2024-05-08 07:40:25
The Beach Pro Tour tournament in Saint Vlas is an important and big step for beach volleyball in Bulgaria – this is the opinion shared by the participants in a press conference today.
Our country will host a Futures category competition for the first time, and this will take place between June 6 and 9 on the beach “Venid Beach” in the yacht harbor “Marina Dinevi”.
“I am very happy and happy that we will be hosting such a prestigious tournament. For us, this is a very big opportunity to show that Bulgaria is a great place to organize beach volleyball competitions. The sand in Sveti Vlas is of the highest quality.
We sent a sample to the International Certification Center and it showed their conclusion. Beach volleyball has not yet received enough attention and our goal is to change that,” said Lyubomir Ganev, president of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation (BWF).
Bulgaria hosted a round of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour in only the third edition since its establishment. The organization is entrusted to the promoters in the person of “New Boyana Films Studios” and “Dinevi Group”, which will also hold a beach volleyball competition in Saint Vlas for the third year in a row.
“This is the third tournament we are doing in this beautiful location. As you know, this is an Olympic year and there is a lot of attention on beach volleyball.
Top international players will arrive on our beach. We will also see some great Bulgarian competitors who will fight with the world’s elite”, pointed out Yariv Lerner, who is a representative of the promoter “New Boyana Film Studios”.
The Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour offers three categories of competition – Elite 16, Challenge and Futures. The last – Futures, which our country will host for the first time, is focused on young competitors. The future stars of beach volleyball can traditionally be seen in the Futures series. The circuit gives talented volleyball players the opportunity to appear on the international stage and thus gain valuable experience.
Competitors from all over the world are expected in our country for the upcoming tournament. The application deadline was May 2, and after that there were 44 pairs for men and 43 for women. There will be participants from all over Europe, the USA, Canada and more exotic destinations such as Egypt and Mauritius. According to the regulation, there will be 16 teams in the main scheme, 12 of which qualify directly, and qualification will be held for the other 4 places.
“It is an honor and responsibility for me to be the organizer of a beach volleyball competition in Saint Vlas for the third year in a row on behalf of Dinevi Group”. I say responsibility because I take responsibility to present beach volleyball not only on the world stage, but also to children. To give children the opportunity to watch the best athletes in the world. This is extremely important,” said one of the main organizers, Iva Partaleva.
In the third year of its existence, the VW Beach Pro Tour expands its geography, adding new and attractive destinations to beach volleyball emblematic places. The program in 2024 includes an impressive 24 events, of which 21 are scheduled for the first half of the year, and among them is Saint Vlas. Exciting battles near the net and on the sand will take place on several continents – Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania.
“The good news is that the best volleyball players will come here and the Bulgarians will not have to travel abroad to compare their level. Bulgaria has serious traditions in volleyball. Of course, beach volleyball has its specifics, but the main elements of sports – sand, sun, climate, etc. are the same and there is a huge potential here for the future”, added Yariv Lerner.
The tournament in Saint Vlas is of a very high rank and will not only give the Bulgarian athletes an opportunity to show their skills, but it will help their better rating and a chance to get into the main scheme of other international tournaments.
“I want to express my immense gratitude to Yariv Lerner and Iva Partaleeva for organizing another year of such a high-ranking tournament, as well as to the volleyball federation and Mr. Ganev for the opportunity for Bulgarian players to participate. Ganev and I often talk about the development of beach volleyball. There is a lot of work and things that can happen in the future,” said one of our leading representatives in this sport, Mario Iliev, during the press conference.
Iliev took part together with other elite Bulgarian athletes – Dimitar Mekhandzhiyski, Irena Mishonova and Desislava Nikolova. They shared the busy schedule that awaits us in the coming weeks. In a few hours they will take part in a tournament of the same circuit, but in Madrid. It will last until May 12, and then they will travel for a round in Italy. For the Bulgarian couples, participation in the League of Nations is also coming, which also gives a quota for the Summer Olympic Games in Paris this year.
“Intensive matches await us. We will have three tournaments before the one in Sveti Vlas. We will try to perform at a high level and win enough points to be placed. These three tournaments will be a serious preparation so that we can present well on Bulgarian soil,” added Iliev.
“We have been participating in all the tournaments for the last three years. The level is rising more and more. I can say that the experience we gain in these tournaments shows that the level in Bulgaria and abroad has been leveled”, Irena Mishonova pointed out in her turn . Her colleague Desislava Nikolova added: “It is an honor for us to participate in this tournament, as well as in the tournaments before. Thank you for organizing the tournament, because it helps us. And we can compare ourselves with the other couples. It is difficult to organized such a tournament, but in previous years everything went very well. The beach and sand in Sveti Vlas is very nice.”