Professional beach volleyball resuming in Europe
Europe is currently entering a post-lockdown phase after most of public life had come to a halt in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With restrictions being eased in many European countries, beach volleyball in public places has already resumed in some European countries, e.g. Germany. Now professional beach volleyball is also returning.
Last weekend, the Czech Republic hosted the first event of its national tour with the women playing in Litomerice and the men competing in Strahov. It was Czech beach girls Marketa Slukova and Barbora Hermannova who won the women’s competition in Litomerice. Two-time Olympian Marketa Slukova:
“I know the situation in Europe is slowly getting back to normal, but other countries haven’t been this lucky yet. I love playing and competing and it was a great chance to do what I love. It definitely made me forget at least for a while about all the difficulties we had to and will still have to overcome with this pandemic.”
In Germany, some professional teams will be competing in a “Beach Liga” that will start next week and last until July 12. In contrast to the Czech tournament, the German format will not allow any audience. Comparable to the German football league “Bundesliga”, the beach volleyball events will need to adhere to rather strict regulations being introduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The hygiene concept includes regular testing of all players involved. In September, the German Beach Tour is still planning to host the German National Championships at Timmendorfer Strand.
Internationally, the next FIVB World Tour event that has not been cancelled or postponed is the 1-star World Tour event in Ljubljana (Slowenia) which is scheduled from July 30 to August 2. For the US, the 2020 AVP Tour kicks off in Hermosa Beach from July 24-26. The New York City Gold Series event in June has been cancelled due to the pandemic.
