What to Expect

December 27, 2006:

All teams arrive in Venice, Italy. Upon arrival teams will go directly to the center Venice for sightseeing. It will be cold and you need to be prepared to spend the next four to six hours outside walking around the wonderful city of Venice and taking the waterbuses.

Around 6:00pm all teams will make the 2-hour bus ride to Izola, Slovenia, check into the hotel and eat dinner that night at the hotel.

Teams attending the tour are the USA Youth National Team, the USA Select Team, Team Jacksonville Youth, Team Jacksonville Juniors and Team Florida Juniors

December 28, 2006:

Most teams will be allowed to practice prior to the start of the tournament. Exact details of the Izola tournament will be posted at a later date when all the details are finalized. While in Izola, all the American teams will stay at the Hotel Marina, where breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served. Since Izola is a small coastal village and the hotel is situated right next to the gym and city center, everyone will have plenty of time to wonder around this wonderful town.

Team Jacksonville Youth and Juniors and Team Florida will compete in the 12th Addition of the Izola Volley Festival with teams from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia.

The USA Youth National team and the USA Select Team will compete in the Middle European Volleyball Zonal Association Youth Championships. (MEVZA) The youth national teams from Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic will compete in the tournament.

December 29, 2006:

Entire day will be spent at the Izola tournament and sightseeing in town.

December 30, 2005:

The Izola tournament will conclude around 1:00pm and all teams will make the 2-hour trip to Bled, Slovenia to sightsee in one of Slovenia’s wonderful mountain towns. Later that night the USA Youth National team will play the Slovenian Youth National team in a formal International match. After dinner all teams will make the 3-hour trip to Maribor, Slovenia. All players and coaches will stay at the Hotel Arena at the base of the Pohorje Ski Resort. Parents will stay 2 minutes away at the Hotel Villa Merano.

All meals while in Maribor will be at the Hotel Arena.

December 31, 2005:

Players can either spend the day skiing in Maribor, or sightseeing in this wonderful town. Practice time will also be available upon request.

All day there will be activities and festivities on the Pohorje Mountain and ski resort and everyone in the group can participate.

New Years Eve will be spent at the Hotel Arena Ballroom and Restaurant where all the players are staying.

January 1, 2005:

Players can either spend the day skiing in Maribor, or sightseeing in this wonderful town.

Later in the afternoon, all teams will take the gondola to the top of the Pohorje ski resort for a group dinner at Koca, where traditional Slovenian food will be served.

January 2, 2005:

Jacksonville Juniors and Youth teams along with Team Florida will leave for Prague, Czech Republic around 9:00am. Three hours into the drive we will stop and have four hours to tour the city center of Vienna. Around 4:30pm we will board the bus and make the four/five hour trip to Prague where dinner will be at our hotel upon arrival.

The USA Youth National Team and USA Select team will make the 2-hour drive for Zagreb, Croatia around 9 am. Both teams will sightsee in the city for three or four hours. That afternoon the USA Youth National Team will play the Croatian Youth National team in a formal International match. After the match both teams will make the 3-hour drive to Belgrade, Serbia

January 3, 2005:

All Florida teams will participate in the Prague tournament. Exact details will be worked out at a later date. However, teams will either play in the morning or afternoon and have plenty of time to sight see in Prague.

The USA Youth National Team and the USA Select team will play in the Volley Star tournament in Belgrade, with teams from Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Serbia.

January 4, 2005:

All day will be spent at the Prague tournament and sightseeing in Prague for the Florida teams.

All day will be spent at the Volley Star tournament and sightseeing in Belgrade for the USA Youth and Select teams.

January 5, 2005:

All Florida teams will have the entire day to sightsee in Prague. Everyone will meet for a final dinner in Prague that night.

The USA Youth and Select team will play in the Volley Star tournament until early afternoon. The rest of the day will be spent sightseeing in Belgrade. There will be a final group dinner that night in Belgrade.

January 6, 2005:

Early morning departure for the airport.

Note: All players will need to bring a liability waiver (provided by their coach, online version available on this site also) signed by their parents. Also, as this is an u16 / u18 tour, BIP will enforce a no-alcohol policy. Adults are of course on their own during free time, but minors will be expected to refrain from drinking for the duration of this tour.