05/09/2016 00:25
Jurmala Masters cements Latvia’s status as Beach Volleyball paradise
2016 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Jurmala Masters
Jurmala, Latvia, September 5, 2016. The 2016 edition of the CEV Jurmala Masters was a huge success. To cap a fabulous week, the organisers of the tournament could not ask for anything better than a sunny day, a sell-out crowd and a men’s final match featuring home stars Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins, who eventually stood on top of the podium and were awarded by the country’s Head of State, Raimonds Vējonis. The Latvian party was completed by the bronze medal won by Martins Plavins and Haralds Regza. The citizens of the Baltic country can now start looking forward to the 2017 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final that Jurmala will be hosting next summer.
Latvia’s Head of State had announced already a while ago his intention to attend the final act of the Jurmala Masters and spoke fondly of Beach Volleyball following completion of the tournament. “Our Beach Volleyball players have become real ambassadors of our country to the world and with their outstanding performances they make Latvia’s name more known and familiar to a global audience,” Mr Vējonis said.
A former basketball player, Mr Vējonis already paid a visit to last year’s CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship in Riga where Tina Graudina and Paula Neciporuka won gold for the Baltic country. “Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins are understandably the big names in Latvian Beach Volleyball but I am happy that young players have also been very successful and achieved remarkable results at a number of age-group competitions, so the future looks bright for Beach Volleyball in our country,” he continued. “I very much hope that our women will soon become as successful as our men’s teams and hopefully one day Latvia will celebrate another European Championship title also in the women’s senior competition,” Mr Vējonis said.
Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis posing with a t-shirt and baseball cap produced for the fans of Beach Volleyball stars, 2015 European champions and winners of the 2016 Jurmala Masters Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins
Inguna Minusa and Inese Jursone claimed a historic European crown for Latvia in 2009 in Sochi but recently Latvian players have left their mark especially at age-group events, with Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka netting the gold medal at the U22 European Championship contested in Thessaloniki only a week ago. Graudina and Kravcenoka were Latvia’s best women’s team in Jurmala as they reached the quarter-finals before losing to one of three German duos that monopolised the podium.
Everyone is already looking forward to next year’s European Championship Final and Mr Vējonis – a politician who is highly regarded by all Latvians for his friendly demeanour and as a result is seen as a people’s President – is also counting the days to the next major highlight to take place on Latvian soil: “I hope that the championship will further raise the international profile of Latvia and attract many fans from abroad, not only from the neighbouring countries,” he said. “I hope many will come, visit and discover our country thanks to Beach Volleyball. Latvia is a nation which offers ideal conditions for practicing this sport, with about 500 km of beaches. The organisation of the European Championship will surely further promote and grow Beach Volleyball in our country.”
Anyone who has been to Jurmala this week can only agree with the Latvian Head of State and join the ranks of those who affirm that the Baltic country is becoming a real ‘Beach Volleyball paradise.’
Click here for more info including detailed results, final standing and much more
|