It’s all hands on deck for two of the best teams in beach volleyball ahead of the eagerly anticipated World Championships in Hamburg

Ahoy there, World Championships! Ever heard of a beach volleyball match played on water? Swashbuckling beach volleyball teams Markéta Sluková and Barbora Hermannová and Laura Ludwig and Maggie Kozuch make waves in an iconic photoshoot ahead of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Hamburg 2019 presented by comdirect and ALDI Nord.

Meanwhile, Czech stars Markéta and Barbora are seeking to turn silver into gold this year after finishing runners-up at last season’s Hamburg World Tour Finals.

However, both teams will have a fight to get their hands on the title, a share of one million US Dollars in prize money and a ticket to Tokyo 2020, as 48 teams per gender drop anchor in Hamburg to compete in what will be the biggest World Championships in history.

Talking after the shoot, Ludwig, who won on her last visit to her home stadium at the 2017 World Tour Finals, said: “It was amazing actually, we’ve never had a shoot like this – it was very impressive standing in front of the Elbphilharmonie. People were definitely also impressed, the boats which were driving by they wanted to see more action and we gave it to them.”

Current world number two Hermannová, who with Sluková is aiming to improve on her last World Championship appearance two years ago, added: “It was very fun, I expected that it would be a little bit windy, but it the end it was even windier. It was a nice experience, who else can say they were playing beach volleyball on a pontoon?”

Goosebumps don't lie – See you @ the Beach!