Webinar inspires National Federations to play their role to grow Snow Volleyball

The winter season is fast approaching and more than 40 people, representing as many as 30 National Federations, attended a webinar hosted on Thursday afternoon by the CEV Snow Volleyball Department to review where the development of this sport stands and share plans for the future. Switzerland were the first country to announce their intention to deliver two Snow Volleyball events this season, including open to international athletes, with many more countries hopefully following their example despite the challenges still brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

The programme of the webinar included a demo about the use of the VIS (Volleyball Information System) specifically designed for National Federations to manage their players and run Snow Volleyball competitions, with Alberto Rigamonti from the FIVB IT Department briefing the attendees on the use of this tool.

The webinar was also an opportunity to share experiences and best practices, with the Austrian Volleyball Federation – a true pioneer in the development of this sport – reviewing milestones in the history of the game ‘officially’ born in the Austrian Alps, where the first such events took place more than a decade ago. Florian Schabbauer emphasised the importance of working closely with an experienced event partner / agency for the successful delivery of Snow Volleyball competitions – as well with ski resorts, which provide the ideal background and scenery to inspire players and fans alike.

The staff working at the CEV Snow Volleyball Department used the webinar as an opportunity to review the CEV Regulatory Framework, the documents specifically designed for a smooth organisation and delivery of international Snow Volleyball competitions as well as the homologation process for national tours / national championships. Any such homologation brings the benefit of ranking points awarded by FIVB and CEV to the participating teams.



Moreover, to inspire National Federations to contribute to the steady growth of the game, which has been a part of the CEV’s portfolio since 2016, CEV Snow Volleyball Coordinator Daniel Horvath reviewed the many opportunities available to host a Snow Volleyball competition. These range from holding exhibition matches and festivals to national and / or zonal tours all the way up to the Snow Volleyball European Tour and #EuroSnowVolley. The CEV is liaising with National Federations and promoters to finalise the schedule of this year’s European competitions – whose delivery will happen in strict compliance with detailed hygiene and health protocols specifically devised for Snow Volleyball.

Since the CEV’s aim is to encourage a continuous exchange of information and best practices, it was certainly interesting and beneficial for the attendees to listen to the experience of Dirk Decher, who has been overseeing a number of FIVB and CEV Snow Volleyball tournaments in his capacity of Technical Supervisor. Decher invited all National Federations to make plans to grow Snow Volleyball despite the uncertainty brought along by the pandemic – as well as to be always ready to adjust any plans since the specific conditions surrounding Snow Volleyball competitions require a great deal of flexibility from the organiser’s side anyway.

What is very clear from this webinar is that everyone in Europe is very much looking forward to bringing Volleyball back to some truly iconic places and to playing ball on the snow again after the 2020 season ended abruptly following the outbreak of the global health crisis.