All set for Zavarovalnica Sava Championship 2025
From July 23rd to 26th, Kranj will once again host the Middle European Beach Volleyball Championship. Spectators will be able to enjoy an international volleyball spectacle featuring the best players from Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, Czechia, Israel, Hungary, and Austria. Slovenians will be looking to defend their title on the women’s side, while Czechs registered in record numbers to repeat last year’s success of 3 medals on the men’s side. Qualifications will kick off on Wednesday, with the semifinals and medal matches taking place on Saturday. Throughout the event, the new venue of športni park Stražišče will offer a rich accompanying program and entertainment for the whole family.
Kranj is set to host its traditional summer beach volleyball tournament for the third consecutive year under the umbrella of the Middle European Volleyball Zonal Association (MEVZA). A record number of teams from Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, and Israel will compete for the Central European championship title.
Tournament director Sašo Rop commented on the registrations: “We’re extremely pleased with the record number of entries from the region’s top pairs. We’ll see winners of multiple Slovenian championships and MEVZA tournaments, such as Kotnik/Marolt and Lovšin/Javornik, Hungarian champions Kun/Villám, Czech MEVZA tournament winners Semerad/Stocek, the Czech defending champion from last year’s Kranj event Matyas Jezek, Hungarian champions Tari/Veress, and many others.”
Rop added: “For the third year in a row, this will be the strongest tournament in Slovenia, and we aim to build on this success. In addition to growing recognition, the new location at športni park Stražišče allows for better execution, and we believe we’re on the right track to organizing World Series tournaments in Kranj in the future.”
On the women’s side, last year’s winners and Slovenia’s most successful beach volleyball players, Tjaša Kotnik and Tajda Lovšin, will be making an appearance. However, they’ll be playing with new, younger partners this year. Kotnik will team up with Maja Marolt, while Lovšin will play alongside Živa Javornik. The 21-year-old duo of Marolt and Javornik have already secured multiple national championship titles together, as well as a MEVZA tournament victory in Innsbruck. For the 2025 season, they’ve partnered with their more experienced national team colleagues.
Tjaša Kotnik expressed her excitement: “I’m looking forward to competing in Kranj again, especially after last year’s win where crowd support was crucial. Maja and I have already won the MEVZA tournament in Bibinje, Croatia this year, and of course, we’re aiming for a successful performance in Kranj. After reviewing the registered teams, I can say the competition will be strong, so I expect intense matches. It will also be interesting to see how the tournament plays out at the new location.”
Živa Javornik added: “Tajda Lovšin and I have been working hard since January, and it’s already paid off with a victory in Bratislava and third and fifth place finishes at Futures series tournaments. Of course, one of our goals is the MEVZA tournament in Kranj, where we have our home environment, our home crowd, and always a desire to reach the podium. Above all, we want to showcase the game we’ve been working on all season for the Slovenian spectators.”
The men’s draw at the Zavarovalnica Sava Championship 2025 is headlined by first-seeded Czech duo Tom Semerád and Adam Stocek. Last year, they lost in the semifinals in Kranj, ultimately taking home bronze. This year, they’ve already clinched a MEVZA tournament title in Bibinje.
Tom Semerád shared his thoughts on returning to Kranj: “Our goal for the tournament is to reach the grand final, as last year’s evening matches were truly excellent, with an incredible atmosphere. We lost in the semifinals last year, so we’d like to improve on that result this year. We’ve already won one MEVZA tournament in Croatia this year and we want to repeat that success. We hope to see many Czech teams in Kranj and that the ‘final four’ will be all Czech!”
Also returning to the tournament is Hungary’s Artúr Hajós, who won gold in Kranj in 2023. This year, he’ll be aiming for the podium again with new teammate Lukas Niemeier. Reflecting on his return to the Kranj sand, Hajós stated: “First, let me say I’m thrilled to be back in Kranj. The gold medal from 2023 is one of the biggest highlights of my career and also a great achievement for the Hungarian beach volleyball community, so I have really pleasant feelings thinking about returning to this place. I’m currently coming back after a season of indoor volleyball and knee surgery. A week ago, I played my first beach volleyball tournament this summer, so I’m simply happy to be healthy and back on the sand. This will be one of my first international tournaments in two years, so I’m really excited to be playing again. The list of registered teams is strong, and as always, it will be a high-level tournament with excellent matches, especially against the home teams, with the support of the Slovenian crowd. This year I’m playing with a very promising young talent, Lukas Niemeier, and we’ll start in the qualifications, so our first goal is to make it to the main draw – from there, we’ll see how far we can go.”
The Zavarovalnica Sava Championship 2025 tournament will take place at the new venue, športni park Stražišče in Kranj. Below is the full tournament schedule:
- Wednesday, July 23rd: Qualifications
- Thursday, July 24th: Group stage
- Friday, July 25th: Round of 12 and Quarterfinals
- Saturday, July 26th: Semifinals and Medal Matches
Admission to the venue will be free again this year, and in addition to top-level beach volleyball, the organizers promise a rich accompanying program. An additional reason to visit Kranj can be the famous Kranfest festival, which is scheduled simultaneously. You’re invited to join the volleyball spectacle and support your teams on their way to new victories!