10/03/2021 15:02
Seven 1- and 2-Star World Tour events on European soil confirmed for 2021
News from the CEV
Luxembourg, March 10, 2021. Despite the many constraints caused by the global health crisis, Beach Volleyball players can look forward to a busy and exciting 2021 season, featuring as many as seven FIVB World Tour 1-Star and 2-Star events in countries as diverse as Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovenia. The CEV will continue to liaise with National Federations and their promoters in an effort to provide Beach Volleyball players with as many opportunities as possible to compete internationally, always doing so in compliance with strict health and hygiene protocols.
Bulgaria’s capital Sofia will be playing host to as many as four double-gender tournaments throughout the summer of 2021. These will be taking place at the newly built Sofia Beach Resort & Sports Complex, which includes a hotel, eight indoor/outdoor Beach Volleyball courts, a swimming pool, a fitness room and a restaurant all located in Pancharevo, Sofia. This unprecedented series of international events aims at growing Beach Volleyball in the Balkan country. “In the last 12 months we have been able to increase the interest in Beach Volleyball because of the exceptional complexes we have built,” says Bulgarian Volleyball Federation President Lubomir Ganev. “In Bulgaria, there are a lot of wonderful places for the sport. The Bulgarian Federation will help with all that it possible to grow the game.”
A brand new facility in the outskirts of Sofia will be hosting as many as four double-gender 1-Star events in the summer of 2021
The president of the Sofia Beach Volleyball Club Yariv Lerner said, “After the success of last year’s exhibition tournament we are excited to continue developing the Bulgarian Beach Volleyball community in cooperation with the FIVB and CEV. Whilst indoor volleyball has taken a front and centre seat in the Bulgarian Volleyball community, we know that there are exceptional athletes here ready and willing to compete in Beach Volleyball too. Bulgaria is an amazing country with a lot to offer and we are excited to develop it into a world-class hub for Beach Volleyball.”
Next to the eight Sofia events, the provisional calendar for the 2021 season includes a number of other events, even at venues where the World Tour will be stopping for the very first time.
The Czech Volleyball Federation will deliver a 2-Star event in late May in Prague – where a World Tour event returns after a break of a few years. Beach Volleyball has grown in popularity in this country, especially courtesy of the results achieved by their elite women’s teams, but David Schweiner and Ondrej Perusic have become a force to reckon with in international men’s competition as well.
Later this summer, the World Tour will return to Belgium with a 1-Star double-gender event due to take place in Leuven from July 15 to 18. This will be only the second World Tour tournament ever organised in Belgium, after Knokke-Heist broke new ground to this extent in the summer of 2019.
International Beach Volleyball competition will again return to the iconic Congress Square in Ljubljana
Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana has been a regular feature on the World Tour calendar for a number of years now and their iconic downtown location will welcome back elite Beach Volleyball teams from July 27 to August 1. Last year, Ljubljana delivered the very first international (Beach) Volleyball event since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, doing so with much courage and success.
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