Queen and King of the Court format successfully trialled at Snow Volleyball festival in Innsbruck

An international Snow Volleyball competition took place this past Saturday for the second straight year at the iconic Patscherkofel – a ski resort in the Innsbruck area, which back in 1976 played host to Olympic downhill competition. With glorious weather and perfect conditions, domestic and international teams fought exciting rallies in the snow.

The atmosphere was great not only on but also around the court. A fine line-up of local DJs warmed up the numerous fans at the Patscherkofel mountain station. After the award ceremony, the celebrations continued at the two after parties.

The Queens and Kings of the snow eventually emerged at the end of the competition. The German-Austrian trio with Larissa Schlax/Rebekka Kremser/Sofija Saric prevailed in the women’s event. The Czech team consisting of Jan Mrkous/František Pihera/Tadeas Trousil/Filip Štastný triumphed in the men’s tournament. Three of these players – Mrkous, Pihera, and Trousil – claimed gold at last year’s CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour event in Wagrain, Austria. 

The event was somehow special since competition followed the innovative and highly entertaining Queen & King of the Court format. Such a premiere was a real success. It was also the first tournament of the up-and-coming format on Austrian soil – thus paving the way for more future such events and showing that Snow Volleyball can always entertain players and fans alike no matter the format.

Final standings

Women

1. Larissa Schlax/Rebekka Kremser/Sofija Saric (GER/AUT)
2. Tatjana Puškina/Anna Schöpf/Michaela Handler-Hollaus (LAT/AUT)
3. Agnes Wagner/Katharina Krepper/Antonia Kaiser (AUT)

Men

1. Jan Mrkous/František Pihera/Tadeas Trousil/Filip Štastný (CZE)
2. Remo Spahr/Marcel Spahr/Kilian Kasper/Noah Furrer (SUI)
3. Jan Berčík/Matěj Ruml/Vojtěch Poledník (CZE)

Pictures courtesy of Johannes Zeiler