15/03/2017 12:46
Slovenia expecting record-high number of countries at European Tour event
2017 CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour
Ljubljana, Slovenia, March 15, 2017. Kranjska Gora, the Slovenian winter resort in the Julian Alps, is gearing up to host a 2017 CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour event powered by Sberbank this weekend. As announced at a press conference in Ljubljana, held to present the upcoming competition, the tournament on Slovenian snow is expected to break the record for the highest number of nations represented at a stop since the beginning of the CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour in 2016, with teams from as many as eight countries having signed up to compete.
The well-attended media briefing was held at Sberbank’s Slovenian headquarters in the country’s capital with the participation of national federation president Metod Ropret and two of the home teams that will be battling for honours in the men’s competition at Kranjska Gora.
“Snow Volleyball has been present in Slovenia for some years now. We feel this sport has potential, and its growth in Europe and all around the world cannot be overlooked,” stated President Ropret. “That is why we decided to upgrade our event lifting it to a higher, continental level. We want to follow the direction, which the CEV and the FIVB are setting.”
While this will be Slovenia’s first participation in this year’s CEV European Tour, Tadej Bozenk/Danijel Pokeršnik played in February’s Snow Volleyball season opener in Iran, but came just short of advancing to the semi-finals.
“We were really close to making it to the semis in Iran, but in the end Poland’s Michal Matyja/Piotr Janiak were the ones who progressed to the battle for the medals,” said Tadej Bozenk. “We feel it is payback time this weekend here, in Slovenia.”
“The quality of the teams that are coming to Kranjska Gora is really high, which guarantees an interesting tournament and a bunch of good matches,” Bozenk’s partner, Danijel Pokeršnik, added. “We hope we will be able to play on a high level and that it will be enough to qualify for the final matches. We will have to focus on every point and not make many mistakes. This is the key.”
Aleksander Tepic/Gasper Plahutnik will play in the men’s main draw in Kranjska Gora with a wildcard from the organisers. “My partner Aleks and I decided to finish our indoor careers and focus on Beach Volleyball and Snow Volleyball in the future, as there are a lot of similarities between these two sports,” said Gasper Plahutnik, who won last year’s Snow Volleyball tournament in Kranjska Gora along with Nejc Zemljak. “It will be Aleks’s first time on the snow, but I am sure he will manage it just fine.”
The professional men’s and women’s tournament on March 18 and 19 will be preceded by a Snow Volleyball Kids Day on Friday, March 17, with over 120 children expected to attend and make first acquaintance with this attractive winter discipline.
For further information on the European Tour stop in Kranjska Gora, click here or visit SnowVolleyball.com.
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