On this day, exactly 27 years ago, in Umag, on the fields of Katoro and Stella Maris, the 1st official Croatian beach volleyball championship began, with a prize pool of DEM 10,000.
Umag thus became an “icebreaker” in the opening of a new era in a new Olympic sport.
Namely, in 1994 from 12-14.08. The 1st Croatian beach volleyball championship took place in Umag, on the Katoro fields, which was also the official start of the federation and the championship in this sport, thanks to a group of fans from Umag and Zagreb, without the which all this would not have been possible.
Katoro beach on the day of the finals was full of spectators and onlookers and it was impossible to find a place around the field. That is to say, around 1500 spectators gathered at the finals and the atmosphere was perfect.
We thought it was appropriate to celebrate this day, which marks the beginning of a new sport in Croatia and a new era, and to catch up with the rest of the world of volleyball and beach volleyball, so we decided, at least symbolically, to mark this day. date, not to forget where and when it all began (on the beaches of Umago Katoro) with the publication of extracts from the newspapers of that era.
The winners of the 1st Croatian Open in 1994 were a Slovenian couple Jasmin Čuturić and Igor Komadina, and the first Croatian champions (as the best-placed Croatian couple) became the couple consisting of Edin Baka Baković (now BiH national team selector) and Momić Z .
They will remain registered as the first official Croatian champions in beach volleyball, thus entering the history of Croatian beach volleyball, and Umag as the first host and organizer.
This all started in 1987. with the construction of the first camp in Katoro, after which a group of enthusiasts and lovers started organizing tournaments every weekend, culminating in the 1st Croatian Open Championship in 1994.
Subsequently, Umag hosted and organized numerous tournaments and events, several VIP tours, 2 junior world championships, (2011 in the U19 category and 2013 in the U21 category) two Continental Cups (2014 and 2019), the Croatian Open Championship 2018, and various other international tournaments (Umag Open, 9 editions), etc., all THIS thanks to the city of Umag and its institutions, which have recognized, supported and continued to develop and support this sport, together with the men’s volleyball club MOK Umag-CPM Umag.
Umag will always be remembered as the “first” and a pioneer in starting this sport in Croatia.
Thanks Umag!
MOK UMAG-CPM UMAG