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10.07.05
Ana Paula: 'Cannon shoot hits the tournament'.

Two days before the end of the tournament SWATCH-FIVBSt. Petersburg Open-2005 press servicve talked to the event's bronze medalist -the famous beach volley player Ana Paula Connelly from Brazil about her perception of the first World Tour stop in Russia.

-Ana Paula, how would you assess the organization of the first Russian beach volley tournament of this level?

- It's not our first time in Russia but the first time in St. Petersburg. When I played indoor volleyball we came to Russia to play against Russian team which was the best one that time. I didn't have the time to see the city, but I heard that it's very beautiful and has a special history. But we come here for work, that's how we earn our living so the game comes first so we just didn't have time to walk around the city. My impression about Russians is from the crowd on the venue. I was really surprised by the Russian people. We always thought of them as hard, difficult to talk to, very serious. And they were having fun, cheering and screaming. And now they are much more open. They were very, very nice and warm

-Is there any other venue in the World Tour stops so unique with the same scenery?
- Each tournament has its identity and is unique. For example in Switzerland we play on a venue and there are the Alps on the background. You play on the sand and it's sunny and warm and you can see the mountains with ice and snow. It is also very unique.
Of course St. Petersburg's tournament is very unique. The city is very beautiful and the Fortress and the river and noon cannon shoot. It's very unique.

- What were your impressions and feelings from the cannon shoot?

- The first day I was afraid .We were playing and they stopped the match for five minutes and there was a helicopter and we were thinking like what's going on. And it was very loud. But then it took us a couple of days to get used to it. Of course the cannon is very unique. And it became a part of the tournament.
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-Ana Paula, why did you go in to beach volley from and indoor volleyball? What were your reasons?
- We, me and Leila, both started in indoor volleyball. My reasons were: I was very tired from being injured. I spent days and weeks being injured. I used to be a middle-locker and I had to jump a lot every match and the floor is hard, so I had problems with my knees and ankles. Moreover it was a hard time because you couldn't bring your family to the match. You spent weeks traveling without your family. It's very hard not to see you mom, your husband or your son .So the most important reason was my family. I played 10 years in the national team and I have no regrets I had my time and I'm happy about that but I decided to move to the beach volleyball.
What about Leila, she said that new girls came to the national team. They were younger and taller, so it was a renovation for the team. She decided to quit the indoor volleyball and I invited her to play beach volleyball. And we were successful together and won the bronze medal in Atlanta. So we can do the same things playing beach volleyball but have more fun.

- Emanuel said that beach volleyball is much more creative than indoor volleyball. Do you agree with that?

- Yes, of course. I agree 100 percent. In beach volleyball you don't have coaches on the court and you have to find your own way, how to go from bad situation to good situation. So there's a lot of MY game, do you know what I mean? And it's very psychological. You have to improve your skills and technique but also to improve your psychological skills. So it's much more creative.