22/08/2016 17:35
CEV Satellite to raise international profile of Kisakallio Sports Institute
2016 CEV Satellite - Kisakallio
Lohja, Finland, August 22, 2016. Kisakallio Sports Institute is an ideal place for top athletes. It is located in the city of Lohja, just less than a one-hour drive from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The campus offers a peaceful atmosphere and top-level training facilities along with several other activities. The CEV women’s Beach Volleyball Satellite taking place later this week at Kisakallio from Thursday to Sunday is the next step for the Finnish Volleyball Association and Kisakallio Sports Institute in their joint efforts to develop this fast-rising sport in Finland. The organisation of the tournament is also perfectly in line with the strategic vision of the institute.
“One key point of our strategic vision is to organise international events. We, as an official training centre of Finnish Beach Volleyball, want to help our players reach the highest level in the world. This kind of home tournament meets very well these criteria,” says Asko Härkönen, the principal of Kisakallio Sports Institute.
The organisation of the CEV Satellite is a real milestone on the road to fulfil this mission. “The cooperation with Kisakallio has been very productive. Everything is close at the campus. This tournament is one clear step forward in our agreement and cooperation,” comments Sini Rönnqvist, the Tournament Director who works at the Finnish Volleyball Association.
The CEV Kisakallio Satellite will feature a 16-team main draw and will be played according to the double elimination system. Eight teams are already seeded in the Main Draw and another 16 will be fighting for the eight remaining spots at stake in a qualification round. Last year Finnish duos Riikka Lehtonen/Taru Lahti and Essi Hasu/Anniina Parkkinen took gold and silver when Kisakallio played host to a NEVZA zonal event.
Finland’s head coach Kai Liukkonen is confident his teams will do well on home sand even though earlier this summer they failed to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics. “A home tournament always gives an extra boost to our athletes to show their best. I believe that there will be at least one blue-and-white team standing on the podium,” Liukkonen says.
One of the top women’s teams in Finland, Ida Sinisalo/Niina Ahtiainen, will unfortunately not be able to compete at Kisakallio. The two-time under-age European medallists are travelling to Thessaloniki, Greece where later this week they will represent Finland at the 2016 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship along with Santeri Siren/Miro Määttänen who are set to join the men’s competition.
The CEV Kisakallio Satellite will start this coming Thursday, August 25 before reaching its climax on Sunday, August 28 when the semi-finals and finals will be played.
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