Teams from 31 countries go for gold in Corigliano Rossano

The last Age Group European Championship of the year starts on Wednesday in Italy, when beach volleyball teams from all over the continent will compete in the U18 CEV EuroBeachVolley from Wednesday to Sunday.

After hosting Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures events in the last two seasons, the city of Corigliano Rossano will now welcome the most talented young players from 31 different countries on the continent for five days of action at the Schiavonea.

The tournament starts on Wednesday with the qualifier. The main draw pool play will extend from Thursday to Friday. The elimination rounds will follow on Saturday, with the semifinals and medal matches ending the event on Sunday.

The women’s event will have duos from 29 countries – Italy (3), Poland (2), Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye and Ukraine.

U18 CEV European Championship – Women

From all six players that stepped on the podium last year in Kachreti, German Anna-Chiara Reformat, who took bronze with Mila Jancar, is the only one returning in 2025. The 16-year-old will play with Rika Dieckmann, the daughter of German Olympian Markus Dieckmann.

Greek Eleni Alexoglou, 15, and Myrto Paschalaki, 17, will also have another shot at winning the U18 European title after finishing fifth at home last year.

The men’s tournament will have 31 nations represented, with Cyprus and Sweden also sending duos to Corigliano Rossano. With three duos, hosts Italy will be the only ones with multiple teams.

U18 CEV European Championship – Men

German Jonathan Bungert, 17, who made it to the podium in second place last year with Kalle Pieper, will try to move one step up this time, when he’ll have 16-year-old Filo Wüst by his side.

Italy, which won the title last year, will try to repeat in front of their home fans, and will have Marco Di Felice/Riccardo Santomassimo, Francesco Denina/Lorenzo Profumo and Jack Bernardini/Nicolò Mapelli as their representatives.