada next year is really poignant for both Garrett and myself.”  Their win gave Canada its first ever medal and first final four placement for either gender in the event’s 10-year history.

FIVB Technical Supervisor Ed Drakich spoke on behalf of Volleyball Canada and the FIVB, saying “this championship comes as we see the continued proliferation of our sport across Canada.  Bringing the best in the world junior divisions and the FIVB tournament to Halifax in 2011 is history in the making.” 
 
The SWATCH FIVB Junior World Championships are held annually at beach locations all over the world with the last edition’s winners in Alanya, Turkey being Schachter and Garrett May in the Boy’s Junior competition and USA’s Tara Roenicke and Summer Ross in the girls. Perhaps one of the more unique features of the Halifax event will be the venue and the re-creation of a beach surface with a temporary stadium. Roughly 2000 tonnes of sand will be trucked into position via 66 trailers in the week leading up to the international championship.  Event Producer and President of Sports and Entertainment Atlantic, Derek Martin felt the venue and the timing of the championship made Halifax a perfect selection for the 2011 tournament.

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“I want to eventually win a CIS championship,” said the 18-year-old, who was recruited heavily by several Canadian universities.

And why not? The Toronto native knows a thing or two about winning. Not only is the youngster coming off back-to-back OFSAA championship seasons with his high school team, the Birchmount Park Panthers, but last month he also earned the remarkable title of world champion for his play on the beach.

At the 2010 World Junior (Under-21) Beach Volleyball Championships in Turkey, May teamed up with fellow Toronto native Sam Schachter, 20, to win a gold medal over the No. 2-seeded Brazilian team of lvaro Filho and Vitor Felipe.

“It was pretty unbelievable,” May said. “It was our goal [to finish first] going into the tournament, but it was so surreal when we did win it.”

May and Schachter, who entered the 78-team tournament as the No. 18-seed, went a perfect 7-0, losing just three sets the entire event. One of those came in the opening set of the final. But following that, the duo won two straight against the Brazilians, 21-16 and 15-13, to become the first-ever Canadian team to win gold at a world beach volleyball championship at any level.

“We were awestruck,” said Jim Sage, Western’s men’s volleyball head coach. “When we found out he won it, the guys on the team were like, ‘that is incredible.’”

Of course, while May was tearing it up on the beach, the 18-year-old’s new teammates were already practicing on campus at Western in preparation for their 2010-11 season. May has since joined them and has been making the transition back to the indoor game after a summer on the sand.

He got his feet wet last weekend, as Western saw its first action of the season at an exhibition tournament at Ryerson University. Prior to Western’s first match, a straight sets 3-0 win over the hosts, May was recognized for his accomplishments on the international stage, as he was presented with a custom-designed Overkill championship shirt by Ryerson head coach Mirek Porosa and May’s beach volleyball coach, Mark Heese, the three-time Olympian and most decorated Canadian beach volleyball player of all time.

“It was very nice, and I was very flattered,” May said. “They all congratulated me. Now I’m trying to find a balance of enjoying that win and still staying focused on the indoor season.”

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Story By Todd Devlin | The Londoner

Garrett May and Sam Schachter, both of Toronto, defeated second-seeds Alvaro Filho and Vitor Felipe of Brazil 21-23, 21-16, 15-13 to win the gold medal on Sunday at the world junior championships in beach volleyball.

It is Canada’s first medal in the 10-year history of the tournament.

“It feels incredible,” said May, 18, about winning the 78-team tournament. “At first it was disbelief, but now we’re blabbering like a bunch of babies.”

May and Schachter completed the tournament with a 7-0 record and lost three sets overall. Besides the second seed Brazilians they also knocked off the sixth, seventh and 10th seeds this week.

Sunday’s 64-minute final was a nail-biter as the 18th seed Canadians showed an unwavering determination to get the victory against a team from the sport’s superpower nation.

“Both teams played really solid,” said May, fourth last month at the world youth championships with Nick del Bianco of Surrey, B.C. “It was a battle of who could last the longest. But we always had the confidence we could win this tournament from the start. That was our goal.”

For the second straight match, Schachter needed a medical time-out because of the intense heat.

