Torino 2025 brings Snow Volleyball to Bardonecchia and studies its potential as an optional sport for the next FISU Games

The organising committee of the XXXII FISU World University Games Winter Torino 2025 will deliver a Snow Volleyball event this coming weekend in Bardonecchia. On Saturday and Sunday, the youngest version of the Volleyball game will be taking centre stage in the Valsusa resort where in less than two years competition will be taking place for the World University Games. The dream is to add Snow Volleyball as an optional discipline to the programme of the Games scheduled for January 13-25, 2025 in Torino and other areas of the Piedmont region.

The event, known as #TO25 Snow Volleyball Festival, organised by the Torino 2025 Organising Committee with the technical support of Snow Volley Italia, is the first step in assessing its potential. The concept was presented in the Sala Trasparenza of the Regione Piemonte Palace in Piazza Castello in Torino, with a welcome speech by the Regional Councillor for Budget Andrea Tronzano and speeches by Alessandro Ciro Sciretti (president of Torino 2025 and Edisu Piemonte), Vittorio Montabone (Deputy Mayor and Sports Councillor of Bardonecchia), Riccardo D’Elicio (Deputy Vice-President of Torino 2025 and president of Cus Torino) and a player from Cuneo, Piedmont, Anna Dalmazzo, who is a reigning Italian Snow Volleyball champion.

There will some familiar names taking to the court in Bardonecchia, such as multiple King of the Snow Michal Matyja of Poland, his compatriot Piotr Groszek and Frenchman Iskander El Ghouti, who has competed at a number of European Tour events already – doing so with much success.

Sara Breidenbach, a former Italian Beach Volleyball and Snow Volleyball champion and winner of international medals, together with Anna Dalmazzo and Sofia Arcaini will be among the names to headline the women’s competition together with Cristiana Parenzan, who competed at the inaugural European championships held in Austria in 2018.

Saturday, March 18, will see the kick-off of the #TO25 Snow Volleyball Festival tournament at 11am in the Campo Smith area of Bardonecchia until 4.30pm. The following day, March 19, the King of the Court tournament is scheduled from 10am, while at 2pm there will be the finals of the #TO25 Snow Volleyball Festival, followed by the awards ceremony and the big final party.

Alessandro Ciro Sciretti, President of Torino 2025 and Edisu Piemonte: “In our journey towards Torino 2025, while always aiming at innovation, there is a first again. This Snow Volleyball event, which is the first to be organised directly by our committee, will pave the way for the addition of this discipline among the options for the 2025 Games. It represents another opportunity for those who want to practice winter sports, which will allow even more nations to be involved, and the reconfirmation that Turin 2025 will be an opportunity to bring the people of Turin and Piedmont closer to the winter disciplines, which are already very much in the DNA of our territory. Turin and Piedmont are also proving to be a land of innovation in the field of sport. Snow Volleyball has amazed me, and I am happy that one of the optional disciplines for 2025 will not be an addition to an already existing historical discipline, but a new sport altogether. We are networking and collaborating with all the institutions, starting with the Piedmont Region and the City of Turin to promote our Games.”

Vittorio Montabone, Deputy Mayor, and Sports Councillor of Bardonecchia: “Bardonecchia is ready. We are working hard on Turin 2025. Every event that will take place over these two years will be in preparation for the Games. Snow volleyball is a young, innovative, and festive sport. In addition to sport, there is also the more playful side. We therefore welcome this kind of event. We are also willing to bring an event like the championship final to Bardonecchia in the future.”

Riccardo D’Elicio, Deputy Vice-President Torino 2025 and President of Cus Torino: “It is an idea that was started by a group of students from the Turin Polytechnic. Mauro Berruto (former coach of the men’s Italian national volleyball team who won the bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics), whom I would like to thank, started thinking about the concrete possibility of developing this activity and in a very short time set up a meeting with the Italian Volleyball Federation and FIVB. I have seen great enthusiasm for this sport, which is already practised in 50 countries. A dialogue is underway between FISU and CUSI so that this sport can be part of the programme in the near future. I am happy to have met Matteo Carlon, president of Snow Volley Italia, who really believes in this project. This can help ski resorts in something that even just five years ago seemed unthinkable. I like to think that after this presentation we will try to officially propose it as an optional sport in Turin 2025. One of our goals is to propose the third half. A community that plays sport but then gathers to get to know each other. Turin has always been a city of innovation.”

Anna Dalmazzo, reigning Italian Snow Volleyball champion: “I am from Cuneo and was born in Volleyball. I then switched to Beach Volleyball nine years ago with Cus Torino. Last year I also tried the transition to snow. It is a joy to practise this sport for three different disciplines. It seems like a similar sport, but the dynamics change or there are other unforeseen events. It is nice to always have to adapt to new situations. We all know how much the magic of snow attracts, so being able to bring this sport to the mountains is very nice, even for those who have never been close to skiing and snowboarding.”

Matteo Carlon, President Snow Volley Italia: “Since 2015, the discipline has been recognised by the CEV, in 2018 the first European title was awarded and in 2019 there was the first FIVB World Tour. Snow Volleyball Italia was born in 2015 launching the movement in Italy and last year we awarded the first championship, recognised by FIPAV. Four men’s teams from Poland, the Czech Republic, France, and Italy will take part in this promotional stage in Bardonecchia, while in the women’s event we will have four teams with former Italian Volleyball and Beach Volleyball champions. On Sunday, on the other hand, the event will be open to everyone with the King of the Court, an innovative format brought by Beach Volleyball that we will present for the first time in Italy. Fun is guaranteed.”