Rising stars to take centre stage at #EuroVolleyU18W in Latvia and Lithuania

The Latvian capital Riga and the Lithuanian city of Šiauliai are hosting the Final Round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU18W, thereby bringing together the 16 best teams in this age group. Latvia’s youngsters will be playing at this level for the first time since 1999. The tournament will take place from July 1 to 12, with the semi-finals and finals also taking place in Riga.

The 16 teams are divided into two groups, with the top two at the end of the round robin progressing to the semis. The Riga Pool will feature four of the most decorated teams in this age group. There has been 16 such tournaments so far, and three-time champion Italy has climbed the podium in 12 of them. Two-time champions Poland have won four medals in total, the Turkish team has five, and Belgium have three medals to their name. Czechia, Spain, Iceland and Latvia will also compete in this same group.

“We are aware that the group is very strong and four teams are historically among the most titled in this age group. We will have to fight,” said the head coach of the Latvian national team Arvils Keišs on the eve of the tournament. “However, there are also teams that we can fight with and try to “bite” them.” The coach has asked the players to enjoy the opportunity to play a tournament of this level in their own home, because it can lift their spirits: “Already in the test matches against Greece, there were a lot of people in the stands – parents, friends, relatives. There will be even more at the European Championship – let’s try to make them happy!”

The tournament has been played every other year since 1995, when the Latvian national team, then still in the U17 age group, claimed fifth place in Spain. Four years later in Poland, it was 8th, but Latvia had not qualified for the championship since then. “We have been dreaming for several years about the possibility of organising the Final Round of an age-group Volleyball European Championship, so we appreciate the trust of the European Volleyball Confederation. It will be a great opportunity for our young players to test their skills against the strongest peers in Europe,” said Artūrs Vitkovskis, Secretary General of the Latvian Volleyball Federation.

One of the leading players of the Latvian national team, Elza Skalbe, is looking forward to the tournament, and she emphasised that she is not feeling much scare yet. “This is our home and we have played a lot of important games in this hall. It will be nice to play in front of our friends and families. It will give us a lot of confidence in our abilities,” the middle blocker said with a wide smile. “Of course, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Türkiye – these are very strong teams, but it is also a great opportunity for us to show ourselves. We will face them all and it will not be the case that anyone will sweep us away here! I believe that it is important to play against the strongest teams, because only against such teams is it possible to grow. It will be a great experience.”

The games in Riga will be held at the Rimi Olympic Centre, which has been one of the most important training and competition bases in Latvian sports since 2005. It also hosts the most important Latvian youth Volleyball competitions every year, and at the international level it has also hosted the 2016 European Floorball Championship, the 2021 World Ice Hockey Championship, and the 2021 European Women’s Basketball Championship.

Teams from France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and the reigning champions in this age group, Bulgaria, will compete in the second group of this year’s #EuroVolleyU18W in Šiauliai, Lithuania.