Portugal ready to kick start preparations for the 2014 FIVB World Championship European Qualification Round - Volleyball News

The Men's Volleyball Team of Portugal is ready to hit the first training session for the upcoming Qualification Round of 2014 FIVB World Championship, where Portugal will be joined by three other teams i.e. Serbia, Silvia, and Macedonia. The European Qualification round will last from January 3-5, 2014 and Serbia will provide the backdrop for the event. 

In the meanwhile, Portuguese team will start the training session on December 17. The squad will start preparation at the Povoa de Varzim Municipal Sports Hall. Quite recently, the
team coach Hugo Silva unveiled a 16-member squad that will go straight into their preparations for 3 consecutive friendly matches happening from December 28 to 30. Portugal will come into fight with Spain in their home city Madrid.

“At this point, the most important thing is to have all players available as soon as possible, as some of the international players are coming later, due to the scheduled matches of their respective teams,” Silva said.

“Then we must develop our strategy for each game, which will be built around our own strengths and characteristics. In order for this to work, it will be very important to work hard and to get every player playing at his best, especially the young ones.”

Beach Get Involved - News from Indonesia

The Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) recently joined hands with the Development Centre of Indonesia and organised a technical seminar entitled “Beach Get Involved”. The seminar completed its run from November 11 to 15 and turned out to be a successful venture.

The FIVB Instructor Mr Mohammed Benhamida from Qatar supervised the seminar and helped the participants to learn more the challenging sport of Beach Volleyball. The participants showed great spirit to learn and improve their skills. They regularly attended the lessons and took out notes. The technical seminar on beach volleyball perfectly served its purpose of teaching technicians (with experience as volleyball players and/or coaches), who had the urge to improve their knowledge and competences of the different volleyball techniques.

This activity was a part of the broader development plan of International Volleyball Federation to encourage more international tournaments and courses in Indonesia, which holds a great deal of potential for the sport and has numerous beaches.

The FIVB instructor Mohammed Benhamida shared his thoughts at the completion of seminar in the following manner, “With 33 provinces and more than 220 million inhabitants, Indonesia needs a strategic plan for the future of beach volleyball.”

2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships to be held in the Netherlands – Volleyball news

 The International Indoor and Beach Volleyball Governing Body (FIVB) opened the bidding process to host the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball Championships earlier this month and received a lot of bids.
Following a strict evaluation, the FIVB eventually approved of Netherlands to play host to the World Championships in 2015. The Netherlands Volleyball Association (Nevobo) has been officially selected as hosts of the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships.

According to the plan of FIVB and Nevobo, the 2015 FIVB SWATCH Beach Volleyball World Championships will be a hosted by different Dutch cities such as Amsterdam, Hague, and Apeldoorn.
Furthermore, one more city will also be featured on the list of hosts but it is yet to be disclosed. Hence a total of four Dutch cities will get the privilege to host 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships.

This is the first time in the history of FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships that the event will not be confined to just one city but it will be a country event in the Netherlands.
Previously, only one Dutch city Hague has played host to an Open event of SWATCH FIVB World Tour since 2009. However, the city will not be featured on the 2012 and 2013 editions of tour. Hague will rejoin the tour in 2014 and 2016 as Grand Slam host.

FIVB Executive vice-president and Beach Volleyball Commission president Dr Ary Graça shared his views about Netherlands’ bid. He stated, “The bid from the Netherlands Volleyball Association was very impressive with innovation and a keen focus on development the key behind ensuring the continued success of the FIVB’s leading beach volleyball event.”

He further added that the last edition of the championships, which was hosted by Rome, Italy, proved to be huge success. In the next run, Poland is ready to provide the backdrop for the thrilling competition in 2013, while Netherlands will host the wonderful act in 2015.

Meanwhile, the Director of FIVB Beach Volleyball Department Angelo Squeo commented, “The FIVB and the organisers are determined to implement a very unique event to combine top class competition with a powerful development program and transfer of knowledge to all national federations.”

