Grbic looks forward to snow Volleyball night in Pyeongchang

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, February 10, 2018 - Serbian volleyball legend Vladimir Grbic and FIVB Athletes Commission secretary is one of a number of star players that will be taking to the court next Wednesday for a truly historic snow volleyball exhibition match at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.

The event will take place at Austria House in the Korean host city of the Winter Games, where Grbic will be joined at Snow Volleyball Night by a mix of volleyball and beach volleyball stars: Brazil's three-time Olympic medallists Giba and Emanuel Rego, as well as London 2012 Olympics MVP Kim Yeon-Koung of Korea, Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medallist Xue Chen and Austria's European champions Stefanie Schweiger and Niolas Berger.

"I definitely feel the excitement and look forward to this truly unique experience," he said shortly before embarking on his journey to Korea. "I am always ready to support any kind of innovative idea and action, which helps us grow our game and I feel honoured to be a part of the Snow Volleyball Night at Pyeongchang 2018."

Grbic is a three-time Olympian – and a gold medallist from the 2000 Games in Sydney where he and Team Yugoslavia improved on the bronze medal they had won four years earlier in Atlanta. "I have never been to the Winter Olympics before, so this is an exciting experience that I am looking forward to. Back in 2016, I spent 17 days in Rio de Janeiro running camps with children on Copacabana beach during the Olympics and now I will have the opportunity to showcase Snow Volleyball to a large audience during the Winter Olympic Games. That feels great," he said.

Grbic knows how it feels to play on snow since last year he participated in an event run by the FIVB at Wagrain-Kleinarl, Austria, the 'birthplace' of snow volleyball and venue of the inaugural Snow Volleyball European Championships coming up in late March.

"It will be my first visit to Korea and I have heard the weather conditions may be somehow challenging there, "said Grbic. "Last year in Wagrain the temperatures were around zero, so we did not have too many problems with that but if it is extremely cold in Pyeongchang, we will have to make the necessary adjustments, including the equipment we will be wearing. I just returned home from Italy where I visited my brother Nikola who is coaching in Verona and I bought rugby shoes especially for the snow volleyball game in Korea. Maybe we will have to wear gloves as well, we will see."

Grbic looks forward to the family event scheduled for Thursday, February 15 as well. "Together with Giba and my other friends and fellow players, I hope we can provide many people, especially children, with some advice on how to play. It is going to be the experience of a lifetime for all of us and I hope this exhibition will draw much attention from sports officials as well as from our colleagues from winter sports too."