VOLLEYBALL

NEWSLETTER

The following Newsletter has been forwarded to you, from the Volleyball Newsletter E-Mail list. The UK's leading on line Volleyball News service, providing up to date volleyball information, direct to newsletter members throughout the UK and Ireland. Articles are collected from a variety of sources and credited appropriately. The Volleyball Newsletter uses advertising sponsorship to support our free and non-profit making service to newsletter members. To advertise your volleyball events or products, direct to players, club and league secretaries throughout the UK and Ireland, then please see our web site for details or contact Dave at Dave.Reece@volleyballnewsletter.com

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Hi all, More news from the web.

Cheers - Dave Reece Dave.Reece@volleyballnewsletter.com

Hi Volleyball players, the newly formed North Devon College Volleyball Academy and the Academy of Beach Sports are organising a six-a-side beach volleyball competition on Saturday 11th August.

There are two divisions one for beginners who have never or have only played very little and one for those who love to play, know how to and play a sound local league level.

Pink Elephant and Relentless are sponsoring the event, plus there is a BBQ during the late afternoon on Saturday. Entry forms can be found at www.beachvolleyballinc.com

Entry Fee is £40.00 per team and includes entry to the cup and a BBQ for the whole team. If you have any queries please contact Ruth Lovell rlovell@ndevon.ac.uk

Look forward to seeing you there

Denise Austin contact@beachvolleyballinc.com
Community Sports Coach Volleyball North Devon

Jody Gooding

at Hermosa Beach

Steve Grotowski

Jody Gooding & Steve Grotowski have updated their " At the Beach " web site, you can now follow the pair of GB beach players as they tour the world with Jody's regular blog.

Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Turbulance

Scary! really bad
I don't think that Luke is too keen on another flight!
read more...

Monday, 25 June 2007
FIVB challenger

We are off in the morning (looking forward to the early start!) to Brno, in the Czech Republic, to compete in the FIVB Challenger Series. In fact there are four GB mens pairs competing, Gregg
read more...

Sunday, 24 June 2007
Coming to an ad-shelter, soon!

Yes, coming to an Ad-Shelter near you soon, if you live in Gloucestershire, are poster-sized copies of the above! The Gloucester City Council are co-promoting a 6 a-side grass tournament and a 2 a-
read more...

Friday, 22 June 2007
All change

It is all change for the next leg of the Swatch FIVB Beach Volley Tour, in Marseille. Matt Grinlaubs, Head Beach Coach, has decided to try out two new pairings. Gregg Weaver will be playing with
read more...

Wednesday, 20 June 2007
Wild card entry

Just found out that Norman and I have a Wild Card entry into the Main Draw of the FIVB Challenger. It takes place, between the 29 Jun - 1 Jul, in Brno, Czech Republic. This will be the 2nd year it
read more...

"Come with us on our journey - Life is, as they say, a beach" read more of any of the above, visit the blog.

11th and 12th August at Oxstalls Indoor Tennis Centre, Plock Court, Gloucester

Welcome letter from the Festival Organiser - Keith Gooding 'Summer is almost upon us, time for tournament entreies- The Gloucester City Festival of Volleyball will take place over the weekend of August 11th and 12th.

Last year's festival was played in a howling gale-this year we have ordered glorious sunshine! We have, once again, to thank Gloucester City Council Sports Development for their support in making the festival so successful. Entries for the Festival will be at a premium so I advice an early entry to avoid disappointment. Once again Sportset, the volleyball specialists will be in attendance-so get stocked up for the coming season!

We were going to have a beach event but due to circumstances beyond our control that unfortunately has had to be cancelled for this year.

After 17 years Liz is retiring as entries secretary. Janet Leach, a well known figure in Gloucestershire Volleyball and on the referring curcuit, is the new entry secretary.'

Festival entries per team £45, all enquiries to: janet@leach1911.freeserve.co.uk

If you have ended up as quatermaster to your clubs outdoor equipment and beach nets this year, then you will already be quite familiar with your local Army Surplus store, the local farm equipment supplier and the trusted B&Q type store for all those odds and ends like rope, tape and bungee etc. This summer I have received a few emails asking for suggestions and recommending suppliers. You will also find the following web links listed in our web sites Volleyball Yellow Pages section.

