04/08/2015 13:51
Next stop in Biel/Bienne for Europe’s Beach Volleyball elite
2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Biel/Bienne Masters
Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, August 4, 2015. Only a couple of days after completion of this year’s CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final in Klagenfurt, Europe’s Beach Volleyball fans have already their eyes on Biel/Bienne as the action is about to begin at the 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Biel/Bienne Masters with the first qualification matches taking place on Wednesday.
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The 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship – Biel/Bienne Masters is being covered extensively also on Twitter and Facebook with the official hashtags being #EuroBeachVolley and #Beachmania
A mere three days after the CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final took place in Klagenfurt, Europe’s Beach Volleyball fans are looking forward to following another major tournament unfold on the breath-taking shores of Lake Biel.
2014 gold medallists Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira are once more the favourites to add this year’s championship to their haul, but German duo Alexander Walkenhorst/Clemens Wickler, France’s Youssef Krou/Romain Di Giantommaso as well as Italy’s twins Matteo and Paolo Ingrosso are poised to threaten the Spaniards’ dreams of back-to-back titles.
In the men’s competition the hopes of host nation Switzerland will be carried by Sébastien Chevallier/Marco Krattiger, Nico Beeler/Alexei Strasser and reigning national champions Philip Gabathuler/Mirco Gerson.
In the women’s competition, on the other hand, Switzerland can dare to dream of another podium finish after the silver medal won by Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Vergé-Dépré in last year’s tournament. Nevertheless, the Swiss hopes are not just pinned on one set of shoulders: local heroines Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr, Baku 2015 European Games gold medallists Nina Betschart and Nicole Eiholzer as well as promising youngsters Dunja Gerson/Tanya Guerra Arias-Schmocker could still provide the hosts with a reason to dream of more success for the host country.
After an exciting build-up, the eagerly-awaited tournament will finally kick off on Wednesday (August 5) with the first qualification matches taking place on the centre and side courts. The tournament will then begin to heat up as the main draw matches start on Thursday (August 6). The quarterfinals are due to follow on Friday (August 7) and will continue into the weekend. A hectic Saturday schedule in front of the TV cameras will include the last of the quarterfinals as well as the women’s semi-finals, with the men’s semis and all medal matches – for both men and women – then crowning the tournament on Sunday (August 9).
Thus, the stage is set for a breath-taking week, with European Beach Volleyball on show at its absolute finest. With the opening qualification showdowns taking place on Wednesday, Beach Volleyball fans have plenty of reasons to be excited. Tournament Director and former European Beach Volleyball champion Sascha Heyer is confident that Swiss Beach Volleyball fans will create a partisan atmosphere in the arena this week: “The first Beachmania tournament has already showed the extent of the enthusiasm amongst Volleyball fans and the general public in Biel, as well as the fact that they are capable of creating a great atmosphere within the 3,000-capacity Beach Arena. We are going to celebrate a real Beach Volleyball party,” he said.
It is evident that the city of Biel is finding itself gripped by Beachmania fever in anticipation of tomorrow’s opening games, and indeed the fans are expected to flood through the gates of the arena throughout the week, turning out in their numbers already on the opening day to begin the tournament in style.
On top of this, the Masters event is the perfect rehearsal for next year’s CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final that will also take place in Biel/Bienne.
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