Why I Built MyNextCamp: 25 Years of Beach Volleyball Camps Led Me Here

Hi, I'm Rasmus Hansen. I'm based in Copenhagen, Denmark, where I play beach volleyball at CPH BEACH. When I'm not chasing my son (born 2021) around, I'm still planning my next beach volleyball trip. After 25 years of tournaments and camps across Europe, Asia, and beyond, I finally built the tool I always wished existed.

This is that story.

Vejers Strand, Denmark - Summer 1998

I'm standing on one of 47 beach volleyball courts, completely out of my depth. It's my first national tour event, and I'm a beginner surrounded by Denmark's best indoor volleyball players who've migrated to the sand for the summer. The tournament during the day, the parties at night, the energy of hundreds of players all in one place—I was hooked instantly.

That was 25 years ago. I've been chasing that feeling ever since.

The Evolution of a Beach Volleyball Addict

For years, I played several tournaments every season across Denmark and Europe. But as life evolved—full-time jobs, responsibilities—my approach to beach volleyball shifted. I discovered beach volleyball camps.

My first camps were all business:

Preseason training to get "the ball touch" back
Intense skills work with a beach teammate
Focused preparation for competitive tournaments

Then something changed. Beach volleyball camps became less about grinding and more about living. I started using them to:

Meet new people (the Danish beach volleyball scene is small—you see the same faces every weekend)
Extend summer on both ends (Spring camps in Spain? Autumn camps in Turkey? Yes please.)
Combine active vacation with the sport I love

Over the last 20 years, most of my vacations have involved either a beach volleyball camp or at least a place where I was sure to find pickup games.

The Global Camp Tour

Traveling solo became my norm. When you're from a small beach volleyball community and want to meet international players, you go where the camps are.

My camp passport stamps:

🇪🇸 Spain (multiple times): Costa del Sol sunshine and endless courts
🇹🇷 Turkey (multiple times): Mediterranean beaches, great camps, amazing food
🇨🇺 Cuba: Caribbean vibes and surprisingly competitive play
🇦🇪 Dubai: Desert heat but world-class facilities
🇹🇭 Thailand (5 times!): Kharon Beach became my second home—training with locals and the expat community

Each trip taught me something new. Each camp had a different vibe, different coaching style, different mix of players. Some were perfect for me. Some... weren't.

The Problem I Couldn't Solve

Here's what frustrated me for 15+ years:

I never had the full picture.

When I wanted to plan my next camp trip, I'd:

Remember a camp I'd been to before → Check their website
Google "beach volleyball camp [destination]" → Click through individual organizer sites
Check my bookmarks → Browse 5-10 different camp websites
Compare dates, prices, formats manually → Make a spreadsheet
Email friends to see if anyone wanted to join → Send individual links

It was exhausting. And I knew I was missing camps I'd never heard of.

What if there was a camp in Portugal that was perfect for me, but I just didn't know it existed? What if my friends wanted to join, but coordinating was too much hassle?

The Shift: From Competitive to Community

As my focus evolved from pure competition to active vacation, my camp criteria changed:

What I used to prioritize:

Technical coaching
Partner training
Tournament prep
Skill level matching

What I prioritize now:

Good mix of training and free play
Tournament-style pickup games
Meeting new people from different countries
Destinations I haven't explored yet
Flexibility to bring non-playing friends/family (I have a son born in 2021—whole new planning dimension!)

But the tools to find these camps? Still stuck in 1998.

The Tool I Wished Existed 15 Years Ago

MyNextCamp is the directory I always wanted.

After two decades of browsing individual websites, creating comparison spreadsheets, and missing out on camps I didn't know existed, I finally built the solution.

What I needed (and built):

✅ All camps in one place - No more browsing 20 different websites ✅ Filter by what matters - Dates, location, skill level, format ✅ Easy comparison - See sessions side-by-side ✅ Quick sharing - Send a link to friends: "Want to join this one?" ✅ Save favorites - Build your shortlist, plan your season ✅ Timeline planner - See your saved camps on a calendar (coming soon)

What organizers needed:

✅ One place to list all their camps - Reach players like me who are actively searching ✅ Professional profiles - Show what makes their camps special ✅ Analytics - Understand their market position (Pro Analytics dashboard)

Who This Is For

If you're a player who:

Travels solo or with friends to beach volleyball camps
Loves meeting new people from around the world
Wants to extend your beach volleyball season beyond summer
Plans 1-3 (or more!) camp trips per year
Has spent hours browsing individual camp websites

This is for you.

If you're an organizer who:

Runs quality beach volleyball camps
Wants to reach international players
Needs better visibility in a crowded market
Wants to understand your competitive landscape

This is for you.

My Vision

I want MyNextCamp to become the first place players go when planning their next beach volleyball trip.

Not just a directory—a community. A tool that makes it easy to:

Discover camps you'd never have found otherwise
Plan your season across multiple destinations and seasons
Coordinate with friends ("Let's do Spain in Spring, Turkey in Autumn?")
Track your favorite organizers
Share recommendations with your volleyball network

I want the 2026 version of 23-year-old Rasmus standing on Vejers Strand to be able to pull out his phone and say: "Where should I play next summer?"

Join Me

Whether you're a player looking for your next adventure or an organizer running incredible camps, I'd love to have you in this community.

For players: Browse camps and start planning your next trip. For organizers: List your camps and reach players worldwide.

I built this because I needed it. I hope it helps you too.

See you on the beach somewhere.

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