Beach Volleyball party in Bratislava crowns Slovak national champions

Bratislava, Slovakia. The Slovak Beach Volleyball Championships 2020 – Summer Beach Tour finished this past weekend with a real bang. A year after the truly successful and unforgettable CEV EuroVolley 2019 Women held in Bratislava, Beach Club Draždiak – the largest Beach Volleyball facility in the country – played host to an amazing event featuring 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams. Jana Šimanicová/Barbora Tokošová and ?uboš Nemec/Marek Ludha were the eventual winners of the competition with both gold medal matches broadcast live nationwide by RTVS – the first time this has happened in a decade. 

In a truly thrilling final, Nemec and Ludha beat Patrik Pokopec and Tomáš Patúc in three sets, coming back from 3-9 down in the decisive set. Therefore, Nemec celebrated his fourth title in a row and he is the first male player to achieve such a feat. For Ludha, on the other hand, this was his first gold medal on the sand. Nemec and Ludha were teammates at VK Prievidza, the Slovak national champions from the last two seasons and Slovakian Cup winners in 2020. 

“We are extremely happy. The gold medal match was extremely tough, but we never stopped to believe in ourselves. I will definitely try to attack the all-time record of six titles,” said the 25-year Nemec, libero from the indoor national Volleyball team. Richard Nemec and Peter Varga, who share the overall record of six titles, watched the final match live in Bratislava. The Summer Beach Tour 2020 consisted of nine stops, including the grand finale in Bratislava. Nemec and Ludha won all six tournaments they contested together without suffering a single loss.

?uboš Nemec (left) and Marek Ludha celebrate their success at the Slovak national championships in Bratislava 
?Newly crowned Slovak national champions Jana Šimanicová/Barbora Tokošová

The top seeded women’s team Šimanicová/Tokošová secured the first Slovak national title in their career. They beat Viktória Mézesová and Lesia Slezáková in straight sets. “It was not our best performance in the final match, but it was enough for the win. I think the hardest match was in the quarterfinals against Dominika Nestarcová [a six-time champion] and Eva Eleková. We expected that we would meet them at a later stage of the competition. We are very happy for the title, it is a great success for us,” said Šimanicová.

CEV Vice-President ?ubor Halanda was among those to attend the event in Bratislava. His son Tomáš won the bronze medal together with the oldest player of the tournament, 41-year-old Marek Jány. The President of the Slovak Volleyball Federation Martin Kraš?eni? was in the stands as well. 

The Summer Beach Tour 2020 did not feature the top Slovak female team from the last few years, Natalia P?idalová (Dubovcová) and Andrea Štrbová. The duo chasing a spot to compete at the Tokyo Olympics now re-scheduled for 2021 parted ways officially in late July because of P?idalová’s pregnancy. Štrbová has decided to return to playing indoors and she will perform in the top division of the Czech national league in the 2020-2021 season.

Sources:
CEV – European Volleyball
SVF – Slovakian Volleyball Federation