“All the teams here have great skills but we had incredible trust in each other and that was probably our biggest weapon,” said Schachter, who grew up in Richmond Hill, Ont. “We overcame some big obstacles, always had the toughest draws in the playoffs but we couldn’t be stopped.

“It was amazing.”

The Canadian pair land in Toronto on Monday afternoon.

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May and Schachter, seeded 18th, defeated 13th seeds Helmut Moser and Robert Seidl of Austria 2-1, (21-23, 21-9, 15-10) in the round of 16, took down 10th seeds Evan Barry and Tony Ciarelli of the U.S., 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 15-13) in the quarterfinal and 21st seeds Peter Eglseer and Felix Koraimann of Austria 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) in the semis.

In Sunday’s final, the Canadians face the number-two seeds Alvaro Filho and Vitor Felipe of Brazil. They defeated Andrey Bolgov and Ruslan Bykanov of Russia, the 23rd seeds, in the other semi 21-19, 21-17. They have not lost a set in six matches.

“Brazil is a powerhouse in the sport but we are not going to change our game,” said May. “I think if we stick to our game plan we can win.”

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Garrett May and Sam Schachter, both of Toronto, sailed into the playoff round undefeated with two more straight set victories in round robin play on Friday at the world junior championships in beach volleyball.

May and Schachter complete the round robin with a perfect 3-0 record for first place in their pool and advance to the round of 16. They didn’t lose a set in the round robin and upset the sixth and seventh seeds. Last month, May placed fourth at the world youth championships with Nick del Bianco of Surrey, B.C.

On Friday, May and Schachter, seeded 18th, defeated sixth-seeds Safak Sezer and Caner Turhan of Turkey 21-18, 21-17 then beat 19th seeds Luis Raul Sandoval and Julio Cesar Alvarez of Costa Rica 21-12, 21-17.

“We’re not totally surprised with our performance, we’ve had to play hard to earn our victories,” said May, 18, two years younger than his partner. “Today our defence was much better and we settled down more and stuck to what we do best.”

The Canadians face 13th seeds Helmut Moser and Robert Seidl of Austria in the round of 16. The Austrians were 2-1 in the round robin.

In women’s action, Shanice Marcelle of Victoria and Caleigh Whitaker of Sharon, Ont., earned a third consecutive loss in three sets and were eliminated. After two tight losses on Thursday, the 14th seed Canadians fell to Anna Markova and Anna Alova of Russia, seeded 23rd, 28-26, 19-21, 15-13 in one hour and four minutes, the second longest match in round robin play.

The round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals are all scheduled for Saturday.

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May and Schachter, seeded 18th, defeated Daniil Kuvichka and Grigory Goncharov of Russia 21-16, 21-16 in 39 minutes. This is the second world championship event this year for May who placed fourth last month at the youth worlds with Nick del Bianco of Surrey, B.C.

“I guess it’s sort of an upset but we are here to win,” said May, 18. “We played extremely well. We kept an aggressive pace to the match and kept them off balance. It’s a style we think we can have success with at this tournament.”

May and Schachter have played together before but for this season only joined forces last month. They placed fifth against senior competition at the national championships in late August. Their lack of playing time together doesn’t seem to be an issue.

“We just seem to have a natural chemistry in this sport,” said Schachter, 20. “Playing at nationals was an important step and we gained some confidence there against an experience field.”

May and Schachter are in pool L with the Russians, sixth-seeds Safak Sezer and Caner Turhan of Turkey, and 19th seeds and Luis Raul Sandoval and Julio Cesar Alvarez of Costa Rica. The top-two in each of the six pools plus four wildcards advance to the playoff round. May and Schachter play their two other round robin matches on Friday.

On the women’s side, two great efforts by Shanice Marcelle of Victoria and Caleigh Whitaker of Sharon, Ont., came up short. The 14th seeds lost to Zhang and Wang of China, seeded 11th 18-21, 21-18, 15-12 and second seeds Fabi Boogaerdt and Julia Schmidt 21-17, 16-21, 15-13.

The Canadians must defeat 23rd seeds Anna Markova and Anna Alova of Russia on Friday to keeps their playoff hopes alive.

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