23/03/2018 15:00
Slovakia’s 2008 ‘Man of the Year’ Martin Šmahel reveals love for Snow Volleyball
2018 CEV Snow Volleyball European Championship
Wagrain-Kleinarl, Austria, March 23, 2018. The historic #EuroSnowVolley taking place in Wagrain-Kleinarl provides many players with a truly picturesque and scenic stage where to perform – and at the same time, where to share their own stories. Martin Šmahel, Slovakia’s reigning Snow Volleyball national champion, is definitely one of a kind. The 35-year-old Šmahel is a Volleyball player, TV host, proud father and much more.
The winner of the 2008 edition of the ‘Slovakia’s Man of the Year’ pageant, Šmahel decided a few weeks ago to try Snow Volleyball and he eventually claimed the top honours with Michal Kollar from the national championship held at the bottom of the iconic ski jumping hills in Strbske Pleso. “I did know Snow Volleyball before as our Federation somehow ‘imported’ it from Austria,” he says. “I decided to compete at the national championship together with Michal and it turned out that was a good idea, since we finished the competition in first place, thus qualifying for the #EuroSnowVolley.”
Šmahel is much more than just a Volleyball player or an athlete. Back home in Slovakia, he has been hosting a number of shows and working for some 15 years as a personal coach. “I have been the host of the Slovakian version of an American show called ‘Ten years younger’, which takes individuals and transform them to look more glamorous, or ten years younger, as the name of the show suggests,” Šmahel says. “I hosted this show together with my ex-wife, and it was a very interesting experience. Since I have a strong background as a personal coach and nutritionist, I was not just hosting the show, but working very closely with the contestants, which is something I enjoyed very much since I am a people person and I like interacting with people in general.”
Šmahel and partner Kollar were not that successful on Friday as they lost both of their pool matches to teams from Hungary and Austria, so their #EuroSnowVolley adventure has ended already. “Unfortunately, I have not been playing Beach Volleyball for the last two or three years and I believe that this has somehow an impact because Beach Volleyball does certainly help when it comes to the skills you need to be successful in Snow Volleyball. My partner Michal is a very good player and he has been a Beach Volleyball national champion twice already. Maybe I will be playing some more Beach Volleyball this summer to come back to the snow with more energy and be more competitive than we have been here.”
Despite today’s setbacks, Martin has definitely fallen in love with the game: “It is very exciting to play on the snow, even though today we lost two matches out of two. I am hoping that the sport will grow in Slovakia and hopefully there will be many more tournaments to compete at, possibly held in our country as well,” he said.
Earlier this winter, when Šmahel contested the national championship in Strbske Pleso, even the President of the Slovak Volleyball Federation, Martin Kraščenič, took to the court and participated in the tournament. “He and his partner did not make it through the pool phase but their participation shows that the Slovak Federation are really willing to invest and support the growth of Snow Volleyball.”
Šmahel is planning to stay around for the remainder of the weekend to watch some close, exciting matches that will be crowning the first-ever European champions. Once he returns home, he will be sharing his #EuroSnowVolley experience with his little daughter and many more friends, so that Slovakia will continue to embrace Snow Volleyball with open arms as much as they have done so far.
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