FIVB opens registration for 2014 World Championships – Volleyball news

The International Volleyball Governing Authority (FIVB) has officially opened the registration for 2014 World Championships this week.

Poland and Italy have been selected as the host countries for respective men’s and women’s competitions. Hence, these two countries will automatically be on board for being the host nations.
However, the other aspiring teams will have to go through the qualification phase and for that they need to get registered for the playoffs in the first place.

All the relevant information about the events and playoff rounds is available on the official website of the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB). The entry forms for registration can be obtained via FIVB website. The registration is open until May 1, 2012. The entry forms should be sent to FIVB’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland within the specified time period.

The FIVB World Championship dates back to 1949 when only men’s tournament was held. The women joined the FIVB World Championship in 1952. The world’s premier volleyball competition is now held with a gap of four years. The previous edition of the World Championship took place in 2010.

A total of 24 men’s teams will enter the 2014 FIVB World Championship. Poland has qualified directly for the tournament as host, leaving 23 vacancies open for other countries of the world. On the other hand, the women’s tournament will also have 24 teams. Italian squad is already confirmed for the competition as host.

Elsewhere, tour spots in both men’s and women’s tournaments will be awarded to Asian teams. Africa will send three men’s and two women’s teams in the competition, while 9 men’s and 10 women’s teams from Europe will jump on board after successful completion of qualification phase.
Three men’s and two women’s teams from South American region will qualify for the World Championships. Likewise, the North and Central America & Caribbean Federation (NORCECA) will be represented by five men’s and six women’s teams in the 2014 FIVB World Championships.

Brazilian men’s national volleyball team and Russian ladies will defend the titles. Brazil defeated Cuba in the 2010 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship, whereas Russia sidelined top rival Brazil in women’s final of the World Championship in 2010.

Four NORCECA Teams confirmed for the 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix – Volleyball News

Following the successful completion of XI Women’s Pan American Volleyball Cup in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, four teams earned tickets for the upcoming edition of the FIVB World Grand Prix.

United States, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico will represent North, Central America & Caribbean Volleyball Federation (NORCECA) in the 21^st edition of the FIVB World Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place in summer, 2013.

US women’s national volleyball team worked out a great performance at the XI Women’s Pan Am Cup that served as a qualification tournament for the World Grand Prix. US musketeers concluded the prelims of Pan Am Cup with 4-1 record and did not drop any match afterwards. Reed Sunahara, the American mentor, formulized a perfect plan and led his team to the top spot in the tournament. USA downed resilient rival Brazil in the final showdown and settled for No. 1 position. Victory also enabled USA to book a slot in the 2013 FIVB Grand Prix.

Caribbean ladies from Cuba, on the other hand, finished third in the competition. Cuba was defeated by Brazil in the semi-final match. However, the team managed to overcome Dominican Republic in the bronze medal match. Cuba qualified for the 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix when it entered the semis of the Pan Am Cup.

Dominican Republic played the third-position match against Cuba and dropped the decision. Dominican Republic claimed fourth position and also reserved a World Grand Prix spot.
Puerto Rico could not find a place in the top four of the competition, but managed to take sixth position. Puerto Rico was challenged by Argentina in the final match of the classification round. The South American team lost the fight, while Puerto Rico grabbed success.

According to the set formula of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), a total of sixteen teams will take part in the 2013 Grand Prix. The four NORCECA teams have already been confirmed for the competition. Brazil and Argentina also earned the qualification via XI Women’s Pan Am Cup and they will represent South America. Furthermore, the competition will receive five teams from Europe, four from Asia and one from Africa

2014 Men’s World Championship Qualification Tournament set to start Friday – Volleyball news

The cracking action of the 2014 Men’s World Championship Qualification Tournament is set to begin with the advent of NORCECA First Round matches on Friday, May 18.

A total of four teams will jump on board to compete for the berth in 2014 Men’s Volleyball World Championship. Honduras, Panama and Turks & Caicos will enter the competition as visiting teams, while El Salvador will serve as the host to Pool G matches. The City of San Salvador in El Salvador will accommodate the teams from May 18-20. The Gymnasium Adolfo Pineda will set up the field of play for the matches.

