Vienna, Austria, July 28, 2017 – The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2017 started this Friday and while the best athletes of the planet are showcasing their skills in Vienna there are a lot of different ways to have fun at the Danube Island over the next ten days.
A comprehensive schedule of activities developed to entertain and connect people from all ages with volleyball is taking place in the venue at the same time the matches are played in the three courts of the complex.
Besides of watching the best players of the world competing in the most important tournament of the season, fans are able to experiment volleyball in all its shapes and forms thanks to FIVB’s Volleyball Your Way programme, which was first implemented at Rio 2016 Olympic Games and since then has been part of each major volleyball and beach volleyball tournament around the globe.
Volleyball and sitting volleyball clinics will be available to everyone, including a unique session managed by Special Olympic athletes this Friday at 14:00 (local time). There will also be the ASICS Cup, a tournament for kids, and several volleyball challenges over the days.
Fans will also have the unique opportunity of taking pictures and raising the trophies that will be delivered to the new world champions in the end of the event. Made of sand cast bronze, the pieces were developed for the 2015 edition of the tournament and represent the many elements that compose beach volleyball.
By taking part of the activities, supporters can eventually run into a beach volleyball legend as several of the players competing in the World Championships will take some time to interact with fans. Chinese Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medalist and 2013 world champion Chen Xue was the first to check in on Friday morning. She played with lucky fans, signed autographs and took pictures with them.
The phenomenon of snow volleyball will also highlight the event as fans will have the chance to try the sport for one hour in the afternoon of August 4. This will actually be the second activity promoted by FIVB in Austria following the 2017 Volleyball Your Way Snow Festival, which introduced 400 children to the sport last March in the Austrian Alps of Wagrain-Kleinarl.