Nov. 30 Article on VolleyInfo.nl: 'Tijmen and Mila extend your beach season!'
"What the heart is full of.... Tijmen Companjen and Mila Jonker, the driving forces behind The Beach Volleyball School in and around The Hague/Scheveningen beach have made their passion their work. They love beach volleyball, relaxed beach life and traveling. And each other, by the way, as they have been a beach-volleyball couple for two years now.
After celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Beach Volleyball School, they are now ready to present their newest baby: Barefoot Beach Camps. Through The Beach Volleyball School, they previously organized beach trips to sunny places. Now they are taking that several steps further in one fell swoop. With their own logo, their own brand, their own identity. We talk to them further about this move.
How did you guys come up with the idea!
Mila on the run-up to Barefoot Beach Camps: 'Our lives have become hugely intertwined with the beach. Tijmen and I met through beaching at Scheveningen beach to begin with! Beach volleyball started as our sport, but what we love about it is that it also changes the way you look at life a bit. It's not just the sport you do in your free time, the way to get enough exercise, but it also affects you outside the sport.
Beaching helps you to be nice and relaxed in life. It brings you the balance between being active and enjoying beach life: the sun, the elements, a party and a drink. And in the summer, Scheveningen is of course the place to be, but we want to hit the beach in the spring and fall too! That's why Barefoot Beach Camps!What does that entail, such a beach volleyball trip at Barefoot Beach Camps?Tijmen: 'Although we are lucky in The Hague to have several indoor beach locations, nothing beats playing beach outdoors. There is something addictive about playing while hearing the sea and feeling the sun on your skin. In recent years we have visited the most beautiful beaches, met great people from all over the world, learned a lot and had a lot of laughs. We are now making that experience available to everyone. A carefree, all-inclusive beach volleyball vacation.
How is it different from existing training camps?
Mila: "Well, actually part of the answer lies in that word training camp! I really want to work hard during training, I love to be exhausted after a day at the beach. But I am on vacation, so I also want to do fun things, have fun. It doesn't always have to be so serious. You're not waiting for a lecture if you hung out at the bar a bit long the night before and missed the first round of warm-ups, are you? At least I don't.
On our trips, we celebrate beach life and all that goes with it! So it's a training camp, but not too serious. It's a beach vacation, but not too casual. You train in small groups and with top international trainers. Lots of personal attention, many refreshing forms of training, many beachers from all over Europe and beyond, lots of fun! Even if you are not a die-hard beacher you can still join us! Then just do the morning training and in the afternoon chill out or explore the surroundings! Even if you don't want to train at all, joining our trips is very interesting. You can then play as much as you want and have a top vacation at a great place with lots of nice people!
Tijmen agrees: 'We really make the step from training camp to beach volleyball vacation. So not only do we arrange your travel and accommodation, we are also always on standby to support you with all your questions and plans, so that as a guest of Barefoot Beach Camps you really only have to worry about your outfit for the theme party!'
Mila mentioned that international character, can you talk more about that?
Tijmen: 'That's right, we work closely with VolleyTours, which was set up by beachers from Sweden and Germany, among others. They experience the beach feeling exactly as we do, we have really found our kindred spirits in them. The concept they set up at Sunsation Beach in Gandia near Valencia, for example, is exactly how we prefer it too; serious training, but never losing sight of the laidback no worries beach vibe! We aim to bring together more than a thousand beachers next spring! That's going to be a really cool beach volleyball party!"
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