European Championship Tour ready for Jump Serve

European Championship Tour 2004

Preview to the European Beach Volleyball Tournament Series

Luxembourg/Zurich, 22 April 2004. If the enquiries from players and the media landscape serve as a barometer, one matter is clear these days: the Beach Volleyball scene can't wait for the start of the European Championship Tour. When does it start, where are the matches? Typical questions the Tour organisers, Global Sports Marketing (GSM) in Zurich, are asked repeatedly. The most important answer: the first serve of the 2004 Tour will be hit on 12 May on Lungomare Beach in Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy. "I am convinced", says Christian Scholbrock, Managing Director at GSM, "that we have developed an attractive package."

From 14-16 May 2004, the main draw of 24 women's and men's teams will compete for important ranking points and a whole lot of prize money (100.000 Euro total). At the event in the picturesque Italian town on the beautiful Adriatic coast, Europe's top teams can still collect a number of qualification points for the highlight of the 2004 European Season: the European Championship Final in Timmendorfer Strand (Germany). The holiday resort on the Baltic Sea has become the Mecca of Beach Volleyball in Germany, due to the German Championships having been held there for the past 11 years. In Timmendorfer Strand, the reigning European Champions Okka Rau and Stephanie Pohl (both from Kiel), as well as the 2003 European Vice Champions, Markus Dieckmann and Jonas Reckermann (both from Moers, close to Cologne), have already made a splash. Apart from the respectable 200,000 Euro in prize money, important qualification points for the Olympic Games will be awarded to a deserving few at the European Championship Final. And for many, these are more important than any Euro retrieved from the performance in the sand.

Immediately following the Olympic Games in Athens, the third stop of the European Championship Tour will feature the first Olympic Re-Match amongst the European competitors. The Tour will finish in Spain from 9-12 September. Valencia and Cadiz are the remaining candidates to host the event. "We had a number of highly interested spanish candidate cities bidding for the tournament and the bidding process is now reduced to Valencia and Cadiz", Christian Scholbrock says.

Global Sports Marketing would have liked to present the Beach Volleyball family a further tournament for the Tour. For a long time it looked like the venue would be Alanya, Turkey, where last year's European Championship Final was held. Since September 2003 intensive negotiations had taken place between GSM, the European Federation (CEV) and the local promoter in Turkey. But somewhat surprisingly the International Volleyball Federation changed the dates for a World Tour tournament in Serbia-Montenegro to the previously coordinated Alanya date, thereby making the realisation of the Turkish Open impossible.

A disappointing development for Christian Scholbrock: "It is very disappointing for all of us, because the enormous success of the European Championship Final 2003, the Turkish Open, in cooperation with the City and the local promoter, was to be established as an annual event. Despite this year's outcome, we are very confident for the upcoming year."

Now all attention needs to be focused on the European Championship Tour 2004. Those who do not want to risk missing the highlights can already secure their places on the courts. For the Italian Open in Roseto degli Abruzzi an attractive, individually-tailored, three-day VIP-Programme has been designed (additional information directly at Global Sports Marketing). Interested fans can reserve their seats for the European Championship Final in Timmendorfer Strand through the tourist office via telephone at: +49-4503-3585-0 or +49-4503-2203. Representatives of the media should apply early for their media accreditation or download the respective form at www.eurobeachtour.com.

Background information on the European Championship Tour
The European Championship Tour is the highest ranked series of European Beach Volleyball tournaments that promotes the sport and its star players on a European level. The series of tournaments culminates into the European Championship Final as the season's highlight.

For further information please visit www.eurobeachtour.com and/or contact the Communication Managers of the European Championship Tour Klaus Wegener and Felix Meininghaus at communications@eurobeachtour.com.

Background information on the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball
The CEV is the FIVB supporting institution responsible for governing 54 National Volleyball Federations throughout Europe and is recognised as such by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) for Volleyball and Beach Volleyball. The CEV has the authority and responsibility for organising all European Competitions, especially the European Championship Tour (Men & Women).

For further information please contact the CEV Head Office in Luxembourg, Olivier Mottier at olivier.mottier@cev.lu or
+ 352 25 46 46 25.

Background information on Global Sports Marketing Ltd. (GSM)
GSM is dedicated to the development and implementation of innovation in sports and entertainment. The company positions and markets international sports and entertainment properties on behalf of the respective rights-holders. Besides, it offers all services related to the marketing of commercial rights - media, sponsorship and licensing/merchandising rights as well as development of sports brands. GSM, based in Zurich (Switzerland) develops, promotes and markets the European Championship Tour within a long-term partnership with the European Volleyball Confederation CEV.

For further information please contact Global Sports Marketing, Christian Scholbrock at christian.scholbrock@gsmglobalsports.com or +41 43 244 9977.

Press Release (PDF)