ROSETO IS READY FOR HARD-WORKING SAND DIGGERS

European Championship Tour 2004

Luxembourg/Zurich, 6th May 2004. At the first tournament of the European Championship Tour 2004, the European Beach Volleyball stars want to demonstrate their extra class. Although the reigning Beach Volleyball European Champions are from Germany and Austria, the Italian Open will be a kind of home game for Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau (Kiel), Nik Berger and Klemens Doppler (Vienna) when they plough through the sand with their colleagues from 13–16 May in Roseto degli Abruzzi (ITA) in the opening tournament of this year's European Championship Tour. Both teams spend a large amount of their time in Rome training with their coach Marco Solustri, therefore Italy can be called their adopted country for a good reason.

Roseto degli Abruzzi is located just outside the gates of Rome, so the four pros, who share an apartment for their lengthier stays in Rome, have a short journey to the first tournament of the European Championship Tour. The picturesque resort on the Adriatic Sea - situated between the Tordino and Vomano rivers - is the first stop on this year’s Tour. The Tour also features the European Championship Final as the season's highlight dated 10-13 June in Timmendorfer Strand (GER) and concludes with a tournament in Cadiz or Valencia (ESP) from 9-12September 2004.

While 24 men’s and women’s teams will fight for 100,000 Euro total prize money in the main draws in Italy and Spain, the stakes in Timmendorfer Strand are considerably higher: in addition to the 200,000 Euro total prize money, important Olympic qualification points for the Olympic Games in Athens will be up for grabs. For the moment, though, the organizers of the European Championship Tour are looking forward to the tournament in Roseto degli Abruzzi. Italy has always been a central country in the continental Beach Volleyball scene. The Italian duos Bruschini/Solazzi and Gattelli/Perrotta won a total of four European Championship titles over the past years and in the all-time medals-table Italy is ranked second only to Switzerland, having won a total of nine medals. In addition, the continent's most successful coach, Marco Solustri, is of Italian origin.

It is not surprising then that not only the hosts but also the makers of the European Championship Tour are looking forward to the season kick-off in "bella Italia". "The preparation time for the Tour is over", Christian Scholbrock, Managing Director of Global Sports Marketing (GSM) in Zurich, says. "Now we're longing feverishly for the moment where we can present spectacular sports competitions in the sand, and a product that leaves nothing to be desired in terms of lifestyle and attractiveness."

The high level of play seems to be guaranteed. After all, the European Beach Volleyball aces demonstrated at the first two tournaments on the World Tour 2004 that their status in comparison to the global competition is continuously rising. If the qualifications-marathon for the Olympic Games in Athens were over today, twelve men's and eleven women's teams from Europe would be in the main draw. An impressive proportion, considering this is around 50 percent of the participants. The high percentage of European players is no surprise to Norwegian star Jorre Andre Kjemperud: "There is a rising number of elite players in Europe", Kjemperud says. He believes he knows why the trend continues to grow: "The reason for the good results among European teams is the structured and strategic thinking as well as the professional training."

Actually the times have long passed when the Beach Volleyball artists won their prizes with semi-professional dedication to the sport. On the beach in summer, indoors in winter - this is no longer the situation. Todays top stars train on sand all year round, otherwise they would not stand a chance against the growing competition. Training periods from five up to seven hours a day are required to keep up with the rest of the world. In addition, the scene's elite players either spend their winter in warm regions such as Brazil, Australia or South Africa, or they play in sand-filled sports halls like the European Champions Pohl/Rau and Berger/Doppler do in Rome. Playing Beach Volleyball just for fun is not sufficient anymore. "Beach Volleyball is still a lot of fun for us", 2002 European Champion Markus Dieckmann says, "but, believe me - it also means a lot of hard work."

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 recognized as such by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) for Volleyball and Beach Volleyball. The CEV has the authority and responsibility for organizing 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)