In both Stavanger and Kristiansand, large sand volleyball tournaments were arranged for many years. Now the recent world champion Anders Mol (24) is urgently asking for a new international tournament on Norwegian soil.
Less than 20 minutes ago
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Both Mol and partner Christian Sørum were in the speeches after securing the first World Cup gold of their careers on Sunday night, clear that being a spectator in Stavanger had been a great inspiration for their careers.
It was in 1999 that an international sand volleyball tournament was arranged for the first time in Stavanger. The tournament was held annually until 2011, with the World Cup in 2009 as the highlight. From 2005, the tournament was also part of the sport’s “Grand Slam” tournaments.
– I remember an incredible amount from those tournaments there. That was why I started playing. I was with my dad, who was a coach. It was “death cult” to see beach volleyball at that level. That was what aroused the dream in both me and Christian, says Mol to VG.
–In Kristiansand, tournaments were arranged from 2007–2011, where in the latter year the European Championships in beach volleyball were held.
Stavanger was again back as host in 2014 and 2015, but apart from a smaller international tournament in Oslo in 2019, there have been no major international tournaments in Norway since.
– I remember how much fun it was, and as a little kid. Watching beach volleyball live is something completely different than watching it on TV. I hope we can make it happen again, says Mol.
The 24-year-old has himself been active to convince Kristiansand politicians to get the city back on the international sand volleyball mapand when asked what will be next for the duo Mol / Sørum after winning Olympic gold, World Cup gold, European Championship gold (four times) and the world series combined (twice), the answer is clear:
– The next thing now will be to get a tournament to Norway. It’s too stupid that we are the world’s best team and do not have the opportunity to play at home. Luckily we had a lot of visitors here in Rome, and it’s really fun that so many friends and family took the trip down. But we have to get a tournament to Norway. To show what we are good at, we have to play in Norway and show how fat beach volleyball is, says Mol.
The former sand volleyball profile Iver Horrem is now market manager in the Volleyball Association. He is aware that it is not up to the will within the union, but that they are dependent on putting in place a sustainable solution.
– There is nothing else the association wants than to have a tournament at home. Mol / Sørum is the best team in the world, but we have to tick off more boxes before we can start a tournament with a budget of 15 million, Horrem says to VG.
–At the same time, he reveals that the association on Monday had talks with a completely new player, who can help bring a sand volleyball tournament to a different place in Norway than Kristiansand or Stavanger, and that it may be realistic to get the tournament in place already in 2023.
In Stavanger, the last few years ended with negative headlines related to finances, which is also the reason why the association now wants to put in place a healthy financial solution. At the same time, Horrem is aware that there is a major crossroads in Norwegian beach volleyball, before and after the first tournament in Stavanger in 1999.
– Even though we had some challenging years at the end, it was an unparalleled success story, he says.
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