27/08/2014 12:43
CEV Satellite sparks Beach Volleyball fever in Jurmala and across Latvia
2014 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellites - Jurmala
Jurmala, Latvia, August 27, 2014. An elite Beach Volleyball tournament is just about to take place in Latvia, where a CEV Satellite will get underway on Thursday in the country’s most popular seaside resort, the city of Jurmala. This is the event that everyone up there in Latvia has been waiting for the whole summer and also the largest Beach Volleyball competition to take place in one of the Baltic States in the last five years. The tournament will distribute valuable FIVB/CEV ranking points and will feature all the home stars, including double European silver medallists Aleksandrs Samoilovs (pictured) and Janis Smedins, who is also a bronze medal winner from the 2012 Olympics in London.
“There is a lot of excitement and anticipation in our Volleyball community,” says Latvian Volleyball Federation Vice-President Maris Pekalis, who is also a member of the CEV Board of Administration. “We have shown that we deserved to get the organisation of this event. I have to stress that some rules will be tested during this tournament as it was already the case in other CEV Satellites this year,” he added while addressing the local media. “The matches will be played in a best-of-five format, with each set up to 15 points. If necessary, a tie-break is played up to seven points. The players will be allowed to ask for three time-outs per match. I do hope that the stands will be full and we also expect a strong performance from our teams.”
“This is only a first step towards our ultimate goal, since in the future we would like to organise a Masters or even a Grand Slam tournament,” said the Director of the Jurmala City Council Sports Department, Indra Brinkmane. “However, for the time being we are happy that we can organise this Satellite. Our white-quartz beach which spreads for more than 30 km is an ideal venue for a Beach Volleyball competition.”
The trophy for the eventual winners of the tournament was designed by a local glass artist, Ieva Stradzina, who has done the same for previous Beach Volleyball events held in Latvia. The trophy is made of glass and standing on a white, wooden base.
“The city logo of Jurmala features the same colours as the Mikasa beach volleyballs,” said Andris Blaka, a Board member at the Latvian Volleyball Federation. “Therefore our artist decided to re-create the same effects also on the trophy that will be awarded to the winners of the tournament. As you know, if it wasn’t for this ball, the tournament wouldn’t take place here in Jurmala and the eventual winners on Sunday will be the ones who have showed they are the masters at handling this ball. The trophies for the second and third-placed teams will include sand grains from our beach here in Jurmala.”
Latvia will be represented in the competition by its strongest players, including Aleksandrs Samoilovs, Janis Smedins, Martins Plavins, and Ruslans Sorokins. A 2,000-seat stadium is being set up on the beach of Jurmala for the tournament that will get underway on Thursday and whose programme also includes a series of Beach Volleyball training sessions for which lots of fans have already signed up.
Click here for more information or visit the official website http://jurmala.beachvolley.lv
The CEV Satellite is being promoted also on Facebook (see here) and Twitter (click here)
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