Alanya, Turkey, July 13, 2017.  On the eve of the main draw tournament at the 2017 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Alanya Masters, the Mayor of Alanya Murat Yucel, the Vice President of the Turkish Volleyball Federation Alper Sedat Aslandas, the CEO of Teleferik Holding, one of the competition’s main sponsors, Ilker Cumbul and the CEV Technical Supervisor Ruta Millere-Celmina took part in a kick-off press conference at Kleopatra Beach.

"We are very happy to welcome these athletes and their technical teams from all over the continent to the most beautiful city of the world," said Mayor Yucel. “Hosting a Masters tournament for the first time in our country is a unique opportunity to promote Alanya. So I would like to express my gratitude to Teleferik Holding, to the Turkish Volleyball Federation and to the European Volleyball Confederation for their contribution to the realisation of this event in Alanya. I wish all the athletes to be successful in the tournament and I hope that beautiful encounters will take place. I invite the people of Alanya to fill the tribunes and enjoy the games."

Emphasising the importance of tourism diversity, Teleferik Holding Chairman Cumbul noted that in the winter the company also sponsored the CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour event in Uludag. “And now we are together in Alanya,” he said. “We want to contribute as much as we can to tourism and sports. We hope that a beautiful tournament will take place here this week."

“We are guests to the city of Alanya for this women's Beach Volleyball European Championship stop,” said TVF Vice President Aslandas, who made the opening speech to the many representatives of the media that attended the press conference. “23 teams from 15 countries are participating and a total of 25,000 euros in cash prizes will be distributed. Bugra Eryildiz and Merve Celebi are the duo that will represent our country in this tournament. This weekend we are also organising a CEV Youth Continental Cup event here and I believe that both tournaments will be very well organised. I would like to once again thank the Alanya Municipality, the Alanya Tourist Operators Association (ALTID) and Alanya Teleferik for supporting us in the best possible way with this organisation. Alanya becomes a very important Beach Volleyball centre again. I hope that after this tournament there will be many more to come to Alanya."

"On behalf of the European Volleyball Confederation, I would like to express my gratitude to all those contributing to the organisation,” CEV Technical Supervisor Millere-Celmina added. “We are happy to have a Masters tournament at this nice venue, on this wonderful beach, in this beautiful city. I hope that a lot of spectators will fill the stands and spend three wonderful Beach Volleyball days...”

Engage with the 2017 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Alanya Masters on social media by using the competition’s official hashtag #EuroBeachVolley.

Click here for more information on the Alanya Masters.

Engage with the 2017-2018 CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup on social media by using the competition’s official hashtag #CEVContinentalCup.

Click here for more information on the Youth Continental Cup.