The final round of the CEV Snow Volley European Tour is set to begin this weekend, March 30-31, in Prato Nevoso, Italy.
A total of twenty-six teams representing 10 countries will compete. Saturday features the men`s and women`s pool and elimination rounds, while Sunday is reserved for the final matches and award ceremonies in the early afternoon. The event extends with the Snow Volley Festival on Easter Monday.
The men`s tournament features eighteen teams: twelve from Italy and six international teams from Switzerland, Türkiye, France, Poland, Belgium, and Uruguay (as a wild card).
Key contenders include the French duo Adrien Pédèches and Iskander El-Ghouti, who won the second round in Erzurum, Türkiye, previously with Daniel Petrov. For this event, they team up with Julien Saint-Vanne and Nicolas Salmon. The Polish team, featuring Piotr Groszek, Michal Matyja, Mikolaj Kaczmarek, and Karole Szczepanik, will be seeking redemption after their loss to France in the Turkish final.
Italian hopes are high for the trio of Massimo Di Risio, Federico Geromin, and Matteo Camozzi, who won the opening round in Bakuriani, Georgia, against a Polish team that included Matyja and Groszek.
Other notable Italian players expected to perform well include Alessandro Carucci, the Pizzileo brothers (Filippo, Tommaso, Edoardo), Michele Bennato, Matteo Carlon, Enrico Lupatelli, and Gaetano Vespero. Local interest will be on Thomas Berger, Michael Burgmann, and Peter Seeber, who were crowned Italian snow volleyball champions in Prato Nevoso last year.
The women`s competition consists of eight teams: three from Italy, two from Hungary, and one each from Türkiye, Czechia, and Austria.
Italian champions Sofia Arcaini, Sara Breidenbach, and Anna Dalmazzo are expected to be strong contenders against the dominant Turkish team of Erve Celebi, Zeynep Dila, Nursel Yaren Sencel, and Simge Yalcin. This Turkish quartet has already won both previous rounds of the tour, defeating their compatriots in Bakuriani and a Romanian team in Erzurum.
In total, the event, including the main tournament and the Snow Volley Festival, is expected to bring over 250 participants, comprising athletes, referees, and staff, to Prato Nevoso.
