25/02/2015 16:57
Continental Cup continues with eight double-gender tournaments, pool composition is set following DOL
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Men & Women
Luxembourg, February 25, 2015. The Drawing of Lots for the third round of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup was held on Monday in Luxembourg thereby determining the composition of the eight double-gender tournaments that are set to take place in early May and whose eventual winners will move on straight to the final phase of the competition scheduled for next year. As many as 32 countries per gender – accounting for a total of 34 National Federations – are still chasing their dream of making the Beach Volleyball tournament of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The third round marks also the debut of the eight highest-placed National Federations from the CEV Country Ranking that had by-passed the first phase of the competition held last year. The second and third placed teams at the end of the eight third-round tournaments that will be played once again with the format ‘country vs. country’ will continue to pursue their Olympic dream via the fourth round of the competition due to take place in August/September.
The composition of the eight third-round tournaments reads as follows:
Men
Pool A: Austria (org.), Czech Republic, Portugal, Azerbaijan – Baden (AUT), May 2-3
Pool B: Russia, Ukraine, Norway, Scotland – Baden (AUT), April 30-May 1
Pool C: Spain (org.), Belgium, Switzerland, Slovenia – Lorca (ESP), May 9-10
Pool D: Italy, France (org.), Denmark, Slovakia – Montpellier (FRA), May 9-10
Pool E: Germany, Greece (org.), Belarus, Romania – Thessaloniki (GRE), May 2-3
Pool F: Poland, Estonia, Serbia, Lithuania (org.) – Vilnius (LTU), May 2-3
Pool G: Netherlands, Finland, Cyprus (org.), Israel – Paralimni (CYP), May 9-10
Pool H: Latvia, England, Turkey (org.), Croatia – Fethiye (TUR), May 2-3
Women
Pool A: Austria (org.), Sweden, Portugal, Azerbaijan – Baden (AUT), May 1-2
Pool B: Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Scotland – Baden (AUT), April 30-May 1
Pool C: Spain (org.), Norway, Croatia, Slovenia – Lorca (ESP), May 9-10
Pool D: Italy, France (org.), Israel, Denmark – Montpellier (FRA), May 9-10
Pool E: Germany, Greece (org.), Belarus, England – Thessaloniki (GRE), May 2-3
Pool F: Czech Republic, Lithuania (org.), Slovakia, Serbia – Vilnius (LTU), May 2-3
Pool G: Netherlands, Finland, Cyprus (org.), Latvia – Paralimni (CYP), May 9-10
Pool H: Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Turkey (org.) – Fethiye (TUR), May 2-3
The top eight National Federations from the CEV Country Ranking were seeded on top of each pool and then the draw followed according to the results achieved by the remaining countries in the first and second rounds of the Continental Cup held in 2014.
The third round of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup will substantially open the 2015 Beach Volleyball season on European soil with the first series of events scheduled for the first weekend of May and more to follow one week later. The Continental Cup will stop in a few places that are well-known across the Beach Volleyball community, with the city of Baden – in the outskirts of Vienna – playing host to two pools after a Masters tournament was held there for the past few years. The Turkish seaside resort of Fethiye, the venue of the 2014 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship, will welcome another international event only a few months after last year’s premiere whilst the Continental Cup is returning to Montpellier and Vilnius after stopping there in the past. Paralimni, Cyprus, will use this competition as an opportunity to prepare for the 2015 CEV U20 Beach Volleyball European Championship scheduled for later this summer while Lorca and Thessaloniki will welcome the Continental Cup for the first time in history as well.
“The Drawing of Lots lays the foundations for a series of exciting tournaments where a good share of Europe’s Beach Volleyball elite will be performing in an effort to make it one step closer to the achievement of their Olympic dream,” CEV President André Meyer. “The Continental Cup has turned into a terrific avenue to further grow Beach Volleyball across Europe by using a format that has received positive reviews from the general public. We look forward to the events coming up in early May and thank already all the organisers for their support and hard work in the delivery of these tournaments that will mark the beginning of another memorable Beach Volleyball season.”
Click here for further information on the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup
Click here to download the document with a comprehensive overview of the DOL's results
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