19/05/2015 23:50
Jurmala Masters set to make Beach Volleyball history
2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Jurmala Masters
Jurmala, Latvia, May 19, 2015. The President of the FIVB, Dr Ary S. Graça F°, and CEV President André Meyer are both due to travel to Latvia later this week to attend the inaugural Jurmala Masters, first stop of this year’s CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship. They will witness a real Beach Volleyball party which is due to take place on Majori beach and where a good share of Europe’s elite of this sport is set to compete.
A majestic five-storey Beach Volleyball stadium that can seat as many as 2,330 fans has been set up right by the Baltic Sea on Majori beach in Jurmala, Latvia’s most popular seaside and holiday resort. The first players from abroad to arrive in Jurmala were the members of the Israeli delegation who travelled to Latvia already on Sunday and have already enjoyed the opportunity to practice on the white sand of Majori beach together with the home teams of Latvia. The competition will get underway on Wednesday with the Country Quota playoff matches involving pairs from Latvia, Norway and Austria.
The chairman of the Jurmala City Council, Mr Gatis Truksnis, was pleased to address the media on Tuesday and to inform the attendees that the tournament will mark the opening of a terrific summer season for the seaside resort. “On Saturday, right by the time the Jurmala Masters enters its climax with the Main Draw matches our city will celebrate the start of the summer season with the Jurmala Resort Festival. The stage for the festival will be set up for the very first time on the beach, right next to the Beach Volleyball stadium. After attending the exciting matches of the Jurmala Masters, I invite all fans to celebrate the opening of the summer season with us right on the beach and to enjoy the fireworks show that will follow,” Truksnis said. “I am pleased that this year we can offer to our residents and guests such a terrific opening of the summer season with our Resort Festival running at the same time as the largest and most important Beach Volleyball tournament ever held in the Baltic States.”
The President of the Latvian Volleyball Federation, Mr Atis Sausnitis, stressed that by hosting this tournament Latvia is making sporting history for the entire Baltic region: “I hope that in a few years we will be able to raise the level of the competition here in Jurmala even higher, maybe by hosting the European Championship Final and after that by welcoming a stop of the FIVB World Tour, which may be an Open or Grand Slam, to continue then with the World Championships. Last year, when we hosted a Satellite, we said that we did not want this to be a one-off, stand-alone event, so for this reason this year we have made a step forward, something which was made possible with the help of local organisations and private businesses. I would like to thank the Jurmala City Council and the Latvian National Sports Council for their support. To organise this tournament we have brought together a group of qualified people and so I have no doubt that the Masters will be organised at a very high level. All the necessary pre-conditions – our world-class athletes, their successes, the work done so far and the support from governmental institutions – are there.”
The CEV Technical Supervisor, Mr Tosho Stoyanov of Bulgaria, said that Latvia is experiencing a ‘golden era’ for Beach Volleyball. “I am visiting Latvia for the first time and many things have already surprised me in a positive way. This is the first Masters tournament ever held in the Baltic countries and the tournament will be visited by the FIVB and CEV Presidents, Dr Graça and Mr Meyer. On top of this, Mr Sausnitis and Mr Marius Vasiliauskas, President of the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation, will also attend. My colleagues from the CEV have told me that last year’s Satellite was organised in a perfect way. My main goal for this week here in Jurmala is to supervise the organisation of a terrific Beach Volleyball party.”
Mr Maris Pekalis, Vice President of the Latvian Volleyball Federation and CEV Board of Administration member, added: “The most important criterion to measure the success of any event, including the Jurmala Masters, is the number of spectators in attendance. Therefore I invite all fans to come to the beach and support all players not only on the final days, but also right from the start of the tournament, when the Country Quota playoff and qualification matches will be played.”
Starting from the quarterfinals, the matches of the Jurmala Masters will be broadcast across Latvia by TV 6, whilst live streaming will be provided for free by LAOLA1.tv for the global audience. As for the matches of the Latvian teams, starting from pool play on Friday, these will be available on LMT network mobile phones as well as on the Internet at http://straume.lmt.lv, http://delfi.lv and http://sportacentrs.com
Click here for further information or visit the official website http://jurmala.beachvolley.lv
Visit also the official Facebook page and Twitter account of the Jurmala Masters
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