The tournament will be opened with the preliminary round-robin, which will help three teams to advance to the Second Round of the Qualification Tournament. According to the set formula of the competition, the Second Round of the Qualification Tournament will take place in 2013.

In order to check the facilities and arrangement, AFECAVOL President and representative for NORCECA Marta Centeno de Sajche visited the Gymnasium Adolfo Pineda in San Salvador, El Salvador. She was also joined by President of El Salvador’s Volleyball Federation Manuel Lozano. The preliminary inspection carried out successfully and the visiting AFECAVOL President expressed delight to see the excellent arrangement.

They checked the hotel accommodations, playing area and volleyball courts at the Gymnasium Adolfo Pineda. Marta Centeno de Sajche also had a meeting with the members of the organizing committee of the event. She reviewed all the details for the First Round matches of 2014 Men’s Volleyball World Championship Qualification Tournament. She stated, “El Salvador has been working hard in preparation to fulfil the necessary requirements for the tournament and I am confident that with this inspection things will be in place for opening day.”

Likewise, the President of El Salvador’s Volleyball Federation Manuel Lozano said, “Efforts are on track, and both my collaborators and the national federation are looking forward to meet NORCECA’s expectations for the qualifier.”

The clock is ticking down quickly and the competition will start after a few hours. Panama will take on Honduras in the opening match, while hosts El Salvador will go against Turks & Caicos.

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Now & then

Brazil Boys Youth National Team falls to Mexico in a friendly match – Volleyball News

The U-19 Boys National Volleyball Teams from Mexico and Brazil contested their skills in a friendly match on Tuesday, 2^nd April 2013. Brazilian City of Saquarema provided the backdrop for the competition. Nonetheless, the home team failed to benefit from familiar conditions.

Mexico overpowered the hosts in four-set affair 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 27-25, 25-18). It was the third friendly match between two teams, which helped Mexican squad to take sweet revenge of the last two defeats. Brazil won the first two matches of the tournament, but fell to Mexico in the third match.

Ariel Acosta, one of the Mexican players, expressed his emotions in the following manner: “It is a big day for our team with this win against a monster like Brazil. We made it clear that this is not just any team".

Team Mexico has been training in Brazil since 24^th March at the Saquarema High Performance Centre of Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV) is the facility that Mexican team has been using, in order to prepare for the upcoming event of 2013 Youth World Championship.

The 2013 U-19 World Championship is scheduled to take place from June 27 to July 7 in Mexico.

Team Mexico is scheduled to play more friendly matches before the start of World Championship.

Chinese volleyball player Chen Zhaodi dies at 58 – Volleyball Obituary

The female Chinese volleyball star of the yesteryears, Chen Zhaodi, suffered from cancer for quite a long time and passed away on Tuesday, 2^nd April 2013. She was 58 at the time of her death.

Chen started her volleyball career in 1973 as she found a place in the army team. She joined the women’s national volleyball team in 1976 and contributed to the overall success of her team. She remained a part of the national team which seized the women's volleyball World Cup title in 1981. Moreover, she played a key role in leading her team to top position in 1982 as well.

Following a successful career as a player, Chen opted for the profession of coach and took charge of the national junior team. She served as coach from 1986 to 1987. Afterwards, she was diagnosed with cancer in 1988. She underwent major operations and returned to the team in 1989.

On account of her wonderful skills and talent, Chen was selected as the vice-president and consultant at the Chinese Volleyball Association in 1993. She put a great duty to the sport of volleyball in China and her services will be remembered.

FIVB Honorary Life President, Wei Jizhong expressed his sadness on learning about the loss of Chen Zhaodi. “I am greatly shocked to learn with deep sorrow of the passing away of our renowned player. She was an excellent player and a Chinese hero, who dedicated all her energies throughout her life to Chinese volleyball development.”

The 2013 Metropolitan Volleyball League in Bangladesh concludes – Volleyball News

The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has always been supportive to the third world countries for the development of volleyball. Bangladesh is one of the Asian countries, which has received a lot of help from the FIVB in the recent years.

