Chetumal, Mexico, October 25, 2018 – When Michala Kvapilova first played on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, in 2016, partner Kristyna Kolocova and her had to earn their place among the beach volleyball elite as Kvapilova, a former indoor player, had no international points to her name.
Two years have passed and the 28-year-old Czech blocker finds herself in the same position again, now with Michaela Kubickova, who has just switched from indoor to the sand and, as Kvapilova did in the past, is still earning her first international points.
Since Kolocova’s decision to retire in August, Kvapilova has picked Kubickova to be her new partner. The new team is playing at just its third World Tour event this week at the Chetumal Open after finishing 17th in Qinzhou and 33rd in Yangzhou. They made their debut at the Czech Championships, where they took the gold medal.
“It’s a process and we need to earn our spot to be in the main draw,” Kvapilova commented. “To us, it’s a challenge and since we accepted it, we are looking forward to completing it. We’re having some difficulties as every new team does, especially with on-court communication. But we’re getting better at each tournament and this one is really important for us.”
With Kolocova, Kvapilova had a quick progression on the international scene as shortly after the completion of their first year as a team, they qualified for the World Tour Finals. With the Olympic qualification process for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics already started, she’ll need a similar strong start to have the team competing for a spot.
“Most of my experience comes from my time with Kristyna,” Kvapilova added. “To me, it was a bit harder there because I was the one coming from indoor and adjusting to the beach. We had good and bad seasons and now it’s a new chapter, one that makes me really excited.”
If Kvapilova is experienced in the situation, to Kubickova all is new. And she’s enjoying every minute of it.
“It’s a lot of experiences and I’m enjoying it,” the defender remarked. “Sometimes we have hard moments, but it’s very important to go through the process and all the experiences. That’s how you get to become a good player.”