Volleyball

IVVA Veteran Volleyball Tournament in Mallorca breaks records again!

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Article Tue, Oct 15 2024

Not only the sport and the action, but also friends and fun that does not just end on the courts were enjoyed to the fullest by the growing veteran volleyball community united under the banner of the International Veteran Volleyball Association (IVVA) at the traditional annual tournament in Mallorca. 

Spain’s Alcudia welcomed volleyball enthusiasts for the fourth time from 7 to 12 October. The 750 participants from as many as 33 countries certainly respect Pierre de Coubertin’s motto that ‘the most important thing is not winning, but taking part’, since the most important thing for all is simply to ‘be amongst your own kind’, but make no mistake, they also displayed an almost immeasurable effort both indoors and on the sand. Efforts to go against the clock, to prove that age is not a handicap or a limit, that Volleyball is a beautiful sport for life, which also spices up the joy of victory, but never at the expense of the players being able to shake hands with a smile after the match.

“Apart from the whole of Europe, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Canada and the USA have also been represented here and it is very fulfilling for us to watch participants from virtually all over the world exploring their limits. We are constantly pushing them too and trying to create the best possible facilities and conditions for everyone, so that for most it will be the best active holiday, focused on their volleyball passion, which they will want to repeat year after year. It is nice to meet so many familiar faces again, and new ones, because the common theme of Volleyball brings all these people incredibly close. All those warm responses and positive references, with the assurance that they will not miss our event next time, are a driving force for us and enough motivation to do it again, even though it is very demanding from an organisational point of view,” says IVVA Vice President Adam Kubala.

Czech Olympian Přemysl Kubala, who is the main face of the International Veteran Volleyball Association, had to sacrifice himself this year, not to show off his skills on the sand, but proved his ability to organise the indoor tournament combined with Beach Volleyball action, which was not easy at all given the number of intermingling participants. “I do not regret it because I enjoyed the beach here to the max the week before when we hosted the international youth training camp. But every year there are some interesting personalities in action, this year for example the almost 70-year-old Italian Giorgio Goldoni, a participant in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, or Dana Cook from Canada, the fitness coach of the silver medallists from Paris 2024 [Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes], who finished third in the youngest women’s category 34-39. The oldest participants are always a motivation for everyone. The oldest player this time was Slovenian Peter Praper (80), while the oldest woman was Ukrainian Tetiana Kamzist (71), who still played on the beach,” said Přemysl Kubala.

Although the organisers are still collecting compliments for the tournament in Mallorca, the flagship of the IVVA veterans tour, and volleyball social networks across the world are filled with the reverberations of the event, preparations for the next competition are already in full swing. That will be the European Veteran Volleyball Championships in Pescara, Italy, from 19-24 May 2025, for those who find the one-year interval in Mallorca unbearable. “After this year’s event in Milan in June, which tested our community’s appetite for exploring other destinations, the choice of the host venue fell on Pescara, Italy. Although the fashionable city of Milan was very hospitable to us, the sea and the closer connection of indoor and outdoor tournaments was still a bit lacking for the participants,” explained Adam Kubala on behalf of the organising team.

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