After staging women�s FIVB Challenger/Satellite events in Pattaya (2001), Bangkok (2005) and Phuket (2005), Thailand will be hosting a women�s event on the 2008 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour calendar for the third-straight year. The 2005 Phuket stop served as a prelude to the inaugural SWATCH stop in Thailand in 2006 where the competition was part of the Andaman Festival to mark the first anniversary of the Tsunami of 2004. Jen Kessy Boss and Heather Lowe won the 2001 Pattaya event for the United States while China�s Linjun Ji and Whenhui You captured the Bangkok stop. Lijun Ji was 18 years old when she won the event to become the youngest player ever to win �any� international Beach Volleyball event at the time. Eiko Koizumi and Shinako Tanaka captured Japan�s first-ever international Beach Volleyball gold medal by winning the 2005 Phuket event. After upsetting reigning Olympic champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh of the United States in the semi-finals, 17-year old Chen Xue and her21-year old partner Xi Zhang upset Chinese rivals Jia Tian and Jie Wang for the 2006 gold medal. May-Treanor and Walsh maintained their podium spot in 2007 by defeating American rivals Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs in the finals. Branagh and Youngs advanced to the gold medal match by upsetting Tian and Wang in the semi-finals. Pictured to the right are Misty May-Treanor (left) and Kerri Walsh of the United States.

Phuket, the biggest island in the Thailand, is mostly mountainous with a mountain range in the west of the island from the north to the south. Phuket is about the same size as Singapore with a population of about 250,000. The dominant religion is Theravada Buddhism, although a vast diversity of religions and art forms flourish in Phuket's multiracial environment, making it distinct from other areas of Thailand. Phuket is also the natural base for exploring the Andaman Sea, which extends from Koh Surin National Park on the border with Myanmar to the north; to Koh Tarutao National Park on the border with Malaysia to the south; and to the Andaman Islands in Indian territory far to the west.

Asian Women�s SWATCH Stops - The 2008 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour women�s calendar features seven stops within the Asian Continental Federation with three events in China, and one stop each Australia, Korea, Japan and Thailand. It is the most events in Asia since five stops where held in 2001 at Macau, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Australia. The ABC�s of women�s Beach Volleyball (America, Australia, Brazil and China) have won 38 of the previous 39 events. The only title won by a European team in Asia was at a 2003 in China where Rebekka Kadijk and Marrit Leenstra of the Netherlands captured the gold medal.

SWATCH-FIVB WORLD TOUR - ASIAN WOMEN'S PODIUM PLACEMENTS - 39 events

Total Medals - Brazil 48, USA 32, Australia 13, China 11, Germany 4, Japan 2, Cuba 1, Czech Republic 1, Greece 1, Italy, 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 1 and Switzerland 1

