The tournament is taking place in the natural amphitheater of the Stara Sava parking lot. Today, the qualifiers were held, where 4 teams per category (4 men’s and 4 women’s teams) out of 13 men’s and 9 women’s teams earned their spots in the main part of the tournament. 12 teams per category (including all Slovenian teams) qualified directly based on points and country. A total of 16 qualified teams per category will compete against each other in 4 groups of 4 teams on Thursday, July 27th. The winning team in each group will directly advance to the quarterfinals on Friday, while the second and third placed teams will play 1/8 finals on the same day. On the last competition day, Saturday, July 29th, only the semi-finals and medal matches will be on the schedule.

Through today’s qualifications, 3 Austrian, 3 Czech, 1 Hungarian, and 1 Slovakian team made it to the main draw. On the women’s side Neiss and Mayr qualified by overcoming their fellow Austrians Hollaus and Brindlinger with a score of 2:1. Neiss commented: “We know the opponents very well and we are happy to have come back after trailing 0:1. It’s great to be in the main part of a MEVZA tournament, especially given the fact that this is the first time we are playing together.” They were one of several young teams to make it to the main draw and be happy for the opportunity to gain playing experience. Young Hungarian duo Papp/Frányó eliminated Pala/Sotola from the Czech Republic and reflected on the win: “This was a big achievement for us and we would like to get the best possible placement that we can reach. Hopefully we can play this well tomorrow as well.”

In the evening, several of the top seeds arrived at the tournament venue. Tadej Boženk, the former Slovenian national champion, is returning to beach volleyball courts this year with his teammate, Vid Jakopin. The 2022 Slovenian champion, Nejc Zemljak commented: “Boženk and Jakopin are a team where the players’ qualities complement each other excellently, and I am glad that they will again take the time and play together. This will be a nice reinforcement of the Slovenian ranks at the tournament.” 

Tadej Boženk had this to say: “The Middle European Championship in Kranj is consolation for the gap caused by the cancellation of the FIVB tournament in Ljubljana. We see that excellent players love coming to Slovenia, and I believe that Slovenia needs strong beach volleyball tournaments. This sport really has a lot of fans in Slovenia, and many people have been asking me about what happened to the tournament in Ljubljana. I’m very pleased to have directed all these fans to Kranj. Truly, top teams from all neighboring countries, who are successful in world series tournaments, come here. I am anticipating spectacular fights in both categories. As I always say, we can always count on Slovenians in beach volleyball. We know how to fight, and we are persistent. I sincerely hope that one of our teams manages to compete for medals. Vid and I do not have concrete goals, just the desire to play good beach volleyball, to get close to what we were doing well years ago. If there’s anything I can promise, it’s that we will fight for all Slovenian fans who will come to Kranj and take the time to watch our games.”