The Malta Volleyball Association held a beach volleyball training camp with an Austrian touring side led by Helmut Hirner.

Hirner, CEO of prominent tourism agency H2 showed interest in promoting Malta as a prominent beach-volleyball location.   An ex -ustrian Indoor and Beach national team player himself, Hirner obtained extensive experience in beach-volleyball competitions by participating in many FIVB and CEV beach volleyball competitions between 1996 and 2002.  He  was accompanied by four male and five female players.  

Hirner first contacted the association and showed interest in holding training camps in Malta after the MVA hosted the Beach Volley Continental Cup Pool A in September 2010.

He visited Malta in November and after discussing details with MVA officials, decided to organise his first camp last week. “We are very happy with the conditions here and with the crucial support provided by MVA. We plan to return with bigger groups because we feel Malta is better suited than other countries like, for example, Spain,” said Hirner. While in Malta, Hirner also held talks with the MTA.

Selected players from Hirner’s group participated in advanced training sessions with Malta’s Beach Volleyball national team players led by Srdjan Veckov. MVA President Branko Vlahovic said that this was another opportunity for local players to get more game experience in their preparation for the GSSE, prior to their training camp in Belgrade.

The visit from the Austrian teams is also a clear example of how beach volleyball can contribute to sports tourism in Malta and augured that future teams will not only play national team but also club players.

Vlahovic thanked Mellieha mayor Robert Cutajar and the Mellieha Local Council for their cooperation regarding the use of Ghadira and Golden Bay.