Volleyball Bangladesh lately organized the 2013 Metropolitan Volleyball League with the help of FIVB Development Fund. Teams from several parts of the country competed, while Dhaka Sabuj Club pulled off success in the final match. They played under the tag of defending champions and successfully retained the title by defeating Central Jail Team.

In the next run, the second division 2013 Metropolitan Volleyball League will be held in the first week of May.

Andrei Voronkov becomes the new coach of men’s national volleyball team of Russia – Volleyball

Andrei Voronkov has signed a two-year contract with the Russian Volleyball Federation to head the men’s national volleyball team. He comes from the famous Russian club Novosibirsk Lokomotiv. He will also continue to work with his club.

The national volleyball squad was previously headed by Vladimir Alekno, who couldn’t continue his services on account of health issues. However, Alekno did a great job during his tenure and helped the team to achieve great many honors.

On the other hand, Voronkov led his team of Lokomotiv to gold medal victory in the recent European Champions League.

The President of Russian Volleyball Federation (RVF) Stanislav Shevchenko shared his views about the new coach in the following manner, "I think Andrei can grow to become a great coach.”

Mexico overpowers Brazil in a friendly match ahead of U-19 World Championship – Volleyball News

In the recent memory, the Boys’ Youth National Volleyball Team of Mexico played a friendly match against Rio de Janeiro based junior team and claimed 3-0 victory.

City of Saquarema in Brazil hosted the match, while actual action took place at the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CVB) Training Centre. Mexico secured the first frame without much difficulty, but Brazilian studs put up a great fight in next two sets. Nonetheless, the experienced Mexican squad managed to fight the challenge and finished the match in straight sets.

Mexico posted 25-15, 25-23, 25-22 in three consecutive sets to earn victory. Team Mexico is scheduled to play more practice matches before the start of U-19 World Championship, which will take place in Tijuana and Mexicali, Mexico from June 27 to July 7.

Team coach Oscar Licea stated, “We also are programmed to play against the Brazilian U-19 team, the squad that will also take part in the world championship. That will be an important match since it will serve to evaluate different aspects and to see where we are against teams of this level.”

For more updates, you may choose to visit this blog again. J

Tunisia qualifies for the 2013 FIVB U-18 World Championship – Volleyball News

Girls’ National U-18 Volleyball Team of Tunisia finished second at the CAVB Youth African Nations Championship, which recently concluded in Cairo, Egypt.

Victory against Rwanda in straight sets enabled Tunisia to secure a berth in the upcoming Youth World Championship. Tunisia and Rwanda fought for 68 minutes at the Army Club Hall in Cairo, Egypt. The former squad scored 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-15) and dismissed Rwanda.

"I'm happy with the performance of my players today. We played carefully in the first set as the Rwandan team played very well, but my team was in peak performance to win the second and third sets widely,” said Tunisian coach Rym Ben Slimane.

The Tunisian team will be back in action at the 2013 FIVB Youth World Championship, which will take place in Thailand this coming July.

Egypt Girls U-18 Team digs a spot in the FIVB World Championship – Volleyball News

Nothing less was expected from the wonderful Egyptian squad that put a lot of hard work, in order to qualify for the 2013 Girls Youth African Nations Championship.

In the final decisive match Egypt took on visiting Algeria at the Army Club Hall in Cairo. The emotional support of home fans and familiar conditions boosted the morale of girls around Coach Tahani Tosson.

Egypt posted 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-16) victory over Algeria and received huge applause from the local audience. It took them 79 minutes to dismantle the power of resilient Algerian team.

The coach Tosson made remarks about the match in following manner, "I'm happy to win the cup but we have now to concentrate on the World Championship because the competition there will be very tough. I want to thank my players for their efforts during the competition especially in the final match against Algeria today."

The 2013 U-18 World Championship is scheduled to take place in Thailand from July 26^th to 4^th August.

Indian referee Parthasarathi Margalingam bids farewell to life – Volleyball Obituary

He was one of the best on the volleyball court in India; Parthasarathi Margalingam breathed his last on the 27^thof March, 2013. The international referee was 70 years of age when he passed away.

