Madrid, Rhodes, Ios, Ljubljana and Baden to host VW Futures

Up-and-coming Beach Volleyball players can already start looking forward to testing their skills at six VW Beach Pro Tour Futures in Europe. These events, run by the CEV in close cooperation with Volleyball World, will provide much-needed opportunities for young and even more established teams to compete on the international stage in a season featuring major highlights such as the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Rome and this year’s EuroBeachVolley – organised in conjunction with the multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022.

Spanish capital Madrid will capitalise on the experience from the 1-Star women’s only event it hosted back in September with two Futures scheduled to take place for two consecutive weeks. Men’s teams will be the first to compete at the state-of-the-art Beach Volleyball Centre run by the Madrid Volleyball Federation (FMVB), with competition scheduled for May 12 to 15, 2022. A week later, women’s teams will be taking centre stage with a second Future event running from May 19 to 22, 2022. Spain has not only produced some of the finest elite teams in the world, but has fared extremely well in recent age-group championships as well – so the next generation of Spanish Beach Volleyball players will certainly cherish the opportunity to contest such an event on home sand.

On the very same weekend of the second event in the Spanish capital, an international Beach Volleyball competition will return to the Greek island of Rhodes for the first time since 2010. Actually, Rhodes did play host to a number of elite events back in the 90s and in the following decade as well – including, among others, the 1998 edition of the CEV European Championship. The men’s-only Future will be the first Beach Volleyball competition to take place in Rhodes since an event scheduled for the sub-zonal phase of the inaugural CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup held a way back in 2010.

A double-gender VW Beach Pro Tour Future will be taking place from June 30 to July 3, 2022 on the Greek island of Ios. The local natural beach played host to a successful 1-Star event back in 2019, when teams from France and Greece claimed men’s and women’s top honours. Another such competition was due to run at the same venue in 2020, but the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic forced its initial postponement and eventual cancellation. The idyllic background provided by this Greek island in the Cyclades group is just an ideal asset to host a Beach Volleyball competition that will inspire athletes to show their best skills and fans to enjoy the game in its most natural environment.

Slovenia’s capital has been a popular spot on the international Beach Volleyball map for a number of years – with the centre court set up right in the heart of the city a major hit among players and fans alike. Quite significantly, Ljubljana played host to the very first international Beach Volleyball tournament held after the outbreak of the pandemic resulted in a complete stop to competition from March until late July of 2020. This year, the double-gender event in Ljubljana will run from July 28 to 31.

Speaking of familiar places, an international Beach Volleyball competition has been taking place annually in Baden, right in the outskirts of Vienna, since 2005. This tradition and success story will continue in 2022 as well – with the Austrian spa resort due to host a Future in late August (25-28). Baden is one of the most popular destinations among players and fans – and later this summer the event at Weilburgpark will deliver another much-awaited Beach Volleyball party, before a week later the very same venue plays host to the 2022 edition of the Austrian national championships.

The CEV continues to work closely with National Federations and local promoters in an effort to add further events to the 2022 calendar with the ultimate goal being the provision of opportunities for players to compete, develop their skills and grow the game at all levels.