This year’s Summer European Firesale tour will participate in the 18th edition of the Global Challenge tournament in Pula, Croatia. The tour will start in Ljubljana, Slovenia with sightseeing of the capital city and also Lake Bled. The tour then moves to Maribor, Slovenia (Dras Center) for 3 days of training and friendly matches to get players ready for the tournament in Croatia.

The tour will be coached by Karmen “Kiki” Kocar, currently the assistant coach of Vasas Obuda Budapest, the 2021-22 Hungarian champions. Kiki was also the assistant coach with NKBM Branik in Maribor, Slovenia and the University of North Carolina in USA. Kocar played professionally in France, Germany (including a German Cup Championship & Finals MVP in ’17), Austria, Croatia and Thailand; she played over 80 games for the Slovenian Women’s National Team.

The goal of the Firesale tour is to find players a professional team via the tournament in Pula. Players will have the opportunity to play against actual European teams during the four day tournament. Each match will be live-streamed, and recorded, so that coaches from all over Europe can watch the matches live or later on; there will also be many coaches in attendance in Pula. Players attending the tour should be ready for the rigors of double-day training, the 4 day tournament, and of course a 7-8 month European season to follow (pro teams will start in August/September).

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.

We will place players all over Europe, and possibly Peru and Asia.  Please keep in mind that we play a lot of volleyball, so it’s important to show up in good shape and ready to go.

Schedule:

• July 12: Leave the USA for Europe.
• July 13: Arrive in Ljubljana. Sightseeing that afternoon and evening. We will also practice that evening in Ljubljana. 
• July 14: Morning sightseeing in Lake Bled, leave for Maribor. Evening practice in Maribor.
• July 15-16: Training Camp with double days and matches in Maribor.
• July 17: Leave for Pula, Croatia. Opening Ceremonies that evening in Pula for the 18th Annual Global Challenge.
• July 18, 19, 20, 21: Global Challenge tournament in Pula, Croatia.
• July 22: Leave for Venice, Italy. Evening sightseeing in Venice.
• July 23: Depart from Venice, Italy to the USA.
• Please check our BIP FACEBOOK and our BIP INSTAGRAM page for close up look on how the GC 2022 looked like.Instagram GC ’22

All interested players should read the player journals from past tours to learn and see where players were placed on what overseas teams:

Tour journal Summer Firesale ‘22: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nNs27czd0x7swtptwJXHnofu53JBAlGSfrEu-FcnVIQ/edit#gid=0

Other past tour journals: https://bringitusa.com/category/bip-tour-journals/

BIP Alumni – clients and clubs since 2003: https://bringitusa.com/bip-alumni/

Cost of the tour is $2400 + airfare and includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily (starting with dinner on July 13 after practice and ending with breakfast on July 23 at the hotel) all lodging, ground transportation, and volleyball activities. Players only need spending money for phone calls, souvenirs, and “going out” if they so choose. A $350 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 Nick Ptaschinski at bipvolley.nick@gmail.com and send the following information:

• Name
• Birth Year
• School (and last year of eligibility)
• Position(s) Played
• Height
• Phone Number
• Any Direct Links to Online Player Bio and/or Highlight Videos

Payments can be made by VENMO, check or money order in USD$ to “Bring It Promotions” and mailed by regular mail (please, no FedEx, UPS, or DHL) to: Bring It Promotions, 2974 Country Club Dr, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Venmo payments should be made to: @tim-kelly-BIP

*Please be SURE that your name and “Summer European Firesale 2023” appear on the check.*

Flight Information

Important Note:All players coming on tour need to have at least one active and working credit card and at least one active and working ATM card. Please make sure you notify your bank so that they know you’ll be overseas.