This year's Women's Firesale will again use Maribor's DRAS Center in Slovenia as a base. This place is amazing, with luxurious rooms, a wonderful restaurant and bar, and a volleyball gym in the building; all right on a ski mountain with gorgeous views. This tour is more of camp, but we will have day trips to play various teams in Slovenia, Croatia, and Austria. The goal of this trip is simply to find jobs for players directly from the tour, and the timing is arranged to coincide with the when the bulk of the season's signings take place. Players attending this tour should be ready for the rigors of a 7-9 month European season starting immediately from the tour and running to sometime in the Spring of 2013.
All players need to understand that current market conditions make it harder than ever to place liberos, so any current libero (or DS) should come prepared to play outside hitter or setter if at all possible. Jobs in general are harder to find in the current economy, and salaries are also lower than in past years. As always, players on the Firesale should want to live in Europe for the year as much (or more) as they want to play volleyball. Remember, this is about finding a life experience more than becoming a "professional athlete" for most players on this tour.
| August 10 |
Players arrive to the DRAS Center on their own. Training 8-10pm
It is strongly suggested that you arrive to LJU, GRZ, or VIE (in that order)
It is VERY difficult to get from Venice, Italy to Maribor, Slovenia. |
| August 11-13 |
Three Day Training Camp with double days and numerous visiting coaches |
| August 14-18 |
Day Trips (matches) to various cities in Slovenia, Croatia, and Austria |
| August 19 |
Depart from Europe |
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Note: We will provide transport to LJU, GRZ, and/or VIE or any of those city centers |
Cost of the tour is $1750 + airfare and includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily (starting with dinner on 8/13 and ending with breakfast on 8/22) all hotels, ground transportation, and volleyball activities. Players only need spending money for their ground transportation to Maribor on arrival day, phone calls, souvenirs, and "going out" if they so choose.
A $250 non-refundable deposit is due to reserve a spot for this tour. There is no deadline for this deposit, but the tour will fill up and we'll take the first players to submit their deposit.
All players on tour will have to sign a Player Representation Agreement (PRA) prior to training the first night. By being on tour, you are a client of BIP.
Interested players should contact Tim Kelly at: bringitusa@aol.com
Payments can be made by check or money order to "Bring It Promotions" and mailed by regular mail (please, no FedEx, UPS, or DHL) to:
Bring It Promotions
3767 Greggory Way #4
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Please be SURE that your name and "August Firesale 2012" appear on the check.
Interested players need to read the journals of past years tours:
2011: http://bringitusa.com/events/firesale_women_2011/
2010: http://www.bringitusa.com/events/firesale_women_2010/index.php
2009: http://www.bringitusa.com/events/firesale_women_2009/index.php
| Flight Info for August Firesale Tour '12: You are buying your own tickets to Europe, and as long as you're at the DRAS Center in Maribor, Slovenia on August 10th, and ready for practice that night at 8:00pm, it doesn't matter what time you arrive or depart. As stated above, you want to arrive to LJU (Ljubljana, Slovenia; a ~2 hour train ride from Maribor), GRZ (Graz, Austria; a < 1 hour train ride but with less connections) or VIE (Vienna, Austria; a 3+ hour train ride). Venice is a nightmare to connect on public transportation, so while you may want to visit Italy pre or post-tour, be very careful if you choose to do this. Usually a round trip ticket to Europe is the same price (or cheaper) than a one-way, and due to visa restrictions and immigration issues in Europe, it often causes problems to try and come with a one-way ticket (or a ticket that has a return for more than 90 after arrival). Suggestion: Either come on a mileage ticket (if you have a parent or friend with tons of airline miles) because its free to change and usable for a full year, or come on the cheapest possible round trip with your return August 19 (or later) as planned, knowing that you might "eat" the return if you're coming to "stay and play" and find a team. Of course in this case the team will have to fly you home on a new ticket at the end of the season, but having a "mileage ticket" (if possible) makes everything easiest. If you want to come to Maribor early, its $50/night (breakfast included) and should be pre-paid and reserved directly with us when you pay for your tour. |
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