The Elite16 tournament of the Beach Pro Tour, presented in Montreal, was not even finished that already the organizing committee could confirm that the experience will be renewed. A resounding success, which prompted the decision-makers at Volleyball World to extend the Montreal agreement for at least another four years.
There is no doubt that this first edition of the Elite16, the most important tournament category after the World Championships in the world of beach volleyball, exceeded all expectations.
Since Wednesday, people have been massing there. The facilities built in just a few days on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, just opposite the Formula 1 paddocks, convinced the International Volleyball Federation to extend its agreement with the promoter Productions Podium to ensure the sustainability of the event.
“Usually in the first editions they [Volleyball World] are more inclined to sign short-term agreements. But we told them that as organizers, it still took us a certain amount of time. When they saw the site, they understood everything,” said Jo-Annie Charbonneau, Manager, Sports and Development, at Productions Podium.
Thus, earlier this week, the team initialed a five-year contract, including the current edition, renewable in 2027 “for as many years as we want”, she continued during a discussion on the catwalk during one of the men’s quarter-final matches on Sunday.
The Federation originally offered a three-year offer, but the promotions team wanted a longer guarantee: “We were firm on that.”
According to Ms. Charbonneau, the bonzes of Volleyball World were amazed by the quality, the scale and the seriousness of the facilities, built from almost nothing.
She also believes to have been helped by the location of the competition site – in particular because it lacked a North American leg to this circuit mainly established in Europe.
“We are really well located. We are well placed in North America, we are close to the United States and the Games in Los Angeles in 2028. So for all that, it seems that the stars have aligned to help our negotiation. »
Nearly 15,000 people traveled to Île Sainte-Hélène between Wednesday and Sunday to see the best beach volleyball athletes in the world at work.
Although Ms. Charbonneau’s number one criterion for success was “people’s smiles”, she was delighted to see the enthusiasm of fans translate into ticket purchases.
“From the first day of qualifying, people thought it was amazing. The players liked playing on a Formula 1 circuit. Then the ticket sales continued. We [were] sold out for Sunday’s finals since Monday. »
The thing that stood out the most to the main organizer was the response from the entire beach volleyball community.
Montreal is a city of shows and most of the time, most events are invaded by neophytes, the curious or occasional amateurs.
At Parc Jean-Drapeau, on the other hand, a significant portion of those present were real beach volleyball enthusiasts, as the queues for photo ops, even with more obscure players, could attest.
“You also see it in the excitement when they meet them. They tremble. They meet their heroes. And the players are so accessible, the players give back a lot. There really is a great volleyball community,” says Ms. Charbonneau.
Even people from abroad made the trip for this unique North American chapter of the season. People were coming in from Florida, New York, and even Texas.
The only thing to hope for, no doubt, for the next editions, is a little more leniency from Mother Nature. But as life does things well, after the rain came the good weather, in every sense of the word.
