17/07/2017 20:44
Kazan ready for #EuroBeachVolleyU18 after successfully hosting All-Russian Beach Games
News from the National Federations
Kazan, Russia, July 17, 2017. The third edition of the All-Russian Beach Games took place in the Republic of Tatarstan and more specifically in the city of Kazan from July 6 to 16. Russia’s Beach Volleyball Cup was included in the programme of the Games as well and the competition served as some kind of a dress rehearsal for the CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship, which will take place at the same venue in Kazan from August 23 to 27, 2017.
As many as 32 men’s and 23 women’s teams fought for the medals at the local Beach Centre in Kazan. The participants included also a number of players representing the teams competing in the Russian Superleague since clubs are expected to send their delegation to the annual Beach Volleyball Cup as well.
Dmitry Barsuk/Maksim Khudyakov from the Moscow Region and Yulia Abalakina/Ksenia Dabizha from Moscow were the eventual winners of the competition. The women’s final was especially an exciting one, since Abalakina/Dabizha came back from 15-20 in the first set to score seven points in a row and in the end took it 22-20. After Maria Prokopeva and Anastasia Barsuk set the pace early in the second set, Abalakina and Dabizha came from behind once again to turn the course of the match and crown their campaign with gold – a special achievement for Dabizha who had celebrated her birthday only one day before.
“It is not the first time that a Beach Volleyball competition has taken place in Kazan. In 2013 we hosted a major Beach Volleyball tournament during the Summer Universiade, and before that the city also hosted a qualifying round of the CEV Continental Cup and other Russian and international events. I am glad that after four years Beach Volleyball of the highest level has returned to the capital of Tatarstan, to one of the most important sports cities in Russia,” said Ilya Volodarskiy, CEO of the All-Russian Beach Sports Association and a member of the European Beach Volleyball Commission.
“We were able to see that everything is in place for the U18 European Championships, since the whole infrastructure was tested, the personnel received the necessary training, so we are looking forward to the end of August to demonstrate once again the highest level of organisation and to receive all participants with a warm welcome,” he concluded.
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