17/03/2017 20:50
Kranjska Gora braces for high-rising mercury and high-level Snow Volleyball
2017 CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour
Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, March 17, 2017. The upcoming event in Kranjska Gora has already registered the highest number of countries represented on any CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour stop so far. However, yet another Tour record is about to be broken on Slovenian snow this weekend. If the weather sticks to its bright and shiny mood from Friday and keeps up with the meteorologists’ promise for Saturday and Sunday, it will be the highest temperature at a European Snow Volleyball tournament since the beginning of the Tour in 2016.
“The good thing about Snow Volleyball is that the party is on, regardless of the weather. Each week we play in different weather conditions, but we always have high-level Snow Volleyball, great atmosphere, a DJ spinning the best tunes, and everybody having a lot of fun,” commented Tournament Director Stephan Kirchtag from Chaka2. “We as organisers are proud of that, but at the same time we always thrive to keep improving. We are finished with the set-up of the whole venue here, in Kranjska Gora, with three professional courts ready for the games tomorrow. We have as many as nine nations represented among the men’s and women’s teams that have signed up to play and we are proud with this new record as well.”
With 31 pairs from Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and the host country Slovenia, the line-up of contenders is indeed quite impressive and promising of a high-level event.
As many as 21 duos from eight countries have signed up to play in the men’s competition. The Czech brothers Robert Kufa/David Kufa are returning to the Tour after winning gold on home snow some three weeks ago and they will once again be one of the two top-seeded teams in Kranjska Gora. Bobb Kufa is certainly hoping to add another gold to his record on Slovenian territory after winning the 2015 Ljubljana Beach Volley Challenge international exhibition tournament on the sand.
The Kufa brothers will once again share the top two seeds with Michal Matyja, the reigning ‘King of the Snow’ from Poland, who is coming to Kranjska Gora with a new partner, Karol Szczepanik, because his regular teammate Piotr Janiak has an injured ankle. Piotr Groszek/Tomasz Cwiertnia, who finished fourth a week ago in Switzerland, and Wojciech Lubon/Pawel Ciula are now two well-seasoned teams, who will provide further for a strong Polish presence on Slovenian snow.
Furthermore, Austria’s Snow Volleyball star from the 2016 Tour Florian Schnetzer, who won gold at home in Wagrain-Kleinarl and silver in Italy, is making his debut on the 2017 circuit in Kranjska Gora, teaming up with Helmut Moser. Schnetzer’s partner from the 2016 event in Kronplatz / Plan de Corones, Germany’s Florian Schweikart will also appear on Slovenian snow, representing his country together with Simon Kulzer.
The women’s seeding will be headed by Czech Republic’s Anna Dostalova/Michaela Knoblochova, who are the new #1’s on the CEV Snow Volleyball Ranking. They have two silver and one bronze medals on the CEV European Tour so far, but they are still looking for their first gold. In Kranjska Gora, they will be in the company of the strong Slovakian pair Silvia Poszmikova/Eva Elekova, who finished third at the first stop of this year’s Tour, and the bronze medallists from the 2016 event in Austria - Slovenia’s Klara Omovšek/Tjaša Žagar. One of the gold medallists from Wagrain-Kleinarl, Poland’s Marta Swiechowska is also expected to make her debut on the 2017 Tour, this time sharing the same half of the court with Magdalena Zochowska.
Of course, the home crowd in the Julian Alps will be an additional inspiration for the eight men’s and four women’s Slovenian duos, who are certainly ready to fight for top honours on home snow.
For further information on the European Tour, click here or visit SnowVolleyball.com.
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