Organized in cooperation with Mersin Metropolitan Municipality and Turkish Volleyball Federation (TVF), the 'Pro Beach Volleyball Turkey Tour Mersin Stage' started on the beach of Kızkalesi.
In the tournament, in which athletes from Turkey as well as TRNC and Ukraine participated, 17 men's and 12 women's teams compete fiercely. Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary General Hasan Gökbel said, "This organization is very important for the promotion of our city, first of all."
Gökbel: “We have very serious projects to promote Mersin with sports events”
Saying that Kızkalesi is an important tourism center for Mersin and that the aim of the Pro Beach Tour Beach Volleyball Mersin Stage is to introduce Mersin, first of all, Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary General Hasan Gökbel said, “Our Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Youth and Sports Services Department, In this event organized jointly with the Turkish Volleyball Federation; Our first goal is to introduce Mersin and especially Kızkalesi, which is a tourism center. Our second goal is to carry out intense sports activities in Mersin. When we look at our calendar, very important national and international sports events are seen in the 2022 program of Mersin Metropolitan Municipality. After this tournament is over, there is the Cilicia Ultra Marathon, which will take place in 5 different categories in September and the longest of which is 55 km. Right after that, there is the Tarsus Half Marathon, which we will hold for the 14th time in October. Finally, there is the 2023th Mersin Full Marathon, which we will do in April 5. This means: As Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, under the leadership of our President Vahap Seçer, we have very serious projects to make Mersin a sports city and to promote Mersin with sports events. This project is one of them,” he said.
“A nice event for vacationers too”
Pointing out that TVF officials and the Youth and Sports Services Department are working in coordination for the Pro Beach Tour Mersin Stage, Gökbel said, “In addition to our country's athletes, teams from Ukraine and TRNC also participated in this tournament. It was a well-attended tournament. We also made the necessary announcements to the holidaymakers. I think it will be a good event for holidaymakers who will come here from Mersin and the surrounding districts on the weekend," he said.
Değirmenci: “We are carrying out the stage with the highest participation in Turkey with the Metropolitan”
TVF Beach and Snow Volleyball Director Oğuz Değirmenci, who stated that the Pro Beach Tour Mersin Stage is the Turkey series stage open to international participation, said, “As the Mersin stage, we are carrying out the stage with the highest participation in Turkey, together with Mersin Metropolitan Municipality. The fact that a sufficient time interval has been left in advance and that the athletes know Mersin from the previous organizations is an important and major factor. There are participants from TRNC and Ukraine. There could have been a more intense participation, but it did not happen due to the pandemic. But in the coming years, I hope we will bring international organizations here," he said.
“It is very important for us to announce the name of Kızkalesi”
Gökhan Çakır, one of the tradesmen of Kızkalesi, who said that they are very pleased that such organizations are held in Kızkalesi, said, “It is an organization that promotes Kızkalesi and ensures its development. It is very important for us that the name of our town and neighborhood be announced in such an organization. This is the 2nd major event held here. Whether it's the concerts that were held before or such tournaments, they are very important organizations for the name of Kızkalesi to be announced”.
A citizen named Arda Demirhan, who said that he was happy to have encountered the beach volleyball tournament in Kızkalesi, where they came for vacation, said, “Obviously, we were very happy to see such organizations in Mersin, where we came after 5 years. We want these kinds of events to continue like this everywhere, it's nice to see”, while a citizen named Sibel Bozkurt said, “It is a very nice organization. We would like to organize such events again,” he said.
A citizen named Nesim Bozkurt, who argues that such events should be held continuously, said, “It is a good organization. I think it should be done constantly. I live in Istanbul, I came to my family. I knew about the tournament when I arrived 2 days ago. We came to watch with my children," he said.
Pro Beach Tour Mersin Stage will end after the final matches to be played on Sunday, August 7, 2022.
Be the first to comment