Lausanne, Switzerland, February 2, 2010 – Brasilia will raise the curtain on the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour when it hosts the opening event once more from April 18-23. It is the third time in a row that the Brazilian capital has opened the World Tour.
Brazil has staged a FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour event every year since the start of the international circuit for men in 1987 and for women in 1992. Last year's event took place against the backdrop of the city's 50th anniversary celebrations which welcomed over one million people.
On that occasion it was home duo Juliana Felisberta da Silva and Larissa França who came out on top in the women's edition. They defeated Germany's Laura Ludwig and Sara Goller in straight sets (21-15, 21-19) in the final, picking up their 30th tour medal and avenging an earlier loss to the same pair in the process. The Salgado sisters, Maria Clara and Carol, also gave the home fans something to cheer as they completed the podium by beating USA's April Ross and Jen Kessy in the bronze-medal match.
In the men's contest it was Olympic champions Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser who took top spot on the podium, becoming the first American pair to win in Brazil in 14 years. They beat home tandem Emanuel Rego and Alison Cerutti 2-0 (21-16, 21-12) in the final to pick up gold. However, in winning silver, Emanuel became the first international beach volleyball player to surpass 2million US dollars in career earnings. The bronze-medal match was an all-Brazilian affair with Benjamin Insfran and Bruno Schmidt seeing off Pedro Cunha and Thiago Santos.
The 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour has a total of 14 men's and 16 women's events across 13 countries. A definite highlight of the calendar will be the eighth edition of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships from June 14-26 in Rome.
This 23rd edition of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour also heralds the start of the World Tour Olympic qualifying process for 16 vacancies per gender, which runs from January 1 this year until June 17 next year. There will be six Grand Slams for the third year in a row offering 600,000 US dollars in prize money – in Norway, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, Austria as well as the new Grand Slam in Beijing, China. Quebec in Canada will also feature on the calendar for the first time with a double gender Open event.
The 1million US dollar FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships includes a number of firsts for the biennial tournament – including being played in a capital city and featuring night matches – with the historic Parco del Foro Italico in Rome providing the venue. Meanwhile, the Chinese capital Beijing is back on the Tour calendar for the first time since the 2008 Olympic Games with a new Grand Slam event scheduled for June 6-12. Quebec will follow Montreal and Toronto as Canadian cities to host the World Tour, becoming the first since Montreal in 2007 when it stages a double-gender Open from July 18-24.
The 2011 schedule – which also includes an Olympic Games test event for women from August 9-14, replicating the Olympic formula, at London's Horse Guards Parade – will feature a total of 10 Opens of which six are double gender.
|
Women |
|
Dates |
Country |
Event |
Prize
Money |
Bonus
Pool |
|
April 18-23 |
Brasilia, Brazil |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
April 26- May 1 |
Sanya, China |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
May 3-8 |
Shanghai, China |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
May 17 –22 |
Myslowice, Poland |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
June 6-11 |
Beijing, China |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
June 14 – 26 |
Preliminary phase: 2 cities,
Italy Final phase: Rome, Italy |
World Championships |
$250’000 |
$250’000 |
|
June 27- July 2 |
Stavanger, Norway |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
July 4-9 |
Gstaad, Switzerland |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
July 11-16 |
Moscow, Russia |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
July 18-24 (TBD) |
Québec, Canada |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
July 25-30 |
Stare Jablonki, Poland |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
August 1-6 |
Klagenfurt, Austria |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
** August 8-13 |
Kristiansand, Norway |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
August 15-20 |
Aland, Finland/Sweden |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
*** August 23-28 |
The Hague, Netherlands |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
November 1-6 |
Phuket, Thailand |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
|
$ 2’200’000 |
$ 1’810’000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Men |
|
Dates |
Country |
Event |
Prize
Money |
Bonus
Pool |
|
April 19-24 |
Brasilia, Brazil |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
May 2-7 |
Shanghai, China |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
May 17 –22 |
Prague, Czech Republic |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
June 7-12 |
Beijing, China |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
June 14 – July 26 |
Preliminary phase: 2 cities,
Italy Final phase: Rome, Italy |
World Championships |
$250’000 |
$250’000 |
|
June 28- July 3 |
Stavanger, Norway |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
July 5-10 |
Gstaad, Switzerland |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
July 12-17 |
Moscow, Russia |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
July 18-24 (TBD) |
Québec, Canada |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
July 26-31 |
Stare Jablonki, Poland |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
August 2-7 |
Klagenfurt, Austria |
Grand Slam |
$160’000 |
$140’000 |
|
**August 9-14 |
Kristiansand, Norway |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
August 16-21 |
Aland, Finland/ Sweden |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
*** August 23-28 |
The Hague, Netherlands |
Open |
$110’000 |
$80’000 |
|
|
|
|
$ 1’980’000 |
$ 1’650’000 |
16 Women’s events / 14 Men’s events including six Grand Slams & one World Championships
Total Prize Money: USD 4’180’000 Total Bonus Pool: USD 3’460’000
Legend
** To be confirmed
*** Competition starts the same day for men and women
