13/03/2014 12:00
CEV Masters to highlight summer season in Biel/Bienne
2014 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Biel/Bienne Masters
Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, March 13, 2014. A good share of Europe’s Beach Volleyball elite will come together from August 6 through 10 in Biel/Bienne for the first edition of the CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship – Biel/Bienne Masters also known as the “BEACHMANIA”. The second edition of this tournament is already scheduled for the summer of 2015 before Biel/Bienne plays host to the European Beach Volleyball Championship Final in 2016, only a few weeks before the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The CEV Beach Volleyball Masters in Biel/Bienne is the second major international tournament taking place this year in Switzerland, thereby joining the FIVB Grand Slam in Gstaad. This year the Biel/Bienne Masters will follow the previous stops of the European Championship set to take place in Baden (Austria), Rome (Italy), and Novi Sad (Serbia). It is also the first time – since a few years – that the European Championship will be visiting Switzerland, the last CEV event dating back to 2008 as the then European Championship Tour had stopped in Lucerne.
The dates are ideal with a break in the FIVB World Tour likely to help attract Europe’s top players to Biel/Bienne. Quite evidently the host country will be represented by its best duos, including Switzerland’s best Beach Volleyball player and Tournament Ambassador Nadine Zumkehr: “It is always very motivating if you are given the chance to play some of the best players in the world before your family and friends,” she says. “The fact that on our way to Rio 2016 we are going to compete three times in Biel/Bienne is simply sensational,” adds Sébastien Chevallier, who hails from this neighbourhood and will therefore count on the full support of the people from Biel/Bienne.
With the FIVB Grand Slam taking place in Gstaad, the Biel/Bienne Masters and the Swiss national championship taking place in Bern this year, the Canton of Bern is asserting its role as Switzerland’s Beach Volleyball “Mecca”.
The Mayor of Biel/Bienne, Erich Fehr, is evidently proud that his city will be in the spotlight for three years in a row: “Our city was chosen at the end of a tender featuring a series of strong competitors. We fought very hard in order to win this chance to organise three international tournaments and we believe that Biel/Bienne will provide an ideal setting for Europe’s Beach Volleyball elite as well as to all the fans. We are looking forward to setting up an event that will turn into a memorable experience and will go beyond the tournament in itself.”
The President of Swiss Volley Christoph Stern can only agree: “This bilingual region is just the perfect venue for a Beach Volleyball tournament with its promenade and wonderful view on the lake. We are convinced that the promoter 4sports & Entertainment AG will provide – together with the City of Biel – ideal conditions for an unforgettable Beach Volleyball party here in Switzerland. We will start with the Masters Tournaments in 2014 and 2015 before the major highlight coming up in 2016 with the European Championship Final.”
The fans and all those who will visit the Masters will get much more to enjoy than just a Beach Volleyball tournament. The organisers and the City of Biel have pulled together an entertainment programme that includes, inter alia, the traditional fireworks festival known as the “Big Bang” while on the evening before the start of the tournament the centre court will turn into the perfect stage for a series of music legends.
Tournament Director and former international Beach Volleyball star Sascha Heyer (pictured) says: “Last year’s European Championship in Klagenfurt and the 2007 FIVB World Championship held in Gstaad have set the bar really high for all future organisers. However, this contributes extra motivation for me and my team because we want to live up to everyone’s expectations. We are working very hard in order to achieve the ambitious goals we have set.” The organisers are still looking for hundreds of volunteers who are needed in order to turn the BEACHMANIA into an unforgettable experience for players and fans alike.
The budget for the 2014 edition of the Biel/Bienne Masters stands at approximately 2 million CHF. Heyer can count on some solid partners such as Coop and BKW. “Beach Volleyball is incredibly dynamic and inspires the audience by providing the fans with loads of emotions,” says the PR Manager of Coop Désirée Schmid. “We have been supporting this sport for many years already and our proud to continue our commitment by joining forces with the organisers of the 2014 CEV Beach Volleyball Masters in Biel/Bienne, a partnership that will be lasting for three years.”
For further information visit www.beachmania.ch and www.facebook/com/beachmania.ch
Tickets to attend the 2014 Biel/Bienne Masters BEACHMANIA are already available at www.ticketcorner.ch
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