Titleholders retain their crowns at German Snow Volleyball Championships

The fifth edition of the German Snow Volleyball Championships held this past weekend in Oberstaufen, Bavaria, delivered many exciting matches with teams fighting hard for the titles. In the women’s competition, Nele Barber, Melanie Gernert and Lydia Scherber defended their title from last year, and in the men’s tournament, 2023 winners Jonas Reinhardt, Georg Wolf and Peter Wolf retained their crown as well. 

With the bonus of ideal weather conditions, defending German champions Nele Barber, Melanie
Gernert and Lydia Scherber prevailed in the final, as they had done in 2023, cruising to a comprehensive 2-0 (15-6, 15-12) win against the quartet including Michaela Henry, Agata Leiner, Laura Mählmann, and Eva Schilf. With only one set dropped in the preliminary round, the 2023 champions defended their title with much confidence. “We will come back for sure. Next year we will go for a hat-trick of national titles,” promised Melanie Gernert. The bronze medal went to Justine Maas/Julia Röchner/Katja Sallie.

In the men’s competition, the 2023 champions triumphed again in Oberstaufen. Jonas Reinhardt, Georg Wolf, and Peter Wolf did not give their opponents any chance and triumphed without losing a single set. They won the final in straight sets (15-10, 15-8) against the Bavarian team comprising of Sebastian Burgis, Benedikt Doranth, Julius Höfer, and Florian Schweikart. Georg Wolf is already a three-time German Snow Volleyball champion (2019, 2023, 2024) and together with Paul Becker the record holder. 

“We are delighted with the title defence. It was not easy at all, especially the last game. We know the guys from the Beach Tour and knew that we could not hold back and that all our opponents play good Volleyball,” said Peter Wolf. The bronze medal was won by Kevin Mehnert/Gerrit Leo Saur/Yannick Tenzer/Philipp Wynands.

There was praise from all sides for the organisers of the German Championships. “It was a great tournament. The weekend went by a way too fast. Thanks to the great organisation,” said the now two-time national champion Nele Barber.

Gaston Höpfl from the organising agency thanked all those involved for the successful weekend and the numerous fans on site. Almost three and a half thousand spectators cheered for the teams in Oberstaufen over both tournament days. “It was a great atmosphere. The spectators were super supportive. It was incredibly cool to be able to play here once again,” said Georg Wolf.

Tourism Director Constanze Höfinghoff was impressed by the high level of performance shown by the players, who usually play in the sand or indoors. “We would like to thank all the teams for having found their way back to Oberstaufen for the German Championships. Oberstaufen has once again proved that we can do great things together here. We are looking forward to next year!”

Klaus Drauschke, President of the Bavarian Volleyball Association, also had only words of praise left: “I am very happy to be here again. It is the third tournament that I have been able to experience live. The German Snow Volleyball Championships are a great event. The number of online accesses via the live stream, with more than 5,000 people, excites me, and it shows the huge appetite for the sport of Volleyball.”