24/08/2016 23:10
Thessaloniki welcomes Europe’s next golden generation
2016 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Thessaloniki, Greece, August 24, 2016. The city of Thessaloniki is ready to host the 2016 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship, which gathers the cream of the crop of Europe’s up-and-coming talents.
A total of 64 teams – 32 per gender – will fight for the European title at the Avant Garde Sports Club, which boasts three high-quality courts and is situated in Kardia village, just outside the centre of Thessaloniki. The same facilities also hosted third and fourth-round Continental Cup tournaments last year, and the Olympic qualifying events were a complete success, just as everyone hopes will happen this time, too.
The countdown started on Wednesday afternoon with the groups’ draw and Technical Meeting, which took place at Avant Garde Sports Club and where all players and members of their respective delegations were briefed about the rules and all technical aspects relating to the competition.
The games will start on Thursday – August 25 – morning as early as 08:30 local time and will continue all day long, until late in the evening.
The participating teams have been divided into eight four-team pools. All group winners will qualify directly to the Round of 16, while the second and third-placed teams of each pool will play each other hoping to continue their journey in the tournament.
The group stage will be held on Thursday and Friday, while the knock-out phase will start on Saturday – August 27 – with the Round of 16 and will conclude on Sunday, August 28 with the final matches.
There will be free entrance for the spectators throughout all four days of the tournament, and the local players hope that the public will boost their morale and help them reach the highest possible results.
Hosts Greece will have three teams in the men’s division – Angelos Mandilaris/Vasileios Mandilaris, Iason Kanellos/Vasileios Zisis and Rafail Baniotis/Georgios Terzoglou – and three more in the women’s competition – Dimitra Manavi/Ioanna Parisaki, Maria Klepkou/Paraskevi Kourtidou and Tatiana Moldovanidi/Aliki Spiliotopoulou. They will all strive to make it among the top 16 or even higher.
Brothers Angelos and Vasileios Mandilaris are happy to represent Greece and spoke about their expectations on the eve of the first competition day: “We hope to have much support from the fans and play as well as we can. Any victory will be more than welcome.”
In the women’s competition the bronze medallists from this year’s Balkan U22 Championship, Dimitra Manavi and Ioanna Parisaki, aim high in this tournament, too: “We have been waiting for this event since the beginning of the summer and we think that we have prepared in the best possible way. Last year we finished the tournament in ninth place and this time we want to reach higher. It’s a very special tournament for us, since it is held in our home town Thessaloniki, and this gives us an extra bit of motivation.”
Click here for further information including entry lists and a match schedule
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