First impressions are the ones that matter, and despite being early days yet, so far so good for Larnaka, the hosting city of the 2015 CEV U20 Beach Volleyball European Championship.
“Larnaka have set high standards in the past, and from what I have managed to observe, despite my brief stay in Cyprus, everything goes according to plan and we are all expecting a very successful tournament and a great spectacle for the fans,” were some of the words of CEV Technical Supervisor Pier Paolo Murgioni.
He went on to say: “Coming from an island myself I can see what it means for this small country and its people hosting such an important Beach Volleyball event.” The CEV Official from Cagliari, having inspected in the morning the court facilities added: “The organisers still have some minor adjustments to do in the courts, but they have reassured me that all will be in place come Wednesday morning.” 
Mr Murgioni had a final message for the home fans: “Larnaka’s track record is one of the best in Europe, so local people know what Beach Volleyball is all about. My message to the fans is a simple one: Come and you will have fun watching the matches, as this will be a big show with great athletes taking part, an experience not to be missed!”
There are still 48 hours before the opening matches, and some teams have already arrived in Cyprus. The Swedish teams, methodical as always, were one of the first contingents to appear in Larnaka, in order to adjust to the weather and court conditions. Jacob Link and Jakob Molin (pictured) had an early practice session on court 1. “Weather is hot but nice, people are friendly and we can’t wait for the matches to begin,” said Link. “We know what to expect in this tournament, as the standard of a lot of the athletes is quite high. However, we are optimistic that we will do well as a pair and as Sweden as a whole,” said Molin.
Cyprus will take part in this event with 12 athletes, six competing in the men’s draw and six in the women’s. Pantelis Christidis and Georgios Chrysostomou, having met their Swedish counterparts, were getting ready for their practice. “We come to this event well-prepared, and we will try our best to achieve good results for our country,” said Christidis. Chrysostomou, on the other hand, spoke about the difficulties they face when competing with such high-quality opponents. “We know that some of the other athletes have played in the men’s competition in other events, and this makes it even harder for us. Everybody in the Cyprus camp is optimistic, all we ask is for the home fans to come and support us, as this will mean a lot to us.”
You can follow the competition also on social media with the official hashtag #EuroBeachVolleyU20
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