18/03/2016 19:54
37 pairs from eight different countries to battle on snow in Austrian Alps
2016 CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour
Wagrain-Kleinarl, Austria, March 18, 2016. Beautiful weather with lots of sunshine on the gorgeous scenery of the snowy Austrian Alps is what organisers, players and spectators alike look forward to as the second stop on the 2016 CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour is set to take place in the tourism region of Wagrain-Kleinarl on Saturday and Sunday. A total of 37 pairs from eight different countries have registered to take part in the battles for honours on the snow courts at the Ski Area Wagrain in Ski Amadé.
In the men’s tournament, Poland’s Michal Matyja, who won gold together with Czech partner Robert Kufa at the first stop of the Tour in Špindlerův Mlýn last weekend, will be trying to defend his ‘King of the Snow’ title teaming up with compatriot Rafal Matusiak. The Polish pair is the top-seeded among the 26 men’s duos that will compete in Wagrain-Kleinarl.
Florian Schnetzer, who already tested out the courts as one of the instructors at Friday’s Kids Day, and his partner Michael Leeb are the home country Austria’s best-seeded team, starting from position 2. The men’s tournament will also feature teams from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. A double-elimination format on Saturday will determine the eight best pairs to continue chasing the medals on Sunday.
On the women’s side, the line-up is once again highlighted by Italian super star from the beach Greta Cicolari. The 2011 European champion and her teammate Giulia Toti came just short of the top spot on the podium in the Czech Republic last weekend, but will make another attempt at the gold in Wagrain-Kleinarl. The Italian duo is seeded in pole position, but will not get a chance to take revenge from Silvia Poszmikova and Zuzana Vojtiskova. The Slovak-and-Czech duo triumphed in Špindlerův Mlýn, but will be absent from Wagrain-Kleinarl. Another Italian, Dalila D’Orazio, partnering with Alice Concas from Germany, is seeded second. Although the women’s tournament will feature only eleven teams, there will be a great variety of nationalities represented with players from Austria, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia also taking on the challenge. The line-up will be even sparked by the “exotic” presence of Ernesta Gruzdaite and Ivett Simon-Byrne, representing Ireland from CEV’s Small Countries Division. Saturday’s double-elimination rounds will determine the four teams that will play each other on Sunday to determine who will be in the grand final.
“The weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday is perfect,” said Thomas Morocutti, General Manager of the 2016 CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour. “So the conditions are all set for the whole weekend and we are also expecting a really big crowd up here, at the venue, which is at almost 2,000 metres above sea level. The participants will have to get used to this altitude where the oxygen level is decreasing. A lot of really good players are going to be here, so it will be a tough competition. We have a lot of good stuff up here – nice music, DJ, etc. It is going to be a good weekend for sure...”
Click here for further information and visit also the official website www.snowvolleyball.com and the Instagram account @snowvolleyball
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