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.