Snow Volleyball champions crowned in Georgia

The Georgian Volleyball Federation delivered earlier this week the 2023 edition of their Snow Volleyball national championships, with the event held in the country’s most popular ski resort, Bakuriani, right before the very same location plays host to the much-anticipated FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships.

The competition featured 10 men’s and eight women’s teams. The men’s tournament followed a double elimination format, with the team from Batumi – Abuser Abuseridze, Merab Dolidze, Luka Chalialidze, and Data Chachua – claiming top spot following a 2-0 victory in the final match against Team Kutaisi. Tsageri completed the podium after winning the bronze medal match against the team representing the Georgian Technical University (GTU).

Team Tbilisi – comprising of Nina Tsertsvadze, Elene Chumburidze, and Tinatin Zhgenti – did not drop a single set in the final stages of the women’s tournament, with 2-0 wins over Naculi and Bolnisi-1 in the semis and gold medal match, respectively. After losing to the eventual winners of the competition, Team Naculi finished the competition in fourth place, following another setback, this time to Kutaisi-1, in the ‘small final’.

Thanks to the proximity to the start of the freestyle skiing and snowboarding global showpiece event, there were many youngsters in Bakuriani, who eventually had the opportunity to watch the Snow Volleyball competition as well.

The Georgian Volleyball Federation plans to host more such events in the future and take part in the development of Snow Volleyball – with the ambition to deliver international competitions again, hopefully already as of next year, after European Tour stops held in Bakuriani for three straight years between 2018 and 2020.