Kronplatz / Plan de Corones, Italy, April 10, 2017. The 2017 edition of the CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour reached its climax this past weekend with its seventh and last stop. The breath-taking scenery of Kronplatz / Plan de Corones provided the ideal stage for players to test out their skills on the snow – and some did that for the very first time – and also for the crowning of the 2017 ‘King and Queen(s) of the Snow’.
As many as four Snow Volleyball courts were available at Kronplatz / Plan de Corones for the final stop of the European Tour – with matches taking place at an elevation of 2,275 m, which accounts for the highest ‘peak’ of the 2017 season. All players agreed that the scenery and background were just idyllic and somehow unmatchable – and this makes Kronplatz a truly unique spot on the European Snow Volleyball map.
The centre court was set up right at the feet of the iconic Concordia 2000, a huge bell weighing more than 18 tons, one of the real landmarks of this Alpine resort where every winter thousands of skiers and winter sportspeople travel to in order to relax and have fun surrounded by the Dolomites.
Even though the winter season is approaching its end, many skiers stopped by to know more about Snow Volleyball and the European Tour. The sport is still ‘young’ but a truly fascinating experience for all involved, starting with the players. “This is the coolest place on the Tour,” 2017 King of the Snow Michal Matyja said, and many other competitors echoed his words of appraisal, including the Russian teams – Yury Bogatov/Ruslan Dayanov and Ksenia Khakimzyanova/Ekaterina Syrtseva – who stood on top of the podium on Sunday.
Matyja is a real Snow Volleyball pioneer and after competing at five stops of this year’s European Tour and despite a last-minute change of partner for the event in Kronplatz – Karol Szczepanik stepped in for Piotr Janiak – he was able to retain a crown he had previously claimed in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Michal – whose only international appearance beside Snow Volleyball dates back to 2005 when he won a bronze medal at the Youth Beach Volleyball World Championships alongside Grzegorz Fijalek – still has not disclosed any plans for the future but he is most likely to return in 2018 in an effort to cement his leading role in this ‘young’ sport.
Anna Dostalova and Michaela Knoblochova knew already before travelling to Kronplatz that they would take the title of ‘Queens of the Snow’ and even though they had to settle for the bronze medal after losing a dramatic semi-final to Greta Cicolari and Alice Bertolaso of Italy, the Czechs were absolutely delighted with their crown. Anna and Michaela are the first Czech players – regardless of gender – to achieve this feat. “We played at five tournaments and we had a lot of fun and actually we would have played in Turkey as well if the dates were not announced quite late and had not made other plans for those weekends,” Knoblochova said. “We just love playing on the snow and we look forward to coming back again next year.”
For further information on the European Tour, click here or visit www.snowvolleyball.com