Volleyball power Bulgaria and Beach "Mecca" Austria sign extensive cooperation agreement

News from the National Federations

Sofia, Bulgaria, January 19, 2008. There is a common future, along with a much more consistent mutual cooperation, coming up for the Austrian and Bulgarian Volleyball families. A special partnership was signed today in Sofia to join the respective efforts for an additional development of both Volleyball and Beach Volleyball in the years to come. Apart from friendly matches and common training camps, the agreement foresees also the exchange of knowledge at any level, thus including coaches, referees, scouts and sport managers sharing their know-how for the benefits of the counterpart.
Joint training camps and friendly matches featuring the respective national teams will be organized for all age groups. Invitations for participation in tournaments organized by one of the federations will be extended to the other.
“It will be exceptionally useful for us to learn from the experience and receive assistance from Bulgaria, one of the strongest Volleyball nations in the world,” said Peter Kleinmann, President of the Austrian Volleyball Federation, after the signing ceremony. “From our side we will help Bulgaria in the development and promotion of Beach Volleyball.”
“Austria is one of the organizers of the 2011 CEV Men’s European Championship. We also intend to organize such an event in the future and the experience of our new partners in this matter will be very valuable to us,” adds his Bulgarian counterpart Dancho Lazarov who was elected to join the CEV Board of Administration this past September in Izmir. “In addition, Austria is a global leader in the organization of Beach Volleyball competitions and we can learn a lot from their expertise.”
This partnership will go “on air” already this coming March, with the Bulgarian junior national team traveling to Austria whereas the Austrian seniors have been invited to stage a training camp in Bulgaria as soon as they start their preparations for their European League matches against Greece.