Beach Volleyball

Where Champions Are Made: Bern

Editorial

Article Tue, Oct 5 2021
Author: Guilherme Torres

Keeping a competitive beach volleyball training program consistently up and running all-year long can be a real challenge in Switzerland, a country that has a long tradition in the sport, having won the last two editions of the EuroBeachVolley among the women, but which is also known for being one of the most popular destinations for snow volleyball on the planet.

The Swiss National Team has been training in Bern since 2009

Dealing with the weather during the winter, spring and fall months can be an issue for teams when planning out their seasons but about a decade ago, the Swiss Volleyball Federation has found a solution for it and established the home of its national teams in the country’s capital Bern.

A private facility in the city, the Beachcenter Bern started hosting training sessions with the top players in the country in 2009, but it wasn’t until the end of 2012 that it was fully established as the headquarters for Swiss men’s and women’s teams.

“The facility is a great setup for professional sports but is also really cool for amateur players and events. It’s awesome that we can have all the equipment we need there and it’s a really good facility. We feel that we save a lot of time and get to work with a lot of quality there. The sand there is great too, one of the best I know.”

Christoph Dieckmann
Hüberli/Betschart's Head Coach

The facility, as Dieckmann, a 2006 EuroBeachVolley champion for Germany, noted, also hosts events and training camps and volleyball classes for kids and adults. The structure for professional sports is what attracted the Swiss as the venue offers six outdoor and three indoor courts besides multiple rooms where the staff can have the players working out and watching film and the coaches can have meetings and store their material.

Having the outdoor courts just a stone’s throw from the indoor ones is especially convenient too and the location became even more of an asset a few years ago, when the Swiss Federation moved its headquarters to a building right next to the facility.

“Having the courts all at the same place is a real advantage considering that Swiss weather can be unpredictable. If it gets too cold or is raining, we can easily move our training indoors and it’s nice to have this kind of flexibility. Having the Federation right next door is really convenient and makes it easy for us keep everyone involved. We have everything we need just around us and it really feels like home for us and the players.”

Christoph Dieckmann
Hüberli/Betschart's Head Coach

A 2021 EuroBeachVolley gold medalist, 29-year-old Tanja Hüberli is among the ones who feel home there. Like many others in the program, who used to practice in different regions of the country in the past, she moved from her hometown Reichenburg several years ago.

“I love the location. It’s not in downtown, it’s actually surrounded by the forest and is a very quiet place, great to work. Many of us from the national team aren’t from Bern and we all live around that area and feel like home there.”

Tanja Hüberli
Swiss Player

Not many sports are as simple to play as beach volleyball. A ball and a net are all it takes to play the sport at the amateur level. For the professionals, however, having an efficient training facility is a mandatory condition for success due to the high level the sport has reached over the last 30 years. European beach volleyball teams are no exception and one of the nicest things about it is that players can find exactly what they need in a variety of different setups. Our series “Where Champions Are Made” will present some of the most popular beach volleyball training facilities in the continent.

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