13/08/2013 22:00
Cream of the crops in European Beach Volleyball makes its way to Varna
2013 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Varna, Bulgaria, August 13, 2013. The 128 best European Beach Volleyball players under the age of 22 are already making their way to the city of Varna on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria for the upcoming 2013 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship presented by Mtel. As the organizers proudly announced during today’s official launch press conference, the most promising young hopefuls from 28 European countries will join the battles for the continental crowns August 15 through 18 on the Yuzhen (South) beach. ”This will be the top Beach Volleyball event that has ever taken place in Bulgaria,” Tournament Director Tosho Stoyanov announced to the attending media.
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”This is an age category that is really close to that of mature players. The top players of this annual event are sometimes among the top ten in the world, so this is a really important European title”, CEV Technical Supervisor Michel Everaert stated. ”This is also the breeding place of the heroes of the future.”
”Beach Volleyball is a key pillar in the sponsoring strategy of Mtel”, Marketing Director of the leading Bulgarian telecom operator Andreas Elsner added. ”It is fast and thrilling and perfectly fits our new brand.”
Some of the key participants in the European Championship were also presented at the press conference. Among them was Finland’s 20-year old Taru Lahti who finished 7th at the 2012 World Tour Open for women in Thailand, as well as Andreas Takvam/Runar Sannarnes from Norway, silver medal winners from the 2011 FIVB U19 World Championship in Croatia. They expressed their satisfaction with the perfect conditions that Varna offers them for the upcoming competition.
Of course, the presentation of the four Bulgarian teams was the highlight of today’s event. Ivana Boyanova/Dzhesika Nikolova and Teodora Simeonova/Nikol Nikolova will represent the host country in the women’s competition while Toma Stankov/Silvestar Ivanov and Martin Ivanov/Branimir Grozdanov will excite the home fans in Varna on the men’s side.
These are all newly formed duos that have played together since only the start of this season, but they have shown their potential in domestic and zonal competitions. While Ivanov/Grozdanov took bronze from Bulgaria’s Senior Men’s National Championship, Stankov/Ivanov and Boyanova/Nikolova came back from the U22 Balkan Championship with silver medals. ”We did our best to prepare for this European Championship as well as time allowed,” they said. ”We know that some other teams may be better prepared, but the fact that we are playing at home will motivate us even further to vie for the podium spots in the final ranking.”
The 2013 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship will be streamed live on LAOLA1.tv here.
Click here for more detailed information on the Championship.
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