Lausanne, Switzerland, August 21, 2011 — The 13th women’s and 12th men’s events on the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour and 11th of 12 double gender events were played this past week at the $380,000 Paf Open at Isle of Aland at Mariehamn, Finland.

In the women’s competition, Chen Xue/Xi Zhang of China won their first event of 2011 and their eighth FIVB Swatch World Tour title together.  On the men’s side, Marcio Araujo and Benjamin Insfran also won their first event of the season in just their third event together since reuniting in Stare Jablonki.  The pair played together from 1999 through 2004 and hadn’t won a gold medal match since July of 2004, in Marseille, setting the record for time between gold medals for a team at seven years, 1 month, and 3 days.  They also became the oldest team in combined age to win an FIVB Swatch World Tour gold medal at 77 years, 2 months, and 6 days.
This week the FIVB Swatch World Tour finishes its “European Swing” in The Hague, Netherlands from August 23-28 for the final double gender event of the 2011 season.  The following week, Canada will host the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch Junior World Championships for players under 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 31-September 4.  The tour finishes up the 2011 season for the men in Agadir, Morocco from October 4-9 and in Phuket, Thailand from November 1-6 for the women.
2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Highlights
• The 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour circuit will visit 18 sites in 16 countries over an eight-month period.
• The 2011 calendar features 15 women's and 14 men's events within all five confederations plus one special 24-team single-gender women’s test event held August 9-14 at London’s Horse Guard’s Parade, the venue for the 2012 London Olympic Games. The 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour is offering $7.64-million in prize money
• Twelve of the tournaments will be combined men's and women's events, including the World Championships and all six Grand Slam stops. Women's-only stops will be in China (Sanya), Poland (Myslowice), and Thailand (Phuket). Men's only stops will be in the Czech Republic (Prague) and Morocco (Agadir)
• New stops on this year's calendar are the double gender event in Canada (Québec) and the first event in Morocco (Agadir) (men), after a five year absence from Africa.
• The 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships were played in Rome, Italy from June 13 through June 19. This is the first time that Italy has hosted the World Championships.
• The tour returned to Beijing, the scene of the 2008 Olympic Games after two year's absence, with a double gender Grand Slam, the first ever held in Asia. In addition, the $3.6-million FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Grand Slam series will return to Norway (Stavanger), Switzerland (Gstaad), Russia (Moscow), Poland (Stare Jablonki), and Austria (Klagenfurt).
• Stavanger, Gstaad, and Klagenfurt have each staged eleven or more FIVB-sanctioned Beach Volleyball events. Each site has also hosted the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships (Klagenfurt in 2001, Gstaad in 2007 and Stavanger in 2009).
• Brazil has staged a FIVB Swatch World Tour event every year since the start of the International circuit for men in 1987 and women in 1992.
• China is staging three and Poland will present two FIVB Swatch World Tour stops in 2011.
• The men's calendar concludes with the new event in Morocco in early October while the women's tour finishes in Thailand the following month.
• The International Beach Volleyball calendar also features two other age-limit World Championships. Croatia will host the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Youth World Championships, for players under the age of 19, June 21-26 in Umag. Canada will host the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch Junior World Championships for players under 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia August 31-September 4. This will be the first time either country has hosted these events. The FIVB Swatch Youth World Championships in 2010 were held in Porto, Portugal before Turkey hosted the FIVB Swatch Junior World Championships in Alanya.
• IMG Sports Media continues to have the exclusive global distribution rights for the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour. In addition to match telecasts, IMG also produces a weekly FIVB Swatch World Tour highlight show.
• The FIVB Swatch World Tour will continue to exclusively use the Mikasa VLS300 ball.  It was introduced in 2009 in October and November at events in Sanya, China and Phuket, Thailand.
2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Men’s Leaders (through August 21)
Men (Team Rank, points)
1, Alison Cerutti/Emanuel Rego, Brazil, 6,460
2, Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers, United States, 6,100
3, Julius Brink/Jonas Reckermann, Germany, 5,160
4, Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel, Poland, 4,480
5, Jefferson Bellaguarda/Patrick Heuscher, Switzerland, 3,360
5, Penggen Wu/Linyin Xu, China, 3,360
7, Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal, United States, 3,100
8, Matt Fuerbringer/Nick Lucena, United States, 3,040
9, Jonathan Erdmann/Kay Matysik, Germany, 3,020
10, Reinder Nummerdor/Richard Schuil, Netherlands, 2,700
11, David Klemperer/Eric Koreng, Germany, 2,620
12, Martins Plavins/Janis Smedins, Latvia, 2,520
12, Adrian Gavira Collado/Pablo Herrera, Spain, 2,520
14, Petr Benes/Premysl Kubala, Czech Republic, 2,500
15, Yaroslav Koshkarev/Konstantin Semenov, Russia, 2,320
16, Sebastian Chevallier/Sascha Heyer, Switzerland, 2,220
17, Tarjei Skarlund/Martin Spinnangr, Norway, 2,080
18, Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Ruslans Sorokins, Latvia, 2,000
19, Harley Marques/Thiago Santos Barbosa, Brazil, 1,540
20, Renato "Geor" Gomes/Jorge "Gia" Terceiro, Georgia, 1,450
21, Pedro Cunha/Ricardo Santos, Brazil, 1,400
22, Sebastian Dollinger/Stefan Windscheif, Germany, 1,304
23, Anders Lund Hoyer/Bo Soderberg, Denmark, 1,290
24, Hannes Brinkborg/Stefan Gunnarsson, Sweden, 1,284

