Lausanne, Switzerland, July 15, 2020 – Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich and Anouk Vergé-Dépré have been invited to challenge the home favourites on the German Beach Volleyball Tour.
The first of the women’s three tournaments that leads to the National Tour Finals in September will take place in Dusseldorf from July 17-19 and they have been placed in a pool with Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Margareta Kozuch who won the Rome 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals.
Louisa Lippmann, Germany's reigning volleyball Player of the Year, will also feature in the tournament as a replacement for the injured Viktoria Bieneck, and will play in tandem with Isabel Schneider.
She has been in training in Hamburg since March since the German Bundesliga stopped due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and Schneider gave her a call when Bieneck was ruled out.
“For me it is a journey into the unknown,” Lippmann said. “I am really looking forward to this opportunity, which will take me forward personally and as an athlete.
“Nevertheless, expectations should be dampened. It is my first time playing in the sand and at the moment I am learning new things every day.”
The German Tour is the latest to begin in Europe and after the women have opened proceedings this weekend, later the same venue hosts a men’s tournament from July 24 to 26.
A further week on another women’s tournament takes place from July 31 to August 2, before a men’s tournament from August 7 to August 9 concludes the action alongside the River Rhine.
From there the action moves to Hamburg for a women’s tournament from August 14 to August 16, before the men compete from August 21 to August 23.
The finals will take place and the German champions crowned on Timmendorfer Strand, a beachside venue on Germany’s Baltic coastline from September 3 to September 6.
Heidrich and Vergé-Dépré had their most recent success on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in August 2019 when they won gold at the Moscow 4-Star. They also participated in the Tokyo qualification tournament in September.
The Swiss pair have been placed in Pool B and, as well as Olympic champion Ludwig and Kozuch, will also take on Anna Hoja and Stefanie Klatt, and Leonie Kortzinger and Sarah Schneider.
Lippmann and Schneider compete in Pool A where they will face Karla Borger and Julia Sude, Sandra Ittlinger and Chantal Laboureur, and Kim Behrens and Cinja Tillmann.
“We are extremely happy that the German Championships are taking place in Timmendorfer Strand and that we have the opportunity to collect minutes of competition before that,” Laboureur said.
Read more:German players set to start race to national championshipTeam of the Week: Switzerland's Heidrich and Vergé-DépréPlayer of the Week: Louisa LippmannQuick links:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour