site.btaRecord International Participation Expected at Beach Pro Tour in Sveti Vlas

A record international presence is expected at the second consecutive Beach Pro Tour beach volleyball tournament in the "Futures" category in Sveti Vlas. This was revealed by the event's promoters: Iva Partaleva from Marina Dinevi Group, Yariv Lerner from Nu Boyana Film Studios, and Nikolay Markov.

The tournament kicks off on June 4 in Sveti Vlas. The qualification rounds will take place on June 5, and the main draw matches begin on June 6. There will be 12 seeded teams, along with 4 teams entering the main draw through qualifications. A total of 34 teams have registered to participate in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Bulgarian teams will have direct access to the main draw and the opportunity to earn ranking points.

“This year, expectations for the tournament’s organization are higher. We will have a large delegation from Iran this time. There are athletes from the USA, Germany, Sweden, Greece, and all neighboring countries of Bulgaria. More than 20 countries will be represented,” said Iva Partaleva from Marina Dinevi Club.

“I’m happy that the tournament is taking place in Sveti Vlas for the fourth consecutive year (editor’s note: the first two years were national-level events). For us, Sveti Vlas is now on the map of global beach volleyball — see you on the beach,” said Yariv Lerner from Nu Boyana Film Studios.

“Thanks for the organization. The interest in the tournament proves its importance, especially since three other Futures events are being held at the same time. The competition is fierce, including Alexander Huber, who competed in the Olympic Games. There are three levels in beach volleyball — Elite 16, Challenge (which unfortunately doesn’t have many teams), and Futures, where the competition is brutal,” said Bulgarian player Dimitar Mehandzhiyski.

“This is a very important opportunity. We have high goals and need to earn points. It’s great that the host country has a guaranteed spot in the main draw, which can make our summer easier. We decided to fully dedicate ourselves to beach volleyball, but we were also at the Balkan Games and are the only ones without a coach. Teams from Kosovo, Romania, Turkey, Greece — they all come with coaches, analysts, physiotherapists, full delegations. We travel at our own expense,” explained Dimitar Kalchev.

The two players mentioned that there are three places in Sofia where they can train — in Mladost, at the National Sports Academy (NSA), and at Nu Boyana, but in winter, there are practically no conditions for preparation.

“This is actually the fourth year of the tournament, not the second, since the first two were of national category. Last year’s tournament turned out great. We want to inspire kids and young athletes and show them the beauty of the sport. We’ve even become coaches ourselves. The guys organized camps last year, and we won’t turn away any child who wants to participate. The idea is to ignite a passion in young people so that in five to seven years, we’ll have a pair achieving major international success,” said Desislava Nikolova.

Kalchev and Mehandzhiyski added that they don’t see themselves as pioneers of the sport, since Bulgaria has had internationally competitive pairs before. However, they are the first two to pursue beach volleyball almost professionally and make a living from it — trying to win more supporters along the way.