LIKA A SWISS CLOCKWORK

Nestea European Championship Tour 2005

Everything needs to be in Sync during the transition from the National Tour to the Swiss Open of the NESTEA European Championship Tour

Lucerne/Zurich, 6 August 2005: It takes precision work to master such an enormous logistic challenge. When the opening match of the Swiss Open 2005 of the NESTEA European Championship Tour starts on the KKL Europaplatz on Saturday night at 23.00hrs, the organisation team headed by tournament director Hinnerk Femerling at Global Sports Marketing (Zurich) will only have one hour and a half to get the event site ready for action. At around 19.00hrs the final of the National Beach Volleyball Tour will be finished, the Opening Ceremony of the Swiss Open will begin at 21.45hrs and after the fireworks on the occasion of the Lucerne Seenachtsfest, where more than 100,000 people are expected, the first match of the Men’s Qualification Tournament will start. “Everything needs to be in sync”, Femerling says. “Just like Swiss clockwork.”

Volunteers and helping hands will not be a problem; many of the total 250 people working on the tournament are recruited by the local promoter Guwa Sports Management will provide will take care of things. Christian Wandeler, the man behind Guwa, is an old Beach Volleyball veteran, who was a professional player and is now contributing his know-how in the tournament organisation. “I used to love it as a player to play where the masses could be mobilised”, Wandeler says. He once played a late night match in front of 8,000 fans in Almeria, Portugal at 1 o’clock at night. “It is necessary that matches will be staged at unusual times at the Swiss Open 2005 in Lucerne. Many matches will take place in the evening, even the Finals on Monday (Women’s at 20.00hrs) and Tuesday (Men’s at 20.00hrs). “Rush hour in Lucerne will set in at 17.00hrs at the latest – the Stadium will be packed by then”, he promises.

Space is an issue for the Swiss Open at the KKL Europaplatz in the heart of Lucerne; everything is planned in centimetre by centimetre so that the makers had to erect the four additional side courts in the Outdoor Pool in Kriens. It was all but easy to install Beach Volleyball on the KKL Europaplatz. The centre of this highly frequented location is a 30 x 36-meter artificial lake. The lake was drained and 2’000-seat tribunes set up around centre court. The 1’200 tons of sand for centre court and the adjoining four other courts were delivered by a company from southern Germany. Martin Bussmann, Operations Director of the Swiss Open and Event Manager at the KKL Lucerne has co-organised numerous Beach Volleyball tournaments in his hometown. But the Swiss Open of the NESTEA European Championship Tour is new territory for him as well. “The demands are five times as high as for other tournaments, from the shuttle service to all the VIP activities.” But Bussmann is sure that the effort will be worth it: “We are receiving worldwide media attention and that means many new and interesting contacts for us.”

Bussmann is optimistic that everything will go smoothly thanks to the NESTEA European Championship Tour’s excellent partners. Everything is prepared: From the refreshments (provided by NESTEA and Eichhof), the shuttle service (provided by smart), the officials and staff uniforms (provided by Speedo), the office solution systems behind the scenes (provided by Konica Minolta) to the stylish atmosphere that the Grand Casino Lucerne offers VIPs for the exciting side events. The Grand Casino will be thumping for two nights in a row. The VIPs will be hosted on Sunday evening to end the day after a boat trip on Lake Lucerne with a gaming session. On Monday night (8 August 2005), the Player’s Night Party at the Casineum welcomes players, VIPs and all party people and Beach Volleyball fans of Lucerne. Thanks to the various commercial partners, the fans and party goers can enjoy the Players’ Night Party free of entry charge.

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Background information on the NESTEA European Championship Tour

The NESTEA 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 NESTEA 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 NESTEA 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 NESTEA 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 8970.