He was part of the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) and performed his duties in India. The Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) owe him a great deal as he worked hard to promote and develop the game of volleyball in India. He supervised many a international events.

“He knew each and every rule by-heart. He could make all the rules seem so simple even though they are not,” said nationnal referee Anandan, who also served as the Chairman of the Referees Board of the Karnataka Volleyball Association.

Algeria finishes third at the CAVB Championship, but remains successful – Volleyball News

Algerian Girls’ U-18 Volleyball Team appeared in a total of three matches at the 2013 African Nations Championship and ended up with only one victory. However, the team remained ahead of Rwanda, which failed to claim any points after three straight defeats.

The African Nations Championship served as the qualification tournament for the upcoming FIVB Youth World Championship, which will take place in Thailand. Algeria moved ahead and booked a slot in the World Championship alongside Tunisia and Egypt. These three teams will represent Africa in the competition.

Check back for more news and updates.

John Speraw named the programme's coach of USA for Olympics -Volleyball News

The USA Volleyball (USAV) is pleased to announce the appointment of John Speraw as the programme's coach for the upcoming Olympic Games, which will take place in Brazil.

Speraw, who has previously held the position of Olympics assistant coach for the US men's volleyball team, will have a huge responsibility on his shoulders at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games in his new role.

"I am excited to take on this new role with USA Volleyball," Speraw said. "I am honoured to have been selected to coach this elite group of talented US players and I appreciate UCLA's support in allowing me to pursue this tremendous opportunity."

Boca Chica Beach ready to host the volleyball action – Beach Volleyball News

Following the successful completion of the first leg of the 2013 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit in Grand Cayman Islands, the second tournament of the season is going to start on March 27.

Boca Chica Beach in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is set to host the activity. The tournament will feature both men’s and women’s matches. World’s renowned athletes will hit the sand of Boca Chica.

The pairing of Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas from Canada, who won the first edition of the NORCECA Circuit, will also join the action. Likewise, the winning duo of Roberto Rodriguez and Eric Haddock will defend their legacy in the men’s tournament. The Puerto Rican tandem performed wonderfully in the first leg and eyes victory in the second leg as well.

However, the defending champions of the Boca Chica Tournament will also be on board to showcase their skills. Puerto Rico’s Roberto Rodríguez & Orlando Irizarry captured the title in 2012, while their counterparts Yarleen Santiago & Yamileska Yantin seized gold medal in the female category.

The tournament will complete its run on April 1st, 2013.

Mexican National Boys U19 Team gears up for the World Championship – Volleyball News

The 2013 FIVB World Championship is just around the corner. The competition is scheduled to kick off on Wednesday, March 27 in Tijuana, Mexico. A total of 20 teams from across the globe will be on board to contest their skills.

In the wake of this great event, the National Boys U-19 Team of Mexico has started preparation at the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation High Performance Centre in Saquarema.

Mexican squad will be headed by experienced coach Oscar Licea. The coach of host team has high hopes to please the local volleyball fans with a display of great performance. Speaking of the upcoming tournament, he said, “This is a great opportunity and we will try to get the best out of it.” He further added, “We have worked hard in every training session in Baja and have also achieved some goals in our preparation for the international stage.”

Volleyball Canada discloses information about upcoming World League matches – Volleyball News

Volleyball Canada just recently released information about tickets and schedule of Team Canada’s matches for the 2013 World League men’s volleyball champoinship.

Cities of Quebec and Mississauga will have the opportunity to set up the field of play for World League matches in Canada. The Men’s National Volleyball Team of Canada will be joined by teams from Portugal, the Netherlands, Finland, Japan, and South Korea in Pool C.

The action will start off on May 31 as Canada will take on the Dutch rivals in Quebec City. The two teams will meet again on 1^st of June. In the next run, Team Canada will play two matches against Portugal on 7^th & 8^th of June. The pool-play will be completed with two matches against South Korea on 14^th & 15^th of June. The last four matches  of Team Canada will be played in Mississauga, Ontario.