NOTE - The 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour champions will be determined by calculating the points for a team’s best 10 men and 11 women finishes based on 75 percent of the 14 men’s and 15 women’s events (Open, World Championship and Grand Slam events only) staged during season and rounded down.

Men (Team Rank, events, titles, US earnings)
1, Alison Cerutti/Emanuel Rego, Brazil, 11, 5, $306,700
2, Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers, United States, 12, 4, $278,600
3, Julius Brink/Jonas Reckermann, Germany, 9, 0, $185,300
4, Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel, Poland, 10, 0, $149,000
5, Jefferson Bellaguarda/Patrick Heuscher, Switzerland, 9, 0, $107,800
6, Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal, United States, 12, 0, $100,300
7, Penggen Wu/Linyin Xu, China, 10, 0, $96,200
8, Matt Fuerbringer/Nick Lucena, United States, 12, 0, $91,350
9, Jonathan Erdmann/Kay Matysik, Germany, 12, 0, $86,800
10, Martins Plavins/Janis Smedins, Latvia, 9, 0, $77,750
11, Reinder Nummerdor/Richard Schuil, Netherlands, 11, 0, $76,250
12, David Klemperer/Eric Koreng, Germany, 9, 0, $70,400
13, Adrian Gavira Collado/Pablo Herrera, Spain, 7, 0, $69,100
14, Petr Benes/Premysl Kubala, Czech Republic, 9, 0, $68,000
15, Sebastian Chevallier/Sascha Heyer, Switzerland, 10, 0, $64,500
16, Yaroslav Koshkarev/Konstantin Semenov, Russia, 8, 0, $62,800
17, Tarjei Skarlund/Martin Spinnangr, Norway, 10, 0, $62,800
18, Pedro Cunha/Ricardo Santos, Brazil, 3, 1, $59,500
19, Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Ruslans Sorokins, Latvia, 11, 0, $54,300
21, Harley Marques/Thiago Santos Barbosa, Brazil, 10, 0, $44,250
22, Anders Lund Hoyer/Bo Soderberg, Denmark, 9, 0, $43,250
23, Renato "Geor" Gomes/Jorge "Gia" Terceiro, Georgia, 12, 0, $42,350
24, Martin Laciga/Jonas Weingart, Switzerland, 10, 0, $35,600

