EBVC reviews momentous year for European Beach Volleyball, draws plans for bright future

Earlier this week, the members of the European Beach Volleyball Commission (EBVC) came together at the home of European Volleyball in Luxembourg City for their annual plenary meeting with the CEV staff working all year round for the continued growth of Beach Volleyball across Europe. 

The conversations revolved initially around a review of a highly successful and record-breaking 2025 season, which started in late April with the first event on European soil and concluded in early November with the Beach Volley European Cup 2025 Final delivered with much success in Heraklion, Greece. The major highlights of a truly momentous year were certainly the CEV EuroBeachVolley held in Düsseldorf, Germany, and the Beach Volley Nations Cup Final organised in Espinho, Portugal. 

The EBVC finalised the detailed terms and conditions and competition parameters for the organisation of events in 2026 – with the season due to reach its climax with the Nations Cup Final in Budapest, Hungary, and the CEV EuroBeachVolley due to take place in Stare Jablonki, Poland. These events will break new ground for the sport in Europe since such high-profile competitions have never been held in either country. 

The meeting also provided an opportunity to review the feedback received after questionnaires were circulated earlier this year to National Federations and other key stakeholders such as clubs, athletes, and promoters on the revised format of the age-group continental championships – the U18 and U20 categories start, as of 2025, with zonal qualifiers – as well as on the Nations Cup and the European Cup, the ‘youngest’ competition in the CEV portfolio, which was introduced in 2023. 

Moreover, plans were discussed for 2027 and 2028 to capitalise on the current momentum. The year 2025 has coincided with a real milestone in European Beach Volleyball history – since for the first time ever, back in November two European teams – Sweden’s David Åhman/Jonatan Hellvig and Latvia’s Tina Graudina/Anastasija Samoilova – were crowned World champions in Adelaide, Australia. Never before had Europe produced both the current men’s and women’s world champs! 

Therefore, with such incredible athletes at the top and an ever-growing pool of talented youngsters ready to emerge and to make a name for themselves on the international stage, the future of European Beach Volleyball looks brighter than ever!