PRESS KIT SNOW VOLLEYBALL NIGHT FEBRUARY 14, 2018
SNOW VOLLEYBALL NIGHT Snow Volleyball Night is an event jointly organised by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV). It will take place during the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea on February 14, 2018 at the Austria House. An exhibition match will take place at 16:00, featuring male and female volleyball and beach volleyball stars from Austria, Brazil, China, Serbia and South Korea. Players will compete in a mixed gender, three-aside match in a best of three sets competition. The first two sets end with the first team to reach 21 points, and the third with 15. A special court format of 7m X 14m will be tested during the event. The match will be followed by a press conference at 17:30, convened for an announcement on the development of snow volleyball worldwide and future plans for the sport, including the inaugural snow volleyball European Championships in March 2018 in Austria. At 18:30, there will be a reception and a chance to find out more about snow volleyball. The public is invited to watch the exhibition match on February 14 and attend the family event at Austria House on February 15 to join some of volleyball s true legends on the snow. 2
STARS TAKING PART IN THE EXHIBITION MATCH GILBERTO (GIBA) AMAURY DE GODOY FILHO BRAZIL Gilberto (Giba) Amaury de Godoy Filho was widely regarded as one of the best volleyball players in the world for much of the 2000s. The Brazilian won a gold medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, as well as silver medals at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games, and was victorious at three World Championships (2002, 2006, 2010). During his professional career he played for clubs in Brazil, Italy, Russia, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates. Giba is now the President of the FIVB Athletes Commission. EMANUEL REGO BRAZIL Emanuel Rego represented Brazil in beach volleyball at five consecutive Olympic Games. Emanuel won gold at Athens 2004, as well as silver in 2012 and bronze in 2008. As well as being the recipient of many individual awards for his incredible athleticism, Emanuel is a threetime world champion, two-time Pan-American Games gold medallist and is an expert on the FIVB Athletes Commission. VLADIMIR GRBIC SERBIA One of the most decorated volleyball players of his generation, Grbić is a member of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, having won gold at the Sydney 2000 and bronze at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. The Serbian has won medals at both World and European Championship level, as well as reaching the World League podium three times during his distinguished career, and now represents the FIVB Athletes Commission as Secretary. NIKOLAS BERGER AUSTRIA With the event being hosted by the Austria House, Nikolas Berger is sure to be a fan favourite. Having played both indoor and beach volleyball during his career, it seems only natural that Berger would now attempt snow volleyball! A four-time Austrian volleyball champion, Berger also represented his country on the sand at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and won gold at the 2003 European Beach Volleyball Championships in Alanya, Turkey before retiring in 2008. 3
STARS TAKING PART IN THE EXHIBITION MATCH XUE CHEN STEFANIE SCHWAIGER CHINA AUSTRIA The Chinese beach volleyball star burst onto the Stefanie Schwaiger will also be hoping to get the scene in 2006 when, aged just 17, Xue won the Austrian crowd onside at the exhibition event in China Shanghai Jinshan Open. She went on to PyeongChang. Having represented her country win a bronze medal at her home Olympic Games in beach volleyball at back-to-back Olympic in Beijing, and narrowly missed out on another Games (2008, 2012), Schwaiger became a homenation favourite when she and her elder sister medal four years later in London. Xue is a twotime World Championship medallist, winning Doris won the 2013 European Championships in gold in 2013 and bronze in 2011, and currently sits Klagenfurt, Austria. as a member on the FIVB Athletes Commission. KIM YEON-KOUNG SOUTH KOREA A MVP in volleyball at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Kim has represented South Korea on some of the FIVB s biggest stages throughout her career. Kim won the Asian Games in 2014, and also has a silver medal from 2010, as well as four Asian Championship podium finishes, including a bronze at last year s event in the Philippines. She won the CEV Volleyball Champions League in 2012 with Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL, receiving the award for the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Kim is also a member of the FIVB Athletes Commission. 4
