The BVF receives performance funding from UK Sport to assist the development of named athletes on their performance programme. The BVF assists with funds for these athletes under their home nation banner for training and competitions including National Tours, FIVB Pro Tour Events, European and World Beach Championships. The BVF also fund these athletes under the GBR banner for events like World University Games and Championships, Youth Olympics and Olympic Games.
Athletes
Below is a list of the athletes that have received funding or support from the BVF.
Senior Men
Javier Bello
Joaquin Bello
DOB: 20/07/2000
Hometown: Richmond
Height: 186 cm
Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Rio Elite16 (2024): Won gold, marking the highest-level victory for a British beach volleyball team ever.
Commonwealth Games (2022): Won Bronze for Team England in Birmingham, a first-ever Commonwealth medal for England in beach volleyball.
World Pro Tour Medals: 9-time World Tour/Beach Pro Tour medalists (including Challengers and Futures).
British Championship Titles: 5-time British Champion, winning the UK Beach Tour Finals in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2025.
Historic Breakthroughs: 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games gold medalist, and 2018 Youth Olympic Games competitor (first British team to qualify).
World Ranking: Achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 10 in May 2025
Joaquin’s beach partner is his twin brother Javier. His ambition is to achieve new heights for British volleyball, having already won gold at the Youth Commonwealth Games in 2017.
Joaquin has finished his studies in medicine at the Imperial College London School of Medicine, and has dedicated himself to beach volleyball full time before he persues a career as a doctor.
Javier Bello
DOB: 20/07/2000
Hometown: Richmond
Height: 180cm
Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Rio Elite16 (2024): Won gold, marking the highest-level victory for a British beach volleyball team ever.
Commonwealth Games (2022): Won Bronze for Team England in Birmingham, a first-ever Commonwealth medal for England in beach volleyball.
World Pro Tour Medals: 9-time World Tour/Beach Pro Tour medalists (including Challengers and Futures).
British Championship Titles: 5-time British Champion, winning the UK Beach Tour Finals in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2025.
Historic Breakthroughs: 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games gold medalist, and 2018 Youth Olympic Games competitor (first British team to qualify).
World Ranking: Achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 10 in May 2025
Javier hails from a volleyball family. His father is a former professional player, and both of his cousins compete at the elite level.
Javier has recently concluded his studies in Philosphy, Politics and Economics at the Royal Holloway university. and a masters in media studies.
The Bello twins have come through the Volleyball England pathway playing both indoor and beach volleyball. They have competed on the UK Beach Tour and FIVB World tour, as well as Under 20 CEV European Championship and Under 19 FIVB World championship. They won gold at the Youth Commonwealth Games in 2017 and finished 5th in the the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires 2018. They are now competing predominantly in the FIVB Pro Tour and are a funded performance pair with British Volleyball aiming to make it to LA2028.
Joaquin Bello
Issa Batrane
Freddie Bialokoz
DOB: 23/07/2000
Hometown: London
Height: 204 cm
2025 results
- May - FIVB BPT Futures, Qingshan, China, silver medal
- May - FIVB BPT Futures, Sveti Vlas, Bulgaria – 5th. lost in QF’s.
- June – FIVB BPT Futures, Qingdoa – 5th
- June – FIVB BPT Futures, Qidong – 3rd
- August – FIVB BPT Challenge, Austria – 33rd
- October – BPT Challenge Veracrux, Mexico – 33rd
- October – BPT Elite 16 Newport, USA – 21st
- October – BPT Elite16 Cape Town – 19th
Having grown up around volleyball it took Freddie until he was 14 to properly start playing volleyball.
He then started playing both indoor at Malory Eagles and beach at Deep Dish in Crystal Palace. At the time being the only junior at the club in Crystal Palace. He then played for the Cadets and Juniors respectively indoors representing England at multiple NEVZA age group competitions. At 17 he made his senior debut on the beach and made his first main draw on the world tour at 18.
