Baden, Austria. The Park Hotel in the spa city of Baden played host on Monday to a press conference introducing the 2021 edition of Beach Volleyball Baden presented by SPORT.LAND.NÖ – with the second stage of the CEV Continental Cup coming up later this week followed shortly afterwards by #EuroBeachVolleyU22. The home athletes as well as representatives of sponsors and organisers shared information about their expectations.
The players due to represent Team Austria at the Continental Cup event in Baden
Due to the measures in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the tournaments in Weilburgpark will take place without any spectators. Team Austria showed themselves full of self-confidence and anticipation at the media event.
Martin Ermacora, who recently finished fourth at a 4-Star event in Cancun and who is due to represent Austria in the Continental Cup, said: “We are in top form and we come from Mexico with a lot of self-confidence. The preparations have been going very well and I look forward to the Continental Cup with much confidence. Baden is a place we have fond memories of and I hope we will be able to use the home-court advantage.”
Partner Moritz Pristauz: “We are really looking forward to the event in Baden, where we want to prove that Austria is one of the best Beach Volleyball nations in Europe. I think we have a very strong and balanced team, against which no nation would like to play.”
Katharina Schützenhöfer: “We have been back in Austria since last Tuesday and are training in Vienna. I could not play in Baden last year and therefore I am all the more happy to be able to perform on home soil again. Unfortunately, our friends and families cannot share this competition with us, but we are convinced that, like every year, it will still be a great event.”
Lena Plesiutschnig: “From today on we will prepare together with the Strauss twin sisters right here in Baden and can adjust ourselves optimally to the court and the local conditions. We want to repeat the good performance of the last weeks and continue to pull through consistently.”
Philipp Seel, Secretary General of the Austrian Volleyball Federation (ÖVV): “We are looking forward to these important home events! As an association in the last so demanding months, we have tried to provide our teams with opportunities to develop optimal training and competition rhythm. The games and results in Cancun have shown that we are heading in the right direction and we are entering this Continental Cup with a lot of confidence. The goal is to qualify for the final with a top placement. At the U22 European Championship, our teams have the chance to gain a lot of valuable experience and to achieve a top result as well if all pieces fall into place.”
2019 EuroBeachVolley bronze medal winners Pristauz/Ermacora are eager to compete on home soil
Dominik Gschiegl, Managing Director of HSG-Events, promoter of the event: “Beach Volleyball Baden this year is another challenge, and we are sorry that we are not allowed to let fans in. However, everyone’s safety come first! We have the live reporting, together with the ORF and our online team, so that fans can watch every game at home. We also value sustainability is important to us and with our events we want to send out a positive message to that extent as well.”
