Siofok, Hungary, August 22, 2018 – The new season of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour will begin with a 1-star double gender event in the Hungarian resort town of Siofok from August 23 to 26.
France’s Romain Di Giantommaso and Jeremy Silvestre are top seeded in the men’s main draw, followed by Poland’s Mateusz Paszkowski and Mateusz Lyskikowski and Japan’s Koichi Nishimura and Junki Hatabe.
The women’s main draw contenders are headed by Ukraine’s sister tandem of Iryna and Inna Makhno, who won consecutive silver medals in Porec and Ljubljana 1-star events. Poland’s Agata Ceynowa and Martyna Kloda and Japan’s Satono Ishitsubo and Asami Shiba are seeded second and third, respectively.
Up-and-coming pair from England – Javier and Joaquin Bello – will also compete in the men’s main draw after their fifth place finish at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship in Nanjing, while Japan’s Sakurako Fujii and Mai Tanaka will seek for another medal win after their bronze medal finish at the Ulsan 1-star.
A total of 34 men’s teams from 18 countries are entered into the Siofok 1-star event, including Austria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Ukraine and hosts Hungary.
The women’s tournament has 30 teams from 14 countries, with hosts Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.
The Siofok 1-star will be held at the Beach Arena Siofok, located at the famous Golden Beach.
The 2018-2019 World Tour calendar starts with the 1-star event in Siofok, followed by the first World Tour event, where Olympic ranking points will be awarded in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the Montpellier 1-star in France from August 28 to September 1.
The World Tour will also return to Qinzhou in China for a 3-star double gender event from September 30 to October 4 before moving to Yangzhou for a 4-star double gender event from October 10 to 14.
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FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Siofok