The story of Almeria

The very first Beach Volleyball European Championship – open to men’s teams only – was held back in 1993 in the Spanish city of Almeria (click here for more info). The very same city did play a major role a year earlier in making sure that Beach Volleyball would be added to the Olympic programme for the Centennial Games of Atlanta 1996.

In 1992, the FIVB had invited several nations for a tournament in Spain run specifically to convince then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch that Beach Volleyball deserved a place on the programme of the Olympics. Beach Volleyball was already enjoying much popularity in countries such as the USA and Brazil, attracting large crowds to events held in California and Rio de Janeiro. However, no teams from the Scandinavian countries were on the FIVB list for Almeria.

Mr Raymond Wardenaer, a Norwegian photographer and journalist who has followed Beach Volleyball since the early days of the sport, decided to contact the FIVB to emphasise that his compatriots Bjørn Maaseide and Jan Kvalheim had managed to achieve very good results even against some of the top-ranked teams of that era. The FIVB responded that one team had withdrawn from the exhibition event in Spain and that Norway was welcome to join the tournament!

Wardenaer immediately called Kvalheim, who told him that he had already packed his bag, ready to go! The Norwegian team won several matches in Spain, and Wardenaer himself started receiving invitations from all over the world! It was the start of a success story – with Kvalheim and Maaseide becoming one of the top teams on the international stage, who – in 1993 – claimed silver at the inaugural European Championship in Almeria – the very same city where Beach Volleyball had advocated its Olympic cause just a year earlier.

Many thanks to Raymond Wardenaer for supplying these photos as well as sharing his memories!