Lausanne, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, February 26, 2018 - Following the success of their cooperation for the
Snow Volleyball Night at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) are coming together again to merge the European beach volleyball circuit into the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
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FIVB.com - Beach VolleyballLatest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramAll CEV Satellite events will become World Tour 1-star tournaments from early April onwards, at the same time opening to international athletes from around the world. CEV Masters events will be added to the World Tour at a later stage as 2-star tournaments. The CEV will be responsible for the running and delivery of all 1-star and 2-star events due to take place in Europe for the 2018 season, with plans to apply the same concept to 3-star in future seasons once agreed between the two parties.
The move between the two governing bodies not only creates more playing opportunities for international players, but is crucially also beneficial to players as 1- and 2-star events will count towards qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games once the Olympic Qualification period starts. As they join forces, the FIVB and CEV establish a structure of events, which can foster the long-term growth of beach volleyball in Europe.
Commenting on the venture, FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° said: “The FIVB and the CEV have come together to further integrate the international beach volleyball calendar and provide benefits to both athletes and event promoters. Our goal is to continue to grow the sport and the combination of our efforts will help us to achieve that goal.
“The FIVB continues to explore opportunities to enhance the sport and attract new audiences to beach volleyball. This landmark agreement will play a key role in that respect.”
CEV President and FIVB 2nd Executive Vice-President Aleksandar Boričić said: “With the incorporation of beach volleyball events organised in Europe in the World Tour structure, the FIVB and CEV are adding another milestone to their successful cooperation as they share the same vision and commitment to growing the sport at all levels. Only a couple of weeks ago, our organisations joined forces to showcase snow volleyball at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang to an audience including many of the world’s leading media and high-ranking members of the Olympic family.
“This time, we strengthen our collaboration even further in order to provide more opportunities for beach volleyball players to compete on the international stage and for National Federations and promoters to help us develop the sport. This step reinforces our intention to work as a team and to contribute to a sustainable and long-term growth of beach volleyball in Europe, while inspiring the younger generations to take up this game.”
CEV Satellite events that will be incorporated in the World Tour calendar as 1-star are currently confirmed for Baden, Austria (June 13-17, double gender); Manavgat, Turkey (June 21-24, double gender), Anapa, Russia (July 5-8, double gender); Ljubljana, Slovenia (August 2-5, double gender); and Vaduz, Liechtenstein (August 8-12, double gender). Other events are still to be confirmed in the coming weeks following negotiations by the CEV with a number of European National Federations.
The European Championship Final, which this year is scheduled to be held from July 15-22 in the Netherlands, however, will remain a stand-alone event with the exclusive participation of European athletes and organised by the CEV, being the flagship of the CEV Beach Volleyball activities. The 2018 edition of the event will take place across four cities – The Hague, Rotterdam, Apeldoorn and Utrecht – alongside the Final Round of the U20 Men’s Volleyball European Championship and the Sitting Volleyball World Championships, for what promises to be a truly unique and unprecedented volleyball party in the Netherlands.
The FIVB is working closely with other Confederations in order to implement the same concept from next season in their territories, providing the Confederations with a more powerful product to market, including competitive entry lists and greater clarity in the global event structure.
The addition of five CEV events takes the total number of World Tour tournaments up to almost 50, with additional tournaments still being discussed. The new 1-star events incorporated in the World Tour also add considerable depth in terms of the overall number of competitions available to players.
2017/2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball Calendar - Download your copy here.Additional changes to the 2017/2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball Calendar include a new stop in Asia. Phnom Penh, Cambodia will host a 2-star women’s event from May 4 to 6. Negotiations are currently underway for a second additional event in Asia in Haiyang, China in the second half of July. The event in Monaco scheduled to take place in June, however, has been removed from the calendar this year due to construction work on the beach with the FIVB hoping to return to the principality soon.
The dates of three events have also been modified. These concern the events in: Alanya, Turkey from May 31 to June 3, Nantong, China from June 7 to 10 and Nanjing, China from June 14 to 17.
The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour is currently in
Fort Lauderdale, USA for the first 5-star tournament of the year. That will be followed by three more stops in March including Doha (Qatar), Muscat (Oman) and Aalsmeer (Netherlands).