It is rare for a SWATCH FIVB World Tour stop to have the support from two federations, but following on from a successful 2010 event, the PAF Open will take place on the Isle of Åland at Mariehamn and will again have the support of both the Finnish and Swedish Volleyball Federations when it takes place from August 15-21. Åland is situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and forms an autonomous Swedish-speaking administrative province, region and historical province of Finland. It is the third time that national federations have joined forces to stage a FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour event as the aim of the PAF Open is to contribute to the development of Beach Volleyball in Finland and Sweden and both Volleyball associations see Åland as the perfect spot to host the world’s best men’s and women’s players. With about 25,000 permanent residents, Åland attracts more than two-million visitors each year. After staging the inaugural PAF Open in 2007, it returned in 2009 and, most recently, 2010. Last time around China's Chen Xue and Xi Zhang were crowned women's champions and USA's Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser took the men's title. In winning the gold Xue and Zhang beat defending champions Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca of Brazil, knocking them to the second spot on the podium, just ahead of bronze medallists Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes of Brazil. In a classic men's final Rogers and Dalhausser squared up against Brazil's Marcio Araujo and Ricardo Santos, eventually toppling them in a back and forth match with China's Penggen Wu and Linyin Xu finishing third. Below left is eventual men's champion Phil Dalhausser.