Snow Volleyball
Following three days of intense competition, teams from Türkiye and Italy emerged victorious at the U20 Snow Volleyball European Championships. Host nation Poland secured two silver medals, while Ukraine earned bronze medals in both the men`s and women`s events.
This tournament marked the second staging of the U20 Snow Volleyball European Championships. The previous year, held in Bakuriani, Georgia, saw Czechia take the women`s title, with Poland second and Türkiye third. In the men`s competition, Poland won gold, followed by Czechia and Türkiye.
This year, the picturesque resort town of Karpacz in the Karkonosze Mountains hosted the event. Evening matches on Friday and Saturday proved popular, drawing crowds to the Irena Szewińska Stadium to cheer on Europe`s top young teams. The weather was ideal for the competition, with sunny skies and temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius.
In the women`s semifinals, Poland 1 defeated Ukraine. Poland 3 nearly caused an upset against Türkiye but ultimately lost in a tie-break, sending Türkiye to the gold medal match. Both men`s semifinals finished in straight sets, with Poland 1 and Italy advancing to the final.
The bronze medal matches saw Poland face Ukraine in both genders. Poland 3 (Emilia Żurawska, Maria Pietrin, Wiktoria Surażyńska) were close to securing a straight-sets victory in the women`s match, but Ukraine improved their game, particularly serving, to force a tie-break, which they won 15-11 after a tight contest. Reflecting on their performance, the Polish team commented, “We really enjoyed playing on snow, and with each match, we felt more confident. If we get the chance, we would definitely like to play in such a tournament again.” They narrowly missed out on a medal in Karpacz.
Following the women`s bronze match, the Ukrainian men`s team (Nikita Pavliuk, Anton Tasenko, Artem Varvanin, Serhii Varvanin) secured their own bronze medal by defeating Poland 4 (Paweł Zatoń, Damian Dudek, Szymon Wolak, and Dominik Mućka).
The women`s gold medal match was a lengthy battle, lasting over 40 minutes. Poland won the opening set, but Türkiye progressively raised their level, particularly in serving and defence, to claim the victory. The players from Poland 1 (Zuzanna Rapczyńska, Paulina Łabuz, Zofia Preweda, and Wiktoria Leśniewicz) shared their feelings: “We know we will appreciate this silver medal more later, but right now we regret being so close to gold. We really enjoyed playing in Karpacz – it was something special to compete at home, especially with our loved ones supporting us in the stands.”
In the men`s final, the Italian squad (Laurin Zoeschg, Diego Leon Steger, Michael Stolzlechner, Luis Mairhofer) delivered a strong performance to defeat Poland 1, a team that trains at SMS Spała. Despite losing their opening match in Karpacz, Italy went on to win all subsequent games to clinch the gold. Members of the defeated Polish team (Marcel Wanat, Michał Kucharski, Tomasz Warych, and Wiktor Musiał) commented after the match, “There is some disappointment because we wanted more, but we are still happy and grateful for the opportunity to play here.”
Hosting the U20 Snow Volleyball European Championships was a historic moment for Karpacz and for Poland, marking the first time the country had hosted an international snow volleyball tournament.
