CEV confirms Snow Volleyball European Tour stops in Georgia, Türkiye, and Italy

This year’s CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour will include three stops – with Georgia’s Bakuriani due to welcome Snow Volleyball players only a week after completion of the first, historic #EuroSnowVolleyU20 from March 8 to 10, Erzurum in Türkiye delivering such an event a few days later (March 12-15) and Italy’s Prato Nevoso due to follow at the end of the month (29-31). 

If the CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour returns to Bakuriani after previous such events organised in the Caucasus country (most recently in 2020), the idyllic Prato Nevoso ski resort will play host to a competition of this calibre for the very first time as much as Türkiye’s Erzurum. 

The CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour was introduced for the first time in 2016 and has helped popularise the youngest and coolest version of the Volleyball game even during the most challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic. Georgia and Italy have helped establish Snow Volleyball as a rapidly growing winter sport, and national tours / championships have taken place almost annually in these countries. It only makes sense to capitalise on the efforts made to deliver the inaugural #EuroSnowVolleyU20 scheduled for early March to host back-to-back international competitions in Georgia’s most popular ski resort. 

The European Tour returns to Türkiye after last year’s events in Kahramanmaras and Sivas were cancelled following a devastating earthquake that hit the southern section of the country and resulted in a tally of more than 50,000 casualties. This time, Snow Volleyball action will be taking place in Erzurum, a city in eastern Anatolia which has established itself as a popular hotspot for winter sports, especially following the successful delivery of the FISU Winter Universiade held there in 2011. 

The local Palandöken Ski Centre is one of the most important ski resorts in Türkiye. The Turkish Volleyball Federation will deliver this event together with their local partners, namely the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality and Ejder A.Ş. 

Mr Mehmet Akif Üstündağ, TVF President: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic losses we experienced in 11 provinces in 2023, but we want to continue our work to help the recovery of our cities and keep our sport alive. For this reason, we are happy and motivated to host another Snow Volleyball European Tour event in Türkiye. Snow Volleyball has gained a new venue with Erzurum Palandöken Ski Resort. We would like to thank the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality and Ejder A.Ş. for hosting this great event with us. We are sure that a high-level competition and a beautiful tournament will take place, and that players and the audience will enjoy the event and Palandöken Ski Resort. They will also be able to taste some delicious dishes of Turkish cuisine. I hope we see everyone there!” 

Even though the event in late March will take the European Tour to Prato Nevoso for the first time, this ski resort has established itself as a popular Snow Volleyball hotspot since as early as 2014. It has been playing host multiple times to the final stage of the Italian tour organised by Snow Volley Italia, with some 400 players taking to the snowy courts for the largest mass participation such event run in Europe and across the globe as well, with Snow Volleyball enthusiasts testing their skills in a variety of formats and categories, including – as of this year – the highly dynamic Queen & King of the Court.  

Participants will be able to indulge in the resort’s offer of side activities, such as night skiing, snow tubing, and dining at popular and cosy mountain lodges. The tournament itself promises a lively ambiance with a DJ, animations, and the famous Players’ Night Parties.