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„We see Great Potential in the Nations Duel!“
Berlin/Zurich, 01 February 2006: World-class, premiere, entertainment and future prospects: all these attributes go perfectly with the Beach Nations Cup® Final 2006 Berlin presented by NESTEA from 3-5 February 2006.
World-Class: Five top Beach Volleyball Nations, including men’s teams from Germany, Norway, Switzerland and Spain as well as women’s duos from Germany and the Netherlands; all of them belonging to the world’s elite. Take the 2004 Olympic bronze medallists Patrick Heuscher/Stefan Kobel and the World Championship silver medallists Sascha Heyer/Paul Laciga (both Switzerland). Or take the current European Champions Pablo Herrera/Raul Mesa (Spain) and the Vice European Champions Rebecca Kadijk/Merel Mooren (Netherlands). And the German teams with the two-time European champions Markus Dieckmann/Jonas Reckermann and the 2003 European Champions Stephanie Pohl/Okka Rau leading the way have no reason to hide either, as Julius Brink’s confidence confirms: “Germany is the best European Beach Volleyball nation. It would be awkward for us to say we would be happy with third place here.”
Premiere: A total of four new duos will be celebrating their debut. The performance of the German teams with “World Championship bronze glitter” Julius Brink/Christoph Dieckmann and David Klemperer/Kjell Schneider will be especially anticipated.“ For us it is a first test under competitive conditions after only training so far”, Dieckmann says. The Spaniards will also be entering the tournament “turned twice inside-out”: Javier Bosma/Inocencio Lario and John Garcia Thompson/Alex Ortiz will be presenting themselves to the public for the very first time.
Entertainment: Of course sport will be in the foreground in Berlin, but Beach Volleyball is as popular as it is because it has the additional appeal together with the sport. Thumping beats, attractive cheerleaders, the mandatory Players’ Party, and celebrity games guarantee a whole lot of variety. “Quiet, please” is absolutely unwelcome.
Future Prospects: At the preview press conference last week President Werner von Moltke (German Volleyball Federation), René Hecht (Berlin Volleyball Federation), as well as Christian Scholbrock (marketing agency Global Sports Marketing) and the German players Brink/Dieckmann had positive things to say concerning the future prospects of the Beach Nations Cup®. “We believe to have found a need in the market with the nations concept and we want to continue developing the format in the direction of the ‘Davis Cup’”, Scholbrock said. It is an especially good alternative for Northern European nations to catch up on the South Americans’ natural training advantage. “It is essential, especially for teams from Northern Europe to have this kind of competition”, Norway’s top player Vegard Hoidalen thinks. And Vice World Champion Sascha Heyer adds: “We see great potential in this nations duel for the future. This format is a real treat with maximum excitement and entertainment for the athletes, fans and the media.”
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