2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Women’s Leaders (through August 21)
Women (Team Rank, points)
1, Juliana Felisberta Silva/Larissa Franca, Brazil, 6,480
2, Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, United States, 6,240
3, Chen Xue/Xi Zhang, China, 5,980
4, Maria Antonelli/Talita Antunes, Brazil, 5,540
5, Jennifer Kessy/April Ross, United States, 5,480
6, Sanne Keizer/Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands, 4,480
7, Greta Cicolari/Marta Menegatti, Italy, 4,360
8, Carolina Salgado/Maria Clara Salgado, Brazil, 4,140
9, Sara Goller/Laura Ludwig, Germany, 4,040
10, Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Hanson, United States, 3,580
11, Elsa Baquerizo/Liliana Fernandez Steiner, Spain, 3,020
12, Simone Kuhn/Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland, 3,000
12, Doris Schwaiger/Stefanie Schwaiger, Austria, 3,000
14, Angie Akers/Nicole Branagh, United States, 2,920
15, Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler, Germany, 2,900
16, Kristyna Kolocova/Marketa Slukova, Czech Republic, 2,880
17, Lenka Hajeckova/Hana Klapalova, Czech Republic, 2,720
18, Jana Kohler/Julia Sude, Germany, 2,260
19, Louise Bawden/Becchara Palmer, Australia, 1,820
20, Vassiliki Arvaniti/Maria Tsiartsiani, Greece, 1,760
21, Vivian Cunha/Taiana Lima, Brazil, 1,720
22, Barbara Hansel/Sara Montagnolli, Austria, 1,600
22, Ying Huang/Yuan Yue, China, 1,600
24, Andrezza "Rtvelo" Martins/Cristine "Saka" Santanna, Georgia, 1,460
24, Daniela Gioria/Giulia Momoli, Italy, 1,460

NOTE - The 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour champions will be determined by calculating the points for a team’s best 10 men and 11 women finishes based on 75 percent of the 14 men’s and 15 women’s events (Open, World Championship and Grand Slam events only) staged during season and rounded down.

Women (Team Rank, events, titles, US earnings)
1, Juliana Felisberta Silva/Larissa Franca, Brazil, 11, 5, $296,700
2, Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, United States, 10, 3, $268,300
3, Chen Xue/Xi Zhang, China, 12, 1, $228,800
4, Jennifer Kessy/April Ross, United States, 12, 1, $200,900
5, Maria Antonelli/Talita Antunes, Brazil, 13, 1, $195,700
6, Sanne Keizer/Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands, 11, 2, $157,100
7, Greta Cicolari/Marta Menegatti, Italy, 12, 0, $136,850
8, Carolina Salgado/Maria Clara Salgado, Brazil, 13, 0, $123,100
9, Sara Goller/Laura Ludwig, Germany, 12, 0, $118,700
10, Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Hanson, United States, 12, 0, $98,950
11, Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler, Germany, 11, 0, $89,350
12, Doris Schwaiger/Stefanie Schwaiger, Austria, 13, 0, $86,300
13, Simone Kuhn/Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland, 12, 0, $84,900
14, Elsa Baquerizo/Liliana Fernandez Steiner, Spain, 11, 0, $82,250
15, Lenka Hajeckova/Hana Klapalova, Czech Republic, 11, 0, $81,550
16, Angie Akers/Nicole Branagh, United States, 13, 0, $76,900
17, Kristyna Kolocova/Marketa Slukova, Czech Republic, 11, 0, $74,600
18, Jana Kohler/Julia Sude, Germany, 12, 0, $67,950
19, Vassiliki Arvaniti/Maria Tsiartsiani, Greece, 8, 0, $50,700
20, Louise Bawden/Becchara Palmer, Australia, 9, 0, $50,450
21, Vivian Cunha/Taiana Lima, Brazil, 9, 0, $49,100
22, Andrezza "Rtvelo" Martins/Cristine "Saka" Santanna, Georgia, 13, 0, $47,950
23, Barbara Hansel/Sara Montagnolli, Austria, 11, 0, $47,250
24, Ying Huang/Yuan Yue, China, 13, 0, $44,950