SNOW VOLLEYBALL BACKGROUND NOTES Snow volleyball demonstrates the fun, passion and universality of the sport of volleyball, which is now accessible all year round, from the summer to the winter, from the beach to the mountains, indoor and outdoor. Volleyball any time, any place, anywhere. Though people all over the world have been playing volleyball in the snow for many years, the adventure to formalise snow volleyball as a sport began in 2008, in the mountains of Wagrain, Austria. For the first time in the history of this winter sports resort, net posts and pitch lines were dug into the snow at an altitude of broadcast the event live, raising the awareness around 1,850m, with Chaka 2 becoming the first of the new discipline throughout the country. promoter. In 2017, the FIVB held its inaugural three-day On October 16, 2015, at its Congress in Sofia, Volleyball Your Way Snow Festival from March Bulgaria, the European Volleyball Confederation 22-24 at Wagrain-Kleinarl in Austria, followed by (CEV) confirmed the addition of the new sport the international Snow Volleyball Goes Europe to its official calendar. The first CEV Snow professional tournament on March 25-26. Volleyball European Tour took place under the umbrella of the continental confederation Following the success of the European Tour, the and was held between March and April 2016 CEV decided to organise the Snow Volleyball with three stops in as many countries (Czech European Championships in March 2018 for the Republic, Austria and Italy). first time ever. The first international snow volleyball competition outside of Europe took place on February 12 and 13, 2017, at the Dizin mountain resort in Iran, 2,650 meters above sea level. The Iranian national television channel TV3 The FIVB is also currently developing snow volleyball by teaming up with existing sports events to build awareness of the discipline and create a global movement, built on what has been put in place already on the European Tour. 5
SNOW VOLLEYBALL BACKGROUND NOTES Between 2017-2019, the FIVB aims to establish an eight-year plan and will test rules and regulations at various demonstration events. The FIVB vision is to offer opportunities to enjoy volleyball in all its forms which can unite people in a peaceful environment, with the goal of being the number one family sport in the world. The FIVB and CEV have recognised snow volleyball as one of their disciplines and the two organisations hope that all affiliated volleyball governing bodies will do the same in their respective countries. This will contribute to the growth of the sport at the grassroots and international level. The goal is to have a full-fledged World Tour from 2018/2019 season (minimum three stops within the territory of three different Confederations), a World Championship in 2020 and a demonstration event at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne. One of the goals of the FIVB is to create new opportunities to attract tourism at prestigious winter resorts and possibly to partner with iconic venues and existing sports events as well as new sponsors. Do snow volleyball players wear special clothes? For the moment, there is no specific uniform designed for snow volleyball, so various types of clothing can be observed on the courts. Most athletes who play snow volleyball are also beach or indoor volleyball players. As snow volleyball players, they usually wear thermal underwear under existing volleyball uniforms, that consist of synthetic t-shirts and shorts with some promotional logos. This helps players keep warm especially in negative temperatures while conveying the image of volleyball in general to the audience. Football boots are used when playing snow volleyball, since they provide a grip on the snow and prevent the player from sliding when playing. However, over the next two years the FIVB and CEV will work with their suppliers to develop specific equipment and uniforms for snow volleyball. Snow Volleyball Night is another opportunity to gather feedback from experienced, world-class athletes, and find out more about what is needed to optimise comfort and performance in winter conditions. 6
SNOW VOLLEYBALL BACKGROUND NOTES 2018 CEV SNOW VOLLEYBALL EUROPEAN TOUR Date Country Venue 12-14 January Turkey Erciyes (TUR) 17-18 February Italy Roccaraso (ITA) 23-25 February Georgia Bakuriani (GEO) 1-4 March Turkey Uludag (TUR) 9-11 March Slovenia Kranjska Gora (SLO) 16-18 March Italy Plan de Corones / Kronplatz (ITA) 2018 CEV SNOW VOLLEYBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Date Country Venue 06-07 January Russia Zelenogorsk (RUS) 20 January Austria Zell am See - Kaprun (AUT) 20-21 January Armenia Tsaghkadzor (ARM) 20-21 January Croatia Platak, Rijeka (CRO) 20-21 January Lithuania Jonava Sports & Recreation Center (LTU) 27 - Jan Latvia Sigulda (LAT) 03-04 February Ukraine Shostka City (UKR) 09-11 February Turkey Artvin (TUR) 09-11 February Hungary Epleny Skiarena (HUN) 16-18 February Germany Winterberg (GER) 17 - Feb Czech Republic Spindleruv Mlyn (CZE) 18 - Feb Switzerland Engelberg (SUI) 24 - Feb Slovakia Strbske Pleso (SVK) 24-25 February Greece Kalavrita Ski resort (GRE) 26-27 February Georgia Bakuriani (GEO) 02-04 March Norway Gaustadtoppen Skisenter (NOR) 03-04 March Slovenia Ziri (SLO) 2018 CEV SNOW VOLLEYBALL EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS The inaugural CEV Snow Volleyball European Championships will be held in Wagrain-Kleinarl and Flachau in Austria from March 23 to 25, 2018. Over three days of competition, 24 teams from each gender will compete for a top prize of 10,000. 7
PRESS CONTACTS FIVB press contact Communications Department Email: press@fivb.org Telephone: +41 21 345 35 35 www.fivb.com CEV press contact Communications Department Email: communication@cev.lu Telephone: +352 25 46 46 37 www.cev.lu Onsite press contact Mr Wolfgang Eichler Austria House Email: eichler@nwms.at Telephone: +43 664 2769084 8