Beach volleyball: German pairing seek status

Laura Ludwig (left) and Sara Goller have already won four tournaments on the New Zealand tour. Picture / Alan Gibson

Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig's initial experience of beach volleyball New Zealand-style involved a wee bit too much beach at the expense of the volleyball.

Freak New Year tides arrived at Matarangi in the Coromandel and even poured over a hastily built sand wall, flooding the courts.

Although the tournament was completed, it was a hilarious Kiwi introduction for the rising German pair.

"It was very funny. I've never seen or heard of anything like it,"says the 21-year-old Goller, who has the better command of English.

"With wind also in our early tournaments, we'd never played in such hard conditions.

"The high tide came on to the field [at Matarangi] and everything was under water. It was quite confusing. Even the net fell down."

No worries. Goller and the 20-year-old Ludwig went on to win the tournament and those in Wellington, Bay of Plenty and Mt Maunganui on the $40,000 New Zealand tour.

There will no chance of further tide interference at the New Zealand Open, which begins this morning at the ASB Bank Tennis Centre at Stanley St. The pair, ranked about 40 in the world, are top seeds for the three-day, $12,000 event.

This tour is another important learning experience for Goller and Ludwig, although small change compared to the world tour which has gone ahead in six-figure leaps and bounds considering the winners of the first women's professional event in America shared just $400 in 1987.

Women's beach volleyball in particular has punched above its weight in publicity due to, as one writer put it, skimpy attire which makes it "popular with editors of tabloid newspapers, as well as TV". Sports purists have not always been flattering about this sexy image.

However, a serious sport lurks behind a negligible exterior. Shifting home to be near the best German beaches in summer, training camps, weight training, constant instruction from their German-based coach - they all drive Goller and Ludwig's fulltime tilt at the trophies and prizemoney. And it's decent money at the top.

American Holly McPeak and Brazilian Adriana Behar have broken the US$1 million career mark, and the very best scoop hundreds of thousands of dollars each season.

The stellar American pair of Misty-May Treanor and Kerri Walsh have even managed to become sporting celebs of sorts in their country.

Goller and Ludwig are not near this class yet, after a 2005 season in which they earned around $30,000. But these are early days.

They have been in truly professional mode only since Ludwig, who wants to teach mathematics and sports, finished her fulltime university studies last May.

The major aim is to make the Beijing Olympics but as Goller says, there is also a good living to be made. They already do okay, thanks to the sterling work of their agent.

As with most German players, Goller and Ludwig came out of traditional volleyball where, at 1.8m, they were considered too short.

Goller, who does her political studies via the internet, describes herself as the serious one and believes they have a rare all-round chemistry which gives them a significant advantage to build on.

"I've played with a lot of players before and it is very hard to find the right partner," she says.

"I believe you have to feel comfortable with someone. We spend about 300 days out of 365 together. It's like being married.

"Maybe you need different characters, so everybody can bring something to the team. Maybe it is best if my partner is more the easygoing version, has a lot of ideas and is a creative player.

"I'm the hard-working type. If I'm too tense, Sara gets me laughing. If she's too much easygoing, I say 'come on, we have to work.' We're a good match.

"You also need the same competitive level, aims, understanding of the game, and time you want to invest.

"There are many players, men and the women, who are just professionals, who don't really like each other but come together on the court and play well together.

"But especially in hard times, I think you do better when you like each other.

"We have arguments. One will be mean and the other is mean back. But it is short-lived. Sometimes I think these things are necessary."

The pair are even able to always room together, which keeps the costs down, and contrasts with many of their rivals including the leading German women's combination.

Goller and Ludwig's career on the world circuit began at the top, in front of 10,000 countryfolk at the world championships in Berlin last year. They finished 17th. Their best result was ninth in Montreal.

Teams must be in the top 24 of the world rankings, and the top two from their country, to qualify for the Olympics.

Goller, a noted power server and front court leaper, already has a European under-20 title. Ludwig, the back court specialist, has been an under-18 world champion.

There are a couple of experienced German teams ahead of them, and their second season on the world tour will give a better indication of Olympic prospects.

"The Olympics are very realistic for us, but not safe," says Goller.

"Last year all the travel, the time zones, too many distractions ... and it was hard to be confident about knowing you could win. We'll see what happens this season."