	For good quality zipped bags for poles, nets, pegs etc try Sew 'N' So's at www.sewnsos.co.uk (From: Dave)
	A good place for Mikasa Beach Volleyballs is Newitts, currently on sale for £26.04 www.newitts.com (From: Ali)
	I get through quite a few wooden pegs each year, particularly the large beach pegs and my local Army Surplus store has run out. I now have a local supplier who makes them, if anyone would like a price then please contact me Dave.Reece@volleyballnewsletter.com Beach pegs 20" (50cm) / Grass Pegs 13" (33cm) / Line pegs 9" (23cm)
	Another solution to the peg problem: "I have now gone to the steel bolts with a hoop attached which I then tie the guy rope to. It means I don’t lose pegs, always have enough and they don’t wear out. The only down side is they don’t have a point on so if the grass is hard it may not work but is fine on the beach and softer grass". (From Denise) [Galvanized Steel Shoulder Ring Bolts (or similar) and from farm equipment suppliers]

If anyone else would like to add their recommendations / info to the above then please let us know. Dave.Reece@volleyballnewsletter.com

Beach Volleyball has made its way on to the university Facebook networks, one parameter which I can look at from the Croyde Beach volleyball videos, is the referral site being used by our viewers. This is normally our web site and mail service sites like hotmail & AOL etc but last week beach volleyball viewers were also coming from Facebook sites like "Facebook.com / Oxford.facebook.com / unikent.facebook.com" to name a few. These sites have never previously appeared in our indoor match listing statistics.

Is beach volleyball the new hit with university students, does it fits in with the Facebook lifestyle thing or is it just that it's a cool video. Perhaps it's not beach volleyball at all, it may be the only video online featuring over an hour of the Gold Coast Ocean Fest music in the background, after all 25,000 attended this years event and the weather was better than Glastonbury.

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5109160.stm
Facebook is an online social network which has swept the university population in the United States and is making a foothold in this country. What are the three most important things in the life of students in the United States? Beer, iPods and Facebook. That's the finding of a lifestyle-tracking survey in US colleges this month... And in the UK, the Facebook wave has made its biggest impact at the upmarket universities - in places such as Oxford, Cambridge, University College London, the London School of Economics.

Facebook Info:
Founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 / 7.5m people registered / Seventh most popular website in US

João José, captain of the Portuguese Men’s National team, was elected “International Athlete of the Year” by CNID (Sports Journalists Association) together with football professional Cristiano Ronaldo. The award will be presented during the Final Four of the European League which will be held in Portimão from 7-8 July 2007. João José had a brilliant season as captain of the German team VFB Friedrichshafen with whom he reached the triple: German Champion, German Cup winner as well as Indesit European Champions’ League winner. Following the title of Best Blocker during the 2002 World Championships in Argentina, where Portugal finished eighth, José was ranked eighth in the Best Blocker ranking of the Champions’ League 2006/07. Born in Portimão in 1978, João José started his volleyball career in 1994 in the Che Lagoense Club (Algarve), where he remained for three seasons. From then on he played in AD Machico (four seasons), CS Maritimo (2002/03), Castelo da Maia GC (2003/04) and VFB Friedrichshafen.

José Fonte, Press Department, Portuguese Volleyball Federation
www.fpvoleibol.pt

A new video of interest has appeared on YouTube this week, called "Nikki's Volleyball Clinic" and features 3 min of highlights from a junior training session. Our juniors are quite, don't call for the ball and freeze when in a game, not these kids. Click on image to view or go direct to the YouTube video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-5vUTYiX8k

Spain are the new European League champion, claiming a hard fought tie-break victory (20-18!) over Portugal in the European League Final in Portimão (POR). The Spanish formation continued their string of success, showing no fear towards the home team. It was the best result for the Spaniards since their 4th place at the 2005 European Championship and their bronze medal in European League two years ago. Slovakia secured the third place with a 3:1 victory over Slovenia.