Volleyball Canada has high hopes to use the home advantage and emotional support of local fans, in order to subdue the opponents.

Tickets for these matches can be obtained from 3^rd April onwards.

2013 Girls Youth African Nations Championship gets underway – Volleyball News

Following the drawing of lots at a local hotel in Cairo Egypt, the Confederation African de Volleyball (CAVB) gave the green light to girls’ qualifying tournament for the upcoming 2013 FIVB World Championship.

The Girls’ Youth African Championship started off on Monday, March 25 with a total of four teams from Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Rwanda. Egyptian Army Hall in Cairo, Egypt provided the ground for the action-packed thriller.

The competition is scheduled to complete its run on Wednesday and top 3 teams will get the chance to represent Africa at the World Championship, which will be held in Thailand from July 26^th to 4^th August.

Check back to know more about the competition.

Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas of Canada claim gold at the Cayman Islands Beach Volleyball Tournament

Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik of USA-A put up a great fight against Canada’s Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas in the final match of Cayman Islands Beach Volleyball Tournament on Sunday. However, the Canadians proved to be the best and earned gold medal victory.

Broder/Valjas showed great tactics to overcome the opponents and held them off for 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) victory.

Broder shared her thoughts after the match. She stated: “We had to be patient playing outdoors for the first time of the year under windy conditions and the heat. But we played good when it counted the most.”

Copra Elior PIACENZA grabs gold at the 2013 CEV Challenge Cup - Volleyball News

The men's volleyball team of Copra Elior PIACENZA from Italy did a wonderful job in the final match of the 2013 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup on Sunday. They downed the arch rival Ural UFA in straight sets (25-22, 25-18, and 25-16) and seized the European Trophy.

 

Copra Elior PIACENZA  had an amazing run throughout the tournament. The team appeared in 12 matches and remained undefeated. Zlatanov played an instrumental role in team's success. He chipped in match-high 16 points in the final showdown.

Previously, the club had the honour of winning the Top Teams Cup back in 2006.

 

Congrats to the Copra Elior PIACENZA . :)

Puerto Rican pair secures gold at the Cayman Islands Beach Volleyball Tournament

The dynamic duo of Roberto “Rafu” Rodriguez and Eric Haddock from Puerto Rico put up an excellent show of beach volleyball in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands on Sunday.

The Puerto Rican tandem seized the gold medal victory after beating Todd Rogers and Ryan Doherty of US. They posted 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) and settled for the top position. The Americans fought bravely, but ended up as the runner-up team.

Final day of the tournament attracted great number of beach volleyball fans at the Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

Rodriguez seemed totally delighted about their amazing win against a tough team. He expressed his emotions in the following manner: “I am really elated about winning against one of the greats of all-time like Todd (Rogers). This is one of the best tournaments and the ambiance really motivates me.”

Mexico wins the U-20 Women’s Pan American Cup – Volleyball News

Women’s National U-20 Volleyball Team from Mexico made it to the top at the Pan American Cup, which completed its run from March 16-23 in Cuba.

The final showdown of the tournament took place on Saturday, while teams from Mexico and Dominican Republic came into a head-to-head battle. Mexican musketeers managed to dismiss the opposite side in a four-set affair. They dropped only one set and won the match by taking three frames. The match was closed with final score of 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 14-25, 25-15). 

Coliseo de Ciudad Deportiva in Havana, Cuba provided the backdrop for the match.

Mexican victory was very much credited to Alejandra Isiordia, who helped the team with match-high 26 points.  Brayelin Martinez fought for Dominican Republic and ended up with 25 points.

The head coach of Team Mexico Estanislado Vachino was totally delighted about the overall performance of his girls. He stated: “My team was not prepared to reach the finals but played with a lot of heart. Now we have to enjoy the victory and continue our preparation towards the world championship.”

His counterpart Wagner Pacheco also expressed his thoughts about the match. “The cup is in the hands of the team that deserved it the most, they knew how to play against each team of its own pool neutralized my players and is a great champion,” said the coach.