Luxembourg, February 18, 2020.  Welcome to today’s issue of Snow Weekly, CEV’s digest of news from the exciting world of Snow Volleyball, set to come out every Tuesday throughout the CEV European Tour season.




SNOW KINGS

With the first two events of the CEV European Tour already in the past, the race for the 2020 King of the Snow title is now well underway. As many as eight Russian players - Adel Kayumov, Nikolai Polikarpov, Ruslan Daianov, Viktor Markov, Vitalii Shabalin, Vladislav Mikhalev, Vsevolod Bobrikov and King of the Snow 2019 Yury Bogatov - the members of the two teams that met in the finals at both the Tsakhkadzor and the Bakuriani European Tour events, are currently sharing the top position in the rankings.




SNOW QUEENS

The four members of the Russian national team are clearly in the lead for the 2020 Queen of the Snow title. Having pocketed gold at both stops on this year’s European Tour so far, Anastasiia Pavlova, Arina Iarantceva, Elizaveta Novikova and reigning Queen of the Snow 2019 Olga Motrich top the current rankings together.




SNOWFLAKES

• Teams from host country Georgia won both the women’s and the men’s gold medals at the EEVZA Zonal Eastern European Tour event that took place in Bakuriani on Wednesday and Thursday. Read more...



• The first edition of the Ostersund Winterpark Snow Volley Festival was held in Sweden over the weekend with the participation of over 100 people. Read more...

• The second event on Snow Volley Italia’s 2020 calendar unfolded in Roccaraso on Saturday and Sunday with the team of Falconalcol winning a set by 35-33 in the men’s final and the four girls from Campari triumphing on the women’s side. See more...




SNOWMAN
Presenting Snow Volleyball rookie Daniel Petrov

Daniel Petrov was born on July 7, 1991 in Chatillon sur Seine, France to Bulgarian parents. At the age of eight, he was introduced to indoor Volleyball by his father. For 10 years he played professionally as a setter for a number of French teams, including top-division Arago de Sete and GFC Ajaccio Volley. The 191-cm-tall playmaker made his official Snow Volleyball debut in late January of this year, at the first stop on the 2020 CEV European Tour in Tsakhkadzor, Armenia as a member of the first-ever French national team. In their very first match, France surprisingly defeated the eventual gold medallists from Russia and later finished the tournament in fifth place. Days later, in their second tournament on the snow, Petrov and his teammates did even better, reaching the semifinals of the European Tour stop in Bakuriani, Georgia, outplaying teams from Italy and Russia along the way. Following this successful start of his Snow Volleyball career, Daniel quickly climbed up to number 48 in the individual CEV ranking, together with his two teammates.


Daniel Petrov (in the middle) with his French teammates, Iskander El-Ghouti (left) and Julien Saint-Vanne, in Tsakhkadzor

Daniel Petrov: “My parents are Bulgarian but I was born in France, in a small town in Burgundy. It is for this reason that my brother and I have dual Franco-Bulgarian nationalities. I started Volleyball very early, at the age of eight, because my father was a player and then a coach. I have always had parallel studies during my Volleyball career and last year I decided to quit Volleyball because I launched my own digital marketing agency in Ajaccio. This summer, a friend of mine told me that he wanted to build a Snow Volleyball team and without much conviction I told him that I was interested. I didn’t think things would happen so fast. A few weeks later the president of the French national federation registered us for our first tournaments. In France there is a real 3x3 culture, even if the rules are not exactly the same. That’s helped us a lot during our first tournaments. We finished fifth in Tsakhkadzor and fourth in Bakuriani. It's a sport that I discovered two weeks ago and I fell in love with it! I feared the cold, but it does not interfere if you are well equipped. The atmosphere during the tournaments is just exceptional and there is a very good relationship between all the players. For this first year, I’d really like to come back home with a European Championship medal from Austria, and we will work for it...”




SNOW TOPS






SNOW PATH

• For the first time in the history of the CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour, it will hold an event in Slovakia. The third double-gender stop on the 2020 Tour is set to take place this week, from February 22 through 23, in Donovaly. 16 men’s and 10 women’s teams from 10 different countries have registered to compete. Follow the event here...

• Also in Donovaly, on Friday, the national championship of Slovakia will be held. Find out more...

• The national federation of Romania will organise the first edition of a Romanian national championship from Thursday through Sunday in Azuga. Find out more...

• The national championship of Sweden will take place on Saturday in Ostersund. Find out more...

• The first event on the France Snow-Volley Tour is scheduled on Saturday and Sunday in Merdassier (Manigod). Find out more...

• A Snow Volleyball tournament will be held on Saturday and Sunday in Sasolas, Switzerland. Find out more...




SNOW SPARKLES








Snow Weekly - February 11, 2020
Snow Weekly - February 4, 2020
Snow Weekly - January 28, 2020
CEV Snow Volleyball Calendar
CEV Snow Volleyball Ranking
CEV Snow Volleyball News
CEV Snow Volleyball Info
CEV Snow Volleyball on Facebook
CEV Snow Volleyball on Twitter
CEV Snow Volleyball on YouTube

PS. National federations, Snow Volleyball promoters, teams and players, feel free to send us your SNOWFLAKES to be included in the next issues of Snow Weekly to news@cev.eu.