2011 Men FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Schedule/Results
Dates Site Open/GS/WC Gold Medal Team or Purse
April 18-23  Brasília, Brazil  Open  Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers, United States
May 2-7  Shanghai, China  Open  Dalhausser/Rogers, United States
May 17-22  Prague, Czech Republic  Open  Alison Cerutti/Emanuel Rego, Brazil
June 6-11  Beijing, China  Grand Slam  Alison/Emanuel, Brazil
June 13-19  Rome, Italy  World Championship  Alison/Emanuel, Brazil
June 28-July 3 Stavanger, Norway  Grand Slam  Marcio Araujo/Ricardo Santos, Brazil
July 5-10  Gstaad, Switzerland  Grand Slam  Alison/Emanuel, Brazil
July 12-17  Moscow, Russia  Grand Slam  Alison/Emanuel, Brazil
July 19-24  Québec, Canada  Open  Dalhausser/Rogers, United States
July 26-31  Stare Jablonki, Poland  Grand Slam  Dalhausser/Rogers, United States
August 2-7  Klagenfurt, Austria  Grand Slam  Pedro Cunha/Ricardo, Brazil
August 16-21 Åland, Finland  Open  Marcio / Benjamin Insfran, Brazil
August 23-28 The Hague, Netherlands  Open  $190,000
October 4-9  Agadir, Morocco  Open  $190,000
2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour – Men’s Final Four results
Brazil – Brasília, April 17-23, $US$190,000
1. Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers, United States, $30,000
2. Alison Cerutti/Emanuel Rego, Brazil, $21,000
3. Penggen Wu/Linyin Xu, China, $15,000
4. Marcio Araujo/Ricardo Santos, Brazil, $11,200
Gold – Dalhausser/Rogers def. Alison/Emanuel, 21-18, 21-13 (35 minutes)
Bronze – Wu/Xu def. Marcio Araujo, 21-17, 16-21, 15-10 (48)
MOP – Dalhausser
SWATCH Serve – Casey Patterson, United States, 99.6 km/h

China – Shanghai, May 2-7, $US$190,000
1. Dalhausser/Rogers, United States, $30,000
2. Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal, United States, $21,000
3. Julius Brink/Jonas Reckermann, Germany, $15,000
4. Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera, Spain, $11,200
Gold – Dalhausser/Rogers def. Gibb/Rosenthal, 21-18, 24-22 (44)
Bronze – Brink/Reckermann def. Gavira/Herrera, 14-21, 22-20, 15-10 (52)
MOP – Dalhausser
SWATCH Serve – Andy Ces, France, 96.5 km/h

Czech Republic – Prague, May 17-22, $US$190,000
1. Alison/Emanuel, Brazil, $30,000
2. Dalhausser/Rogers, United States, $21,000
3. Sebastian Chevallier/Sascha Heyer, Switzerland, $15,000
4. Pedro Cunha/Pedro Salgado, Brazil, $11,200
Gold – Alison/Emanuel def. Dalhausser/Rogers, 21-19, 21-14 (39)
Bronze – Chevallier/Heyer def. Cunha/Salgado, 21-18, 18-21, 17-15 (52)
MOP – Alison
SWATCH Serve – Stefan Windscheif, Germany, 92.5 km/h

China – Beijing, June 6-11, $US$300,000
1. Alison/Emanuel, Brazil, $43,500
2. Brink/Reckermann, Germany, $29,500
3. Jefferson Bellaguarda/Patrick Heuscher, Switzerland, $23,000
4. Gregorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel, Poland, $18,400
Gold – Alison/Emanuel def. Brink/Reckermann, 15-21, 21-19, 15-8 (50)
Bronze – Bellaguarda/Heuscher def. Fijalek/Prudel, 21-18, 21-16 (37)
MOP – Alison
SWATCH Serve – Eric Koreng, Germany, 98.5 km/h

Italy – Rome, June 13-19 $US$500,000
1. Alison/Emanuel, Brazil, $60,000
2. Marcio/Ricardo, Brazil, $45,000
3. Brink/Reckermann, Germany, $35,000
4. Martins Plavins/Janis Smedins, Latvia, $28,000
Gold – Alison/Emanuel def. Marcio/Ricardo, 21-16, 21-15 (38)
Bronze – Brink/Reckermann def. Plavins/Smedins 22-20, 18-21, 15-11 (59)
MOP – Alison
SWATCH Serve – Yaroslav Koshkarev, Russia, 98.3 km/h

