Beach volleyball and sun on the cards for Croatia as it prepares to host the U21 World Championships

Having hosted this age group event for two years running, Halifax, Nova Scotia now hands the baton to the Croatian city of Umag for the 2013 edition of the U21 Beach Volleyball Championships. This is not the first time that Umag will host a major volleyball championship having organised the beach volleyball championships for the U19 age group in 2011.

The championships will be held from June 19 to 23 in the coastal city of Umag, located in the northwest region of Croatia and 10km from the border with Slovenia. With a population of just over 7,000, the city thrives on tourism.

The 2012 men's edition was the last for gold medal winners Piotr Kanto and Bartosz Losiak from Poland, who have made the leap to the professional FIVB World Tour. They have left some big shoes to fill and it remains to be seen who will replace them as champions this year.

In the women's edition, Switzerland and Brazil showed themselves to be strong contenders in the championship last year, taking first and second place respectively. It was also a milestone in the career of Swiss beach volleyball player, Nina Betschart who became the second woman after Brazil’s Carolina Salgado to win gold in back-to-back years with different partners. Last year’s line-up of competitors showcased a high number of young international players with impressive resumes, including Canadian duo Melissa Humana-Paredas/Taylor Pischke, German pair Christine Aulenbrock/Kim Behrens, Russia’s Ekaterina Karapischenko/Ksenia Dabizha and Poland’s Katarzyna Kociolek and USA’s Summer Ross.

No doubt this year’s competition will feature full on volleyball action and bring to the forefront the rising stars of tomorrow.