CEV confirms additions and changes to Beach Volleyball calendar

The 2021 Beach Volleyball season is just about to start with the second stage of the CEV Continental Cup. Meanwhile, after liaising with a number of promoters and National Federations, the CEV could confirm the addition of a further four events to the previously released calendar, thus providing further opportunities to compete on the international stage to up-and-coming as well as more experienced teams.

The World Tour will return to southern France and more specifically to Montpellier – with a men’s-only competition running there from August 24 to 29. Montpellier is where all of the top French teams work and train throughout most of the year and last season the local organisers were among the few courageous ones able to deliver such an event despite the many challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Czech city of Brno, which has hosted numerous age-group continental championships in Beach Volleyball over the past decade, is due to host a women’s-only 2-Star event in late August (26-29) – which represents a further testament to the popularity of the sport in this nation. Home stars Marketa Slukova and Barbora Hermannova are two-time EuroBeachVolley medallists with silver in 2016 and bronze in 2018 to their name – and with their achievements, they have helped inspire a large number of younger players to follow in their footsteps.

The Italian seaside resort of Cervia, which lies right on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, will welcome a 1-Star double-gender event in late August or September (a confirmation of the dates will follow in due course). Back in 2019, the World Tour stopped in Cervia as well for a men’s-only tournament. After the break imposed by the pandemic in 2020, the local organisers very much look forward to exploiting the ideal conditions offered by this city and its beach to deliver an event that shall be a good treat for teams and holidaymakers alike.

The Beach Volleyball Centre of the Spanish capital, Madrid, will be hosting a World Tour 1-Star event for the very first time with a women’s only tournament set to take place from September 16 through 19. This will account for the second international Beach Volleyball event held in Madrid in 2021 – since Spain’s capital city is among the cities due to host the second phase of the CEV Continental Cup in early May. This World Tour stop will further raise the role of Madrid as an international Beach Volleyball ‘hub’ and help promote Beach Volleyball in Spain. 

Next to these additions, the CEV and FIVB have accepted a request from the local organisers to postpone the 2-Star event in Prague, Czech Republic, from late May to August of 2021. The tournament in the Czech capital is now due to run from August 19 to 22, i.e. after the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics and EuroBeachVolley 2021. Following the re-scheduling, this double-gender event is likely to provide teams and fans with more chances to compete and enjoy Beach Volleyball of the finest level – as the organisers hope for restrictions currently in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus to ease by the late summer of 2021.