His studies took him to Berlin where he carried on playing indoors in the 3rd Bundesliga and beach during the summer. Injuries as well as the opportunity to take beach volleyball more seriously lead to him stop playing indoors. Nowadays he’s still studying physics and also playing full time with aspirations to climb the ladder of international beach volleyball and push the envelope for English beach volleyball.
Issa Batrane
DOB: 09/04/1996
Hometown: London
Height: 176cm
2025 results
- May - FIVB BPT Futures, Qingshan, China, silver medal
- May - FIVB BPT Futures, Sveti Vlas, Bulgaria – 5th. lost in QF’s.
- June – FIVB BPT Futures, Qingdoa – 5th
- June – FIVB BPT Futures, Qidong – 3rd
- August – FIVB BPT Challenge, Austria – 33rd
- October – BPT Challenge Veracrux, Mexico – 33rd
- October – BPT Elite 16 Newport, USA – 21st
- October – BPT Elite16 Cape Town – 19th
Born and raised in London where he started playing volleyball for local club of Richmond Volleyball Club around the age of 13. From there Issa went through the representing the junior and senior mens teams.
At 17 he moved to the LeAF Elite Athlete academy in Bournemouth before competing at BUCS level while studying computing at the university, wining multiple BUCS titles on the beach as well as the indoor student cup whilst winning MVP awards along the way.
Today Issa trains and competes full time, while coaching for the local club Deep Dish Beach Volleyball and working on other projects around web development and digital media.
Other fields of interest for Issa include climate change and sustainability as well as social issues based around equality which he actively have roles in trying to impact positively via different sponsors and partners for his team.
Freddie Biakoloz
Niko Gleed
Niko Gleed
DOB: 04/07/2000
Hometown: Bournemouth
Height:
Niko is pairing with Enrique Bello competing together internationally in 2025
2025 Results
FIVB BPT Futures, Latvia - 13th
FIVB BPT Futures, Messina, Italy - 5th
Enrique Bello
Enrique Bello
DOB: 23/02/2004
Hometown: London
Height:
Currently a law student in LA, USA, he also coaches beach volleyball at the university.
Enrique is pairing with Niko Gleed competing together internationally in 2025
2025 Results
FIVB BPT Futures, Latvia - 13th
FIVB BPT Futures, Messina, Italy - 5th
Senior Women
The women’s group is currently run as a campaign programme. The majority are based in the US collegiate system on beach volleyball scholarships, affording regular high quality training and matches throughout the collegiate system, whilst also coming to the UK to train and compete as a squad at ranking events to assist their development. The coach was this group is Sam Dunbavin.
Image: Anaya Evans
Katie Keefe
DOB: 2003
Hometown: London
Height: 184cm
NEVZA U19
FIVB BPT Futures, Latvia 5th place
Katie is currently in her senior year at Grand Canyon University (GCU) in the states competing for her university in the NCAA. Previously she spent her freshman year at Stenson University.
Anaya Evans
DOB: 10/13/1998
Hometown: Croyde
Height: 173cm
Anaya is currently playing and coaching in the US.
Image: Katie Keefe
Izzy Tucker
Isabelle Tucker
DOB: 15/09/2004
Hometown: High Wycombe
Height: 178cm
Isabelle is currently at Grand Canyon University (GCU) in the USA competing for her university in the NCAA.
Kirsty Star
DOB: 31/01/2000
Hometown:
Height:
Kirsty is now working in London with the flexibility to dedicate time to beach volleyball.
Kirsty Star
Alice Jagielska
Alice Jagielska
DOB: 06/06/2007
Hometown: London
Height:
Alice is currently on a scholarship in Pepperdine University, Malibu majoring in sports medicine and playing the NCAA.
The BVF receives performance funding from UK Sport to support the development of named athletes on their programme that are on a trajectory to major competitions culminating in an Olympic journey. The BVF funds athletes under their home nation for training and competition including National Tours, FIVB World Pro Tours, European and World Championships. The BVF also funds athletes under the GBR banner for World University Games and Championships, Youth Olympics and the Olympic Games.