Site	Year	Gold Medal	Silver Medal	Bronze Medal
1. Osaka	1994	Barbra Fontana/Lori Forsythe, USA	Isabel Salgado/Roseli Timm, BRA	Liz Masakayan /Karolyn Kirby, USA
2. Pusan	1995	Holly McPeak/Nancy Reno, USA	Kirby/Masakayan, USA	Sandra Pires/Jackie Silva, BRA
3. Osaka	1995	McPeak/Reno, USA	Linda Hanley/Angela Rock, USA	Sandra/Jackie, BRA
4. Bali	1995	McPeak/Reno, USA	Sandra/Jackie, BRA	Kirby/Rock, USA
5. Brisbane	1995	McPeak/Reno, USA	Sandra/Jackie, BRA	Beate Buhler/Danja Musch, GER
6. Osaka	1996	Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst, AUS	Danalee Bragado/Pat Keller, USA	Sarah Straton /Liane Fenwick, AUS
7. Pusan	1996	Lisa Arce/McPeak, USA	Yuki Ishizaka/Yukiko Takahashi, JPN	Adriana Samuel/Monica Rodrigues, BRA
8. Jakarta	1996	Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, BRA	Maike Friedrichsen/Musch, GER	Sandra/Jackie, BRA
9. Melbourne	1997	Sandra/Jackie, BRA	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Arce/McPeak, USA
10. Osaka	1997	Adriana/Monica, BRA	Friedrichsen/Musch, GER	Shelda/Adriana, BRA
11. Pusan	1997	Arce/McPeak, USA	Adriana/Monica, BRA	Cook/Pottharst, AUS
12. Osaka	1998	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Sandra/Adriana Samuel, BRA	Lisa Arce/McPeak, USA
13. Dalian	1998	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Arce/McPeak, USA	Pauline Manser/Pottharst, AUS
14. Osaka	1999	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Cook/Pottharst, AUS	Ana Paula Connelly/Jackie, BRA
15. Dalian	1999	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Annett Davis/Jenny J. Jordan, USA	Arce/Fontana, USA
16. Osaka	2000	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Mika Teru Saiki/Yukiko Takahashi, JPN	Cook/Pottharst, AUS
17. Dalian	2000	Masakayan/Elaine Youngs, USA	Misty May-Treanor/McPeak, USA	Ron Chi/Zi Xiong, CHN
18. Sydney (OG)	2000	Cook/Pottharst, AUS	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Sandra/Adriana Samuel, BRA
19. Macau	2001	Cook/Pottharst, AUS	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	May-Treanor/McPeak, USA
20. Osaka	2001	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Misty May /Kerri Walsh, USA	Elaine Youngs/Fontana, USA
21. Maoming	2001	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Tatiana Minello/Sandra, BRA	Cook/Pottharst, AUS
22. Hong Kong	2001	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, USA	Daniela Gattelli/Lucilla Perrotta, ITA
23. Brisbane(GWG)	2001	Sandra/Tatiana Minello, BRA	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Fontana/Youngs, USA
24. Osaka	2002	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Ana Paula/Tatiana, BRA	May/Walsh, USA
25. Maoming	2002	May-Treanor/Walsh, USA	McPeak/Youngs, USA	Cook/Pottharst, AUS
26. Osaka	2003	Ana Paula/Sandra, BRA	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Cook/Nicole Sanderson, AUS
27. Lianyungang	2003	Rebekka Kadijk/Marrit Leenstra, NED	Suzanne Lahme/Musch, GER	Cook/Sanderson, AUS
28. Bali	2003	Jia Tian/Fei Wang, CHN	Dalixia Fernandez Grasset/Tamara Larrea Peraza, CUB	Eva Celbova/Sona Novakova, CZE
29. Shanghai	2004	McPeak/Youngs, USA	Davis/Johnson Jordan, USA	Shelda/Adriana, BRA
30. Osaka	2004	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Cook/Sanderson, BRA	Nicole Schnyder/Simone Kuhn, SUI
31. Shanghai	2005	Juliana Felisberta Silva/Larissa Franca, BRA	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Ana Paula/Shaylyn Bede, BRA
32. Osaka	2005	Shaylyn/Ana Paula, BRA	Juliana/Larissa, BRA	Shelda/Adriana, BRA
33. Bali	2005	Talita Antunes Renata Ribeiro, BRA	Shelda/Adriana, BRA	Thalia Koutroumanidou/Maria Tsiartsiani, GRE
34. Shanghai	2006	Chen Xue/Xi Zhang, CHN	Jia Tian/Jie Wang, CHN	Juliana/Larissa, BRA
35. Phuket	2006	Xue/Zhang, CHN	Tian/Jie Wang, CHN	May-Treanor/Walsh, USA
36. Shanghai	2007	Tian/Jie Wang, CHN	Nila Ann Hakedal/Ingrid Torlen, NOR	Talita/Renata, BRA
37. Singapore	2007	TalitaRenata, BRA	Tian/Jie Wang, CHN	Xue/Zhang, CHN
38. Seoul	2007	Tamsin Barnett/Cook, AUS	Tian/Jie Wang, CHN	Juliana/Larissa, BRA
39. Phuket	2007	May-Treanor/Walsh, USA	Nicole Branagh/Elaine Youngs, USA	Tian/Jie Wang, CHN