Suspending the 2020 Beach Major Series season was by no means an easy decision. Even though it was clearly the right thing to do given the current scenario in the world, the call was made after extensive discussions and with a heavy heart.
Missing our beloved tournaments in the European summer is a tough blow, but a necessary one as the entire planet locks arms to stop the spreading of the virus and to end the unprecedented global crisis.
And we couldn’t be more confident that we made the right decision after the unbelievable answer we received from the beach volleyball community. Less than 24 hours after our announcement, we were flooded with supportive messages on our social media channels. Athletes, fans, officials, everyone shared their love and hope for better days.
Austrian star Clemens Doppler couldn’t hide the frustration for not being able to play this year in his home sand Vienna, the same stage in which he had a fairy-tale run with partner Alexander Horst all the way to the gold medal match of the 2017 World Championships. Still, he had nice words to spread.
Brazilian legend Ricardo Santos shared his tribute to the Gstaad Major in the shape of a video of him playing at the picturesque Swiss Alps in the very early days of the tournament.
From Canada, Sam Pedlow also sent us his love. The bearded blocker reflected about the uncertainty regarding beach volleyball calendar in 2020, but he also shared a positive message going forward.
Czech star Barbora Hermannová summarized her feelings about the current situation: “As athletes, we’re used to overcome obstacles and to adapt, so this is no different. This is a quite big challenge, but we’re going to take it and go all in.”
In the end, Canada’s Heather Bansley’s reply to Clemens’ post reflects the hopes of all of us. “2021 Vienna will be the best celebration of overcoming all this,” she wrote.
We’re in this together!
