Poland stamp ticket to #EuroVolleyU18M Final Round at EEVZA qualifier in Georgia

The first qualification round of the U18 Men’s European Volleyball Championship run by the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) was held in Telavi, Georgia, from December 5-9 and organised by the Georgian Volleyball Federation in cooperation with EEVZA. Poland finished at the top of the final standing, this way securing their participation in the Final Phase of the championship, with Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia progressing to the second and last round of qualifiers scheduled for the spring of 2024. The #EuroVolleyU18M Final Round will be taking place in July 2024 in Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria. 

The competition held at the local Sports Palace in Telavi featured the U18 men’s national teams of six EEVZA members – Azerbaijan, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine plus hosts Georgia. An international competition returned to the city of Telavi after the very same venue had delivered U17 European qualifiers for both genders in April 2023. This is where the U17 women’s team of Georgia made history by qualifying for the final stage of the European Championship for the first time.

The official YouTube channel of the Georgian Volleyball Federation did stream most of the matches played in Telavi. This helped with the promotion of Volleyball and of the European qualifier not only in Georgia, but across other EEVZA countries too, as the parents, friends, schoolmates of the participating players could follow the actions of their young heroes. The official Facebook page run by EEVZA did provide and publish daily updates about the competition as well.

In cooperation with the European Refereeing Commission (ERC), Referee Coach Vladimir Cuk from Serbia, who has an extensive experience in the area, did monitor and support the work of the appointed referees, especially younger local ones, so that they would take valuable lessons and feedback in terms of their knowledge and application of the Volleyball rules – and overall refereeing performance too.

At the end of the competition, EEVZA officials and leaders of the Georgian Volleyball Federation awarded the top three teams and best players with medals and trophies. 

Click here for further information, including detailed results.