Finland welcomes the Beach Pro Tour in Helsinki

International beach volleyball is set to return to Finland after 12 years as the country’s capital Helsinki will be the stage of another Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures event in Europe this week.

From Thursday to Sunday, teams from several different countries will be in action at the Hietaranta Beach, making of Helsinki just the second Finnish city to host international events, joining Aland, which staged FIVB World Tour events from 2007 to 2011.

The opportunity of competing at home was not taken for granted by the Finnish teams as the country’s best duos are all entered in this week’s events, elevating the hopes of the home fans of seeing compatriots at the top of the podium on Sunday.

Seeded second and third in the main draw respectively, Niina Athiainen/Taru Lathi and Sara Sinisalo/Anniina Parkkinen are true medal contenders this week in Helsinki. Both teams have been competing at higher-level Beach Pro Tour events and have real medal aspirations this week.

Their main rivals should be two Australian duos – Georgia Johnson/Jasmine Fleming and Tara Phillips/Brittany Kendall – which are seeded first and fourth respectively. Completing the top five in the Helsinki Futures entry list are Polish Katarzyna Kociolek and Marta Lodej.

The women’s tournament will have 16 countries represented in the 28 teams. Europe will have 25 of the entrants, with Finland (6), Sweden (3), Austria (2), Estonia (2), Lithuania (2), Switzerland (2), Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain all set to compete. Two Australian teams and one from Canada complete the entry list.

On the men’s side, Austria looks like the European nation best positioned to contend for medals. The country has the second and third-seeded duos in the event in Felix Friedl/Alexander Huber and Mathias Seiser/Laurenc Grössic. Lithuania is also in the mix with fourth-seeded Artur Vasiljev and Robert Juchnevic.

The top-seeded team in the Helsinki Futures is formed by Americans Evan Cory and Troy Field. Australia complete the top five with the duo of James Takken and Solomon Bushby.

The men’s tournament will feature 18 countries, 14 of which are from Europe. Hosts Finland lead the way with five teams, followed by Austria with three, Germany and Poland with two and Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland with one each. Three Australian teams and one from each of Canada, New Zealand and the United States complete the lineup.

The tournament begins on Thursday, with 16 teams per gender competing in the qualifier. The best four men’s and women’s duos will move forward to the main draw, which will be held between Friday and Sunday, when the medal winners will be determined.

The Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Europe are run by the CEV in close cooperation with Volleyball World and provide teams from the continent with several opportunities to compete and gain valuable ranking points during the Olympic qualification period for the Paris 2024 Games.