2016-06-28 13:00:00 CET
Best players in the world make Poreč Major stand out from the crowd
The Poreč Major is open for business and our Swatch Major Series beach volleyball ambassador Julius Brink couldn’t have said it any better at our press conference this morning.
“The teams that are playing here will be competing for gold, silver and bronze in Rio – the players here are at the best in the world!” said the reigning Olympic gold medalist at a packed players’ area.
“From the moment I arrived last year I was impressed and while Poreč doesn’t have the history of Klagenfurt it already is competing at the same level.
“I still feel like a player and I can’t wait to be a part of it again this year. I’m proud to help promote it and help make it even better than last year’s.
“We hope we can build this event in Poreč as a monument in our calendar.”
Julius’ thoughts were echoed by Beach Majors CEO Hannes Jagerhofer at the press conference.
“Klagenfurt of course has a long history but Poreč exciting for us and it’s only our second year,” he said.
“Why is it so special this year? Well because of the Olympics! In a meeting with NBC they committed to showing 10 days of beach volleyball at primetime on the East Coast in American which means beach volleyball will be one of the most watched sports at the Olympics.”
The press conference also had a special guest in the shape of Samanta Fabris, a Croatian indoor volleyball star-in-the-making who we spoke to exclusively on Swatch Major Series last week.
“I’m glad to be here and I’m looking forward to playing with the best players in the world – even though I am not used to playing beach volleyball,” said the 24-year-old.
“This tournament is one of the most important events in this country.
“For me it is my first tournament but I hope for us in the future we can come again but this year we will try our best for sure.”
Read the third installment of Ben Saxton's Swatch Major Series blog
Stunning comeback gives Brazilian qualifiers gold