OLYMPIC BEACH VOLLEY BALL RE-MATCH IN VALENCIA

European Championship Tour 2004

Luxembourg/Zurich, August 5, 2004. The European Olympic Heroes will meet again three weeks after the Athens Olympic Games at the European Championship Tour from 9-12 September in Spain.

The next stop of the European Championship Tour promises to be a worthy conclusion to a great European Beach Volleyball season. For one due to the beautiful location on Playa de las Arenas on the Spanish Mediterranean coast guaranteeing perfect Beach Volleyball temperatures for the beginning of September. On the other hand, Valencia will be the venue for the 2007 Sailing America's Cup and prepares the scene for this great spectacle with international sports competitions. Christian Scholbrock, Managing Director of the Zurich based agency Global Sports Marketing, which organises and markets the Tour, is pleased about the new partnership: "We are very pleased about the far-reaching cooperation with the City of Valencia, the Spanish Volleyball Federation and the Organising Committee of the America's Cup which all will provide us with support in many areas of event organisation and event marketing for the Spanish Open in the coming years."
For the players the tournament in Valencia, as the first meeting of Europe's best Beach Volleyball stars following the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens promises to be a special treat. Several duos such as the European Champions Markus Dieckmann and Jonas Reckermann of Germany, the Swiss brothers Martin and Paul Laciga as well as their compatriots Patrick Heuscher and Stefan Kobel have a good shot at an Olympic medal in the Greek capital. They have shown over and over on the World Tour that they are amongst the world's best. No matter who wins a medal in Athens one team or another will be hoping for a Re-Match on the European Championship Tour.
The tournament in Valencia is the conclusion of the European Championship Tour 2004, which had its memorable and highly regarded climax at the European Championship Final in Timmendorfer Strand (Germany) in mid-June. 30,000 fans witnessed the exciting matches and made the five-day event a non-stop party on the centre court bleachers.
In cooperation with the European Volleyball Federation (CEV) in Luxembourg, there will be a new tournament mode in Valencia, which will be tested and then evaluated for the coming years. There will be 16 teams in the men's and women's Main Draw. The men's and women's Qualification Tournament will be played on 9 September (at least four teams can qualify for the Main Draw). On Friday the Main Draw begins with pool play followed by single elimination matches for men and women. All medal games for men and women will be played on the final tournament day, Sunday 12 September 2004, in the new stadium on Playa de las Arenas. The prize money, as always at tournaments of the European Championship Tour, will be €100'000. However, some teams who were eliminated in the qualifying will not have to go home empty-handed: The four best teams that could not secure a spot in the Main Draw, will receive financial compensation for travelling and hotel expenses.

Press Release (PDF)