13/05/2014 19:00
Swiss Beach Volleyball star Sébastien Chevallier to headline CEV Lausanne Satellite
2014 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Lausanne
Lausanne, Switzerland, May 13, 2014. The organisers of the CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite in Lausanne presented by Coop which is scheduled for June 26-29 are proud to announce that Switzerland’s Beach Volleyball star Sébastien Chevallier will also join the tournament. Chevallier will carry the hopes of the home nation to claim the first step of the podium as the CEV Satellite in Lausanne celebrates this year its 25th edition.
In order to commemorate this anniversary, the organisers are planning to have some special exhibition matches on Thursday, June 26, that will be starring, inter alia, 2004 Olympic bronze medallists Patrick Heuscher and Stefan Kobel. They will be back in action to recall the golden era of Swiss Beach Volleyball and are expected to be joined by some other players who pioneered the sport in the alpine country.
The Main Draw of the 2014 edition will then start on Friday, June 27, with Sébastien Chevallier (pictured at this year’s FIVB Shanghai Grand Slam) chasing for home glory together with partner Alexei Strasser (formerly known as Prawdzic). Chevallier will be making his fourth appearance at the CEV Satellite in Lausanne and hopes to improve on his career best result so far, a spot in the 1/4 finals. Last year he played with Rafael Bissig – his partner Mats Kovatsch was injured and could not compete – and eventually failed to make the semis. This time, teaming up with Strasser, Sébastien hopes to make it to the last stage of the competition. “Anytime I enter a tournament, I start off with the intention of winning it,” he says. “We will just take it match after match and do our best to progress to the final. If we play our best, I think we stand a fair chance to make the podium,” adds the player born in Geneva who really looks forward to playing before the home crowd including many relatives and friends. His partner Alexei Strasser was third last year in Lausanne together with Mirco Gerson.
In order to bring back some memories from the early ‘90s, i.e. the time Beach Volleyball started developing in Switzerland and also in Lausanne the organisers are preparing a special set of music and clothes from that time. On top of this, in order to improve on the records of attendance, a night-session has been re-instated for the first time since 2009. The usual amateur tournament will also take place shortly before the start of the CEV Satellite, with matches taking place at the Bellerive swimming pool on June 14.
For further information visit the official website www.beachvolleylausanne.ch
|