It was Portugal who turned up the head from the beginning in the final of the European League 2007, putting a lot of pressure on the Spanish defence (16-12). Under the lead of “Portugal’s International Athlete of the Year” João José the Portuguese scored without remorse, securing the first set to 21. But neighbour Spain came back strongly, fighting back bravely in the second set. Especially 2007 European League Final Four Most Valuable Player awarded Guillermo Falasca proved his excellent form, guiding his team back into the match. Nevertheless, under the strong support of the home crowd, the Portuguese started off the third set powerful. Best Scorer awarded Hugo Fernando Gaspar knocked out the Spanish defence, before the Spaniards turned around the score again (21-18). A serve fault concluded the third set in Spain’s favour. In the fourth game Portugal bounced back, sharing a commanding lead (16-12/21-16) which they never relinquished. A tie-break had to decide, which Spain began stronger (7-5). However, the hosts levelled to 9-9 again, but it was finally Israel Rodriguez who booked the Spanish victory in extremis (20-18) after more than two hours with a wonderful block winner.

Slovakia took the bronze medal, defeating Slovenia in four sets. After a eighth (2004), sixth (2005) as well as a seventh place in 2006, this year’s result is the best in Slovakia’s men volleyball history. Precise attacks, in particular by Martin Sopko, decided the first set in Slovakia’s favor (25-18). The Slovenians became more confident in the second set, leveling the score to 20-20. Five powerful serves in a row by Slovenian superstar Mitja Gasparini brought the Slovakians to its knee. Advancing with a three-point lead in the second technical time-out (13-16), Slovakia tightened the hold on the game to carry off the third set 25-19. Slovakia also carried on the winning streak in the fourth set, finally claiming the third place with a well deserved victory.

Michal Masny (Slovakia’s captain): “I am very happy; the 3rd place in the European League is a huge success for Slovakia. We played very well in attack. Now we hope to keep this level for the European Championship in September this year.”

Vladimir Pridal (Slovakia’s head Coach): “I am very proud of my team. Yesterday we lost, but today we played focused and, despite of the absence of some players, claimed an important victory.”

The Final Four of the European League in Portimão turned out to be a major success. Journalists from all over Europe were present with the matches being broadcasted live on Eurosport 2 and Eurosport International, as well as several national television channels in Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Kuwait, Romania, Czech Republic as well as Latvia.

For further information on the European League 2007 please contact www.cev.lu

Local men’s team Patrick Heuscher/Sascha Heyer and German ladies Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler claimed the Swiss Masters titles, the fourth stop of the NESTEA European Championship Tour 2007.

Heuscher/Heyer kept their promise of winning the Swiss Masters, beating Dutch Emiel Boersma/Bram Ronnes 27-25 in the final tiebreak set of the tournament. “We do not have a lot of opportunities to play at home on this level so we have to use the few chances we have”, declared the Swiss prior to the event. The duo showed hardly any weaknesses except for the defeat against Swiss compatriots and three-time European Champions Paul and Martin Laciga. The victory earned Hesucher/Heyer 8’500 Euros in prize money as well as 600 ranking list points. “It felt great to play in front of this great ambience and to have so much support from the fans”, Patrick Heuscher said, “This victory will definitely provide us with confidence for the World Championships.” The World Championships will take place at the end of July in Gstaad where Heuscher/Heyer are looking to land their second home coup.

In the women’s tournament, Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler won, a team that no one in Europe knew up until a few months ago, but which has surprised the experts time and again since the beginning of the season. At the season opening event of the NESTEA European Championship Tour in Austria, Holtwick/Semmler were eliminated in the qualifying but since then, the two German girls have climbed the rankings with gold at the Russian Masters in Moscow, bronze at the German Masters in Hamburg and gold again at the Swiss Masters in Lucerne. “The first final’s appearance in Moscow was really amazing”, stated Ilka Semmler, “But also the sudden success now was unexpected.” In the final of the Swiss Masters Holtwick/Semmler, leaders of the European Ranking with 1’800 points ahead of Hajeckova/Novotna (1320 points), defeated Sabine Swoboda and Sara Montagnolli-Ebenbichler from Austria in two straight sets 2:0 (21-16, 21-15). “The victory here in Lucerne means a lot to us”, Semmler continued, “In particular as the competition in the tournament was on a very high level.”

For the Austrians, the final’ appearance has been the biggest success so far. “It’s just incredible”, Sara Montagnolli-Ebenbichler rejoiced after the final, “This is the first time an Austrian team made it to the semi-finals but reaching the final is even more impressive”. The sisters Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger completed the Austrian success by taking bronze.

The next stop on the NESTEA European Championship Tour is the 100’000 Euro Dutch Masters from 9-12 August 2007 in The Hague. For more information please view www.eurobeachtour.com

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