2014 August Men’s Firesale
August 12-21, 2014 – Maribor, Slovenia to Venice, Italy
• Land on August 12th (or before) and get to DRAS Center in Maribor, Slovenia on own
• 6:00pm Practice at DRAS Center on August 12th is first Team Event (Do NOT arrive to the Pohorje Mountain Area Maribor prior to August 12)
• Leave on the 21st from Venice (or later if you want to hang around Europe)
• We will wake up in Nova Gorizia (Slovenia; 2 hours from Venice Airport) so have a later (not early morning) flight on the 21st (or later)
• $1200 + Airfare if deposit is received by June 20, 2014
• $1350 + Airfare if deposit is received after June 20, 2014
• Half Board (Breakfast and 1 Meal Daily) starting with dinner at August 12 and end with breakfast on August 21
This year’s Men’s Firesale will use Maribor’s DRAS Center in Slovenia as a starting point. This place is amazing, with great rooms, a wonderful restaurant and bar, and a volleyball gym in the building; all right on a ski mountain with gorgeous views. 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 2015. 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.
Tentative Schedule
• August 12, Players arrive to the DRAS Center on their own. Training 6-8:30pm. It is strongly suggested that you arrive to Ljubljana (LJU), Graz (GRZ), Zagreb (ZAG), or Vienna (VIE) (in that order) It is very difficult to get from Italy to Maribor, Slovenia. That said, check out Go Opti (Shuttle Service) online as they’re running cheap shuttles from Venice Airport to Maribor these days.
• August 13-17: Training Camp with double days and matches; numerous visiting coaches and teams
• August 18-19: Tentative Travels into Bled, Slovenia for 2 nights
• August 20: Tentative Train to Nova Gorica for a match
• August 21: Tour ends after breakfast. Depart from Venice (VCE), Italy (Transportation provided to VCE or Venice Train Station)
Cost of the tour is $1200 + airfare ($1350 + airfare if deposit is paid after June 20) and includes breakfast and dinner daily (starting with dinner on August 12 and ending with breakfast on August 21) all hotels, ground transportation, and volleyball activities. Players only need spending money for their ground transportation to Maribor on arrival day, daily lunch, 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.
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 2014” appear on the check.
Interested players need to read the journals of past years tours:
2012: http://www.bringitusa.com/events/firesale_men_2012/
2011: https://bringitusa.com/events/firesale_men_2011/index.php
2010: http://www.bringitusa.com/events/firesale_men_2010/index.php
Flight Info for August Men’s Tour ’14
You are buying your own tickets to Europe, and as long as you’re at the DRAS Center in Maribor, Slovenia on August 12th, and ready for practice that night at 6:00pm, 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), CRO (Zagreb, Croatia; ~2 hours by bus or train), or VIE (Vienna, Austria; a 3+ hour train ride). Venice (and Italy in general) 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. There just aren’t that many connecting trains to get into Slovenia from Italy. Again, check out Go Opti online for new shuttle options from VCE and Venice Train Station to Maribor. 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 21 (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. Important Note: You CAN NOT come to Maribor early as the Women’s Exposure Tour is there from August 8-12 and we CAN NOT have the girls being distracted.