Disentis, Switzerland, March 10, 2017. Blessed by warm sunny weather, the Snow Volleyball Kids Day held on the eve of this weekend’s 2017 CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour event brought to the children of Disentis their first encounter with this new exciting sport, and, along with that, a lot of fun in the snow.

About 25 kids, aged between 10 and 13, joined the crew on a gorgeous Friday afternoon, and for them it was love at first sight with Snow Volleyball. The instructors from the promoting company Chaka2 showed the children some of the ins and outs of the attractive winter discipline and taught them how to handle the ball. The kids not only got to try Snow Volleyball on centre court, they did so in the company of the reigning ‘King of the Snow’ Michal Matyja and his partner for this weekend’s tournament Maciej Klimas, who had just arrived from Poland. The two professional players also had the opportunity to join a fun training session, in the company of the cheerful young hopefuls.

“I think this event gives the kids a lot. On one hand, it is very special for them to play on snow. On the other, they get to play with some of the best Snow Volleyball athletes,” said their teacher Geon Tenner. “They are definitely having fun - I can see it on their faces.”

13-year-old Jannick Najen, from Disentis, was fascinated: “It was awesome! We laughed a lot. I really like Volleyball, because you can play together with friends; it is teamwork. That is really nice. I like strategy games,” he explained. “I always saw people playing on the sand, but snow – that’s something new! I would be happy to play again in the future.”

“I am not a sporty person, but it was fun,” added 12-year-old Alexia from Romania, who recently moved to Disentis with her family. “Snow Volleyball is cool. It is awesome, something out of the ordinary! I like the fact that you can play on the snow and play a sport at the same time. I think in the future I will play it with my father.”

At the end of the memorable day, all participants were rewarded for their efforts on the snow courts – first with a tasty snack under the sun and then with special Snow Volleyball Certificates to keep.

“I think today was very awesome! It was a lot of fun!” summed it all up Gelo, a 12-year-old Filipino-born girl, who has spent most of her life on the Alpine slopes in Disentis. “Now I like Snow Volleyball more than before!”