London’s Sophia Hladyniuk finds her footing on pro beach volleyball tour

The Londoner and partner Myriam Robitaille are climbing the world rankings one tournament at a time.

It took significant travel and a couple of interesting sandy stops, but Sophia Hladyniuk’s foray into the pro beach volleyball world is finding firm ground. The 23-year-old Londoner finished fifth with partner Myriam Robitaille at the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball Futures event on the Greek island of Ios. That deep run provided a bright spot for the new team after a string of tough qualifying losses in China, the Philippines and Latvia.

“We knew the first two would be tough,” Hladyniuk said. “We could taste the main draw in Latvia (before a three-set loss). That was a tough blow for us and a little deterring.

After that, we weren’t even going to go to Greece, but the plans were already made and we thought, ‘Let’s go and have some fun.’ “It ended up being great and a huge boost in the right direction.” Last year, the Catholic Central graduate completed her degree in criminal justice at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz.

She moved home, started working at the Beach Hangar centre and coached an indoor under-16 team for the London Volleyball Club. “I had to readjust to winter,” she said. “I took some time for life outside volleyball and only played beach with friends here and there.”

Then Robitaille, a 31-year-old McGill graduate from Lachenaie, Que., reached out while searching for a new partner. “I always knew I wanted to play on the pro tour,” Hladyniuk said. “I just didn’t know how that plan would map itself out after college.

It was perfect timing and I told her, ‘Let’s do this thing.’” The world beach volleyball tour is a points-based system, much like tennis.

It takes time to build successful partnerships and earn entry into major tournaments with the likes of fellow Canadians and 2024 Olympic silver medallists Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson. “It’s a fascinating sport,” the five-foot-10 Hladyniuk said. “Myriam and I are building from the ground up.

For the first little while, we play in those qualifiers because you have to make it to the main draw. Arguably, those qualifier matches can be harder than the main draw, and we always felt if we could crack the main draw once, we would do well. “That happened in Greece.”

Hladyniuk was originally part of Volleyball Canada’s NextGen program, which provided funding, but left last year. She and Robitaille are independents who pay their own travel and entry fees at events. Recently, they found a home base.

“We decided Toronto wasn’t really the place for us,” she said. “Myriam had trained internationally in places like France and Brazil, and there was talk of us moving outside Canada. We wanted to find our own environment naturally.

That’s how we got to Calgary. We found a coach, Ben Saxton, who represented Canada at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and we train five days a week and coach on the side at a youth club.” They will play events in Montreal and Toronto next month before returning to Europe for three to four weeks in the fall.

They will do it while watching every available penny. “We’re very budget-friendly,” Hladyniuk said. “I don’t even bring a carry-on for flights.

When we were in Europe, we had backpacks. If I can avoid paying for the most expensive flight, I will – even if it means three stops. Ninety per cent of the time, the tournaments are held in major cities, so it’s a ferry, train or public bus to where you’re supposed to be.

It’s usually hectic, but it keeps it interesting.” It will make for some good stories if they achieve their short-term goal of qualifying for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. “We’ll see what happens,” she said.

“That’s what we’re pushing for, and it’s going to look like a different path from others. We never put a timeline on it. We’re committed and want the same thing.

If it works out, great. We set expectations and have the freedom to adapt. My coach Ben is 37, has two kids and can still walk on the court, play and is crazy good.

“If I can play this until I’m 40, I will.”