no team wants to oversleep the season’s kick-off
Grand Canary, April 16, 2008. These are the things anybody may associate to beach volleyball competitions: hot temperatures (30° C), a location close to the sea, a great atmosphere and lots of exciting matches.
The day before the Qualification Tournament to the Spanish Masters, which serves as the first leg of the 2008 NESTEA European Championship Tour, there was already plenty of sweat lost on the courts of Playa del Ingles, Grand Canary. A total of 39 men’s and women’s teams had to assert themselves in the so-called country quota play-offs to secure a spot in the above mentioned qualification tournament. 14 duos advanced in the end and will be back on Thursday morning to try to get themselves into the main draw.
The following teams survived the matches played within the frame of the country quota play-offs:
Men: Gavira/Lario (Spain), Matysik/Uhmann (Germany), De Gruitjer/Ronnes (Netherlands), Laciga M./Schnider and Gabathuler/Wenger (both Switzerland).
Women:Campisi/Lozano (Spain), Van Iersel/Wesselink and Boersma/Leenstra (both Netherlands), Klapalova/Patrova and Kolocova/Slukova (both Czech Republic), Goller/Ludwig (Germany), Graessli/Zumkehr, Guerra/Schmocker-Truessel and Kuhn/Schwer (all representing Switzerland).
32 men’s and women’s duos will now apply for the four spots still available in the main draw of the Spanish Masters which features a 100,000 € prize money.
Schedule:
Thursday, April 17: Qualification Tournament Men/Women
Friday, April 18: Main Draw Men/Women
Saturday, April 19: Main Draw Men/Women; in the afternoon Semifinals Men/Women
Sunday, April 20: Finals Women (11 am) and Men (1 pm)
For further information on the NESTEA European Championship Tour 2008 please visit:
Beach Volleyball - European Championship Tour