By Callum Ludwig
While Australians are waving off a team of athletes before the start of the Olympics in Paris this week, another team of competitors in a more niche sport is preparing to compete in their own worldwide competition just over the English Channel a month later.
The Roundnet World Championship is taking place in Guildford, England from 29 August and Outer East expat and roundnet enthusiast Alex Capp will be representing Australia.
Mr Capp coordinated and promoted games in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne before recently moving to London and said he first found out about the sport of Roundnet back in 2015 when he was introduced to the sport on a beach at a Youth Camp.
“I played casually for a handful of years at camps, Youth Group and with friends before being offered a job in 2018 by my now wife’s cousin, James Docking who heads up Spikeball Australia,” he said.
“I worked alongside James as the Sports Development Officer and State Tournament Director for Victoria for about four years and as a result I got involved a lot more in the competitive scene of Roundnet and Tournament directed numerous tournaments across the country in Adelaide, Hobart, Sydney and Melbourne.”
Roundnet, also known as Spikeball which is the name of the sports brand that makes kits to play the game, involves two teams of two players each, a small trampoline-like net and a small ball.
Mr Capp said there are lots of things he loves about the sport of Roundnet.
“On one side of the coin, there is the competitive and high-level side of the sport which more recently has been the thing that has captured my attention and enjoyment through the fast-paced, high-intensity level of gameplay, displays of athleticism and working together with your teammate to get some good defensive touches and rallies,” he said.
“However, over the now seven or so years of playing, some of the most satisfying and enjoyable moments I can remember have been through the small things of seeing the excitement, happiness and joy that comes across people’s faces (of all ages) when they ‘catch the bug’ for the sport,”
“Seeing a young Grade Three student in a school get their first taste at success in a sport through encouragement and seeing the development in their roundnet skills in even one session is so lifegiving and the same goes for adults.”
Best played in open space on beaches or in parks, the sport is similar to a combination of beach volleyball and four-square/downball, with teams starting on opposite sides of the net for a serve. After the ball is served, there are no boundaries with players and teams able to cross over, run past or even dive over the net to hit the ball. Like volleyball, each team has three hits before having to play the ball to the other team, done by bouncing it into the net without it hitting the frame or bouncing twice. A point is won when a team fails to legally return a hit or the ball hits the ground.
Mr Capp said growing the sport has been a massive drive of his, particularly during the time he worked under James at Spikeball Australia.
“The best and most effective, although slow way of growing the sport has been simply through a ‘come and try’ method, it’s great and exciting to be able to explain Roundnet as a strange mix of volleyball, downball/four-square and something like Tennis, but it isn’t until you actually step into the action and give it a try that the sport comes to life,” he said.
“It’s my strong and firm belief that while promoting and growing the top end of the sport of Roundnet we will see growth, it is also predominantly going to be through the grass root organisations, structures and groups that we will see this sport flourish into a sustainable and growing sport not only in Australia, but across the world.”
The first Roundnet World Championship was held in Belgium in 2022, with the Australian men’s team finishing equal ninth.
Mr Capp said it’s going to be a big test for them to even push the top 10 now given the level of competitiveness there is around the world, particularly across Europe.
“I am beyond excited to link up again with my Aussie teammates again in London in just over a month for the Roundnet World Championships,” he said.
“We’re excited to see the level that Australia will be able to compete at given the geographical distance that our community has from a lot of other top-level Roundnet communities,”
“It’s exciting to see a lot of familiar faces in the Aussie team returning for the 2024 Roundnet World Championships in London, but just as, if not even more exciting seeing the number of new faces that will be joining the team for the first time on an international stage this time round.”
Mr Capp encouraged anyone interested in Roundnet to feel free to reach out to the Australian Roundnet Association (ARA) via Instagram or by searching up their website at roundnet.com.au.
