04/08/2013 16:30
Klagenfurt has raised the bar to new heights for Beach Volleyball, says CEV President
News from the CEV
Klagenfurt, Austria, August 4, 2013. Drawing the line at the end of a memorable week, CEV President André Meyer was evidently more than satisfied with what he did see here in Klagenfurt. “Sometimes this sounds a little bit rhetorical, but this was surely the best European Championship ever” he said addressing a large crowd of media who had got together shortly before the final matches of the men’s tournament.
“I would like to thank the organizers and their staff for the outstanding job they did here in Klagenfurt. It was not my first time here but I can proudly say that we’re right as we decided to join forces and have this year’s European Championship here on the shores of the lake Wörthersee. I would like to thank all the media who have followed the Championship so closely and did work hard for the past few days. That was the best spot we could get for our sport and of course we are open to come back to Carinthia anytime in the future. Coming down to the results, the fact that the world champions were out from the race for the medals quite early in the tournament testifies that the level in Europe has never been as high as it is now. I also hope that the gold medal that Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger won yesterday will motivate more and more young people in Austria to take up Beach Volleyball and possibly embark on a professional career”.
The President of the Austrian Volleyball Federation (OeVV), Peter Kleinmann, was also happy to share some figures of the Championship: “Yesterday as ORF was airing the final game of the Championship starring the Schwaiger sisters we got a share of 17%, something that is absolutely remarkable. We did write history in Austria and for Beach Volleyball in Europe as well. The gold medal of our players is on the front page of three national newspapers, so I am also overwhelmed with what we have achieved this week. Of course I have to thank CEV for they always show their confidence in our ability to deliver first-class events. That was the third major Championship Austria has hosted in the last three years. We started with the 2011 EuroVolley that we co-hosted with our neighbours from the Czech Republic, last year we did continue with the U20 Beach Volleyball European Champs in Hartberg and this time we had the real highlight of the summer season here in Klagenfurt. This is really amazing for a small country like Austria that is working hard to make sure Volleyball and Beach Volleyball are regularly drawn to the attention of the general public and especially of the youngsters”.
The chair of the local Organizing Committee, the man behind the success story of what the media have christened the “world’s Beach Volleyball capital”, Hannes Jagerhofer, was also pleased to disclose some figures from a few days that have raised Beach Volleyball and the European Championship to unprecedented heights: “We started out strong already this past Tuesday with 7,600 people in attendance on the first day of the tournament. In the end we estimate that more than 150,000 people were here coming in and going out the area around the centre court”.
As the curtain falls in Klagenfurt, the CEV President stressed that next year Europe’s Beach Volleyball elite will get together in one of the most iconic and exclusive venues in the world, the Foro Italico in Rome where a memorable edition of the World Championships was held two years ago.
|