August 9-18, 2017 – from Maribor,Slovenia to Venice,Italy
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 2018. 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. Caveat: Its harder and harder every summer to produce jobs for guys.
Tentative Schedule
- August 9, 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 9-14: Training Camp with double days and matches; numerous visiting coaches and teams
We’ll play various visiting National Teams like Cameroon, Qatar, Croatia, Slovenia, etc. and also visiting club teams from neighboring countries - August 15-16: Tentative Travels into Bled, Slovenia for 2 nights
- August 17: Tentative Train to Nova Gorica for a Match and closing dinner
- August 18: Tour ends after breakfast. Depart from Venice (VCE), Italy (Transportation provided to VCE or Venice Train Station)
Player Representation Agreement Forms
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
Payment Information
Cost of the tour is $1200 + airfare and includes breakfast and dinner daily (starting with dinner on August 9 and ending with breakfast on August 18) 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 $250 non-refundable deposit is due to reserve a spot for this tour. There is no deadline for this deposit, but the tour will fill up and we’ll take the first players to submit their deposit. Payments in USD$ (we can not accept CAN$) 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, 7055 Scripps Crescent St, Goleta, CA 93117. Please be SURE that your name and “August MEN 2017” appear on the check.
Flight Information
You are buying your own tickets to Europe, and as long as you’re at the DRAS Center in Maribor, Slovenia on August 9, 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 18 (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.
Journals & Placement Results from Past Tours
Coaches Testimonial
Bring It’s Men’s Summer Exposure Tour (I went in August ‘04) is the reason I was able to afford travel through Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, France and Belgium. There is no guarantee that those who go will get hired. I had a couple unsuccessful tryouts before getting signed in Spain. But in my experience, teams are much more willing to take a chance on flying someone in for a tryout when they are already in Europe. I’d recommend it for anyone that doesn’t have a contract by mid-summer. I’d also recommend it for anyone just looking for the opportunity to put closure on their volleyball career. It’s an amazing opportunity to travel with purpose.
-David Kniffin, UC Irivne Head Coach and August Tour Veteran, 2004
BIP has connections with more professional teams in Europe than any other agency. As a former August tour participant in 2002, the tour helped find me a great team to play for in the south of Holland that was perfect for me. Since then I have been recommending my own players and anyone serious about playing in Europe to attend the August Tour. The best way to market yourself and be seen/be connected to as many clubs as possible is through BIP and the August tour. Even if you end up not finding a team, the tour is a great experience of high level volleyball and European culture immersion. I can’t recommend it enough!
-Sam Shweisky, Princeton Volleyball and August Tour Veteran, 2002