Norway – Stavanger, June 28-July 3 $US$300,000
1. Marcio/Ricardo, Brazil, $43,500
2. Fijalek/ Prudel, Poland, $29,500
3. Brink/Reckermann, Germany, $23,000
4. Tarjei Skarlund/Martin Spinnangr, Norway, $18,400
Gold – Marcio/Ricardo def. Fijalek/Prudel, 21-18, 24-22 (44)
Bronze – Brink/Reckermann def. Skarlund/Spinnangr 17-21, 21-13, 15-11 (54)
MOP – Ricardo
SWATCH Serve – Iver Horrem, Norway, 94.5 km/h

Switzerland – Gstaad, July 5-10 $US$300,000
1. Alison/Emanuel, Brazil, $43,500
2. Dalhausser/Rogers, United States, $29,500
3. Brink/Reckermann, Germany, $23,000
4. Fijalek/ Prudel, Poland, $18,400
Gold – Alison/Emanuel def. Dalhausser/Rogers, 22-20, 21-19 (42)
Bronze – Brink/Reckermann def. Fijalek/ Prudel 22-20, 21-17 (44)
MOP – Alison
SWATCH Serve – Konstantin Semenov, Russia, 92.1 km/h

Russia – Moscow, July 12-17 $US$300,000
1. Alison/Emanuel, Brazil, $43,500
2. Bellaguarda/Heuscher, Switzerland, $29,500
3. Dalhausser/Rogers, United States, $23,000
4. Wu/Xu, China, $18,400
Gold – Alison/Emanuel def. Bellaguarda/Heuscher, 21-16, 18-21, 17-15 (55)
Bronze – Dalhausser/Rogers def. Wu/Xu 25-27, 24-22, 17-15 (67)
MOP – Emanuel
SWATCH Serve – Koreng, Germany, 108.1 km/h

Canada – Quebec, July 19-24 $US$190,000
1. Dalhausser/Rogers, United States, $30,000
2. Matt Fuerbringer/Nick Lucena, United States, $21,000
3. Gibb/Rosenthal, United States, $15,000
4. Alvaro Filho/Moises Santos, Brazil, $11,200
Gold – Dalhausser/Rogers def. Fuerbringer/Lucena, 23-21, 21-19 (47)
Bronze – Gibb/Rosenthal def. Filho/Santos 22-20, 21-19 (43)
MOP – Dalhausser
SWATCH Serve – Juan Virgen, Mexico, 95.8 km/h

Poland – Stare Jablonki, July 26-31 $US$300,000
1. Dalhausser/Rogers, United States, $43,500
2. Fijalek/ Prudel, Poland, $29,500
3. Alison/Emanuel, Brazil, $23,000
4. Jonathan Erdmann/Kay Matysik, Germany, $18,400
Gold – Dalhausser/Rogers def. Fijalek/ Prudel, 21-15, 15-21, 15-13 (53)
Bronze – Alison/Emanuel def. Erdmann/Matysik 23-21, 21-15 (39)
MOP – Dalhausser
SWATCH Serve – Erdmann, Germany, 96.2 km/h

Austria – Klagenfurt, August 2-7 $US$300,000
1. Pedro Cunha/Ricardo, $43,500
2. Brink/Reckermann, Germany, $29,500
3. Dalhausser/Rogers, United States, $23,000
4. Joao Maciel/Bruno Oscar Schmidt, Brazil, $18,400
Gold – Pedro/Ricardo def. Brink/Reckermann, 21-19, 18-21, 15-9 (65)
Bronze – Dalhausser/Rogers def. Maciel/Schmidt 21-14, 21-12 (38)
MOP – Ricardo
SWATCH Serve – Clemens Doppler, Austria, 93.4 km/h

Finland – Aland, August 16-21 $US$190,000
1. Marcio/Benjamin Insfran, $30,000
2. Dalhausser/Rogers, United States, $21,000
3. Alison/Emanuel, Brazil, $15,000
4. Fijalek/ Prudel, Poland, $11,200
Gold – Marcio/Benjamin def. Dalhausser/Rogers, 21-21, retired due to injury (22)
Bronze – Alison/Emanuel def. Fijalek/ Prudel 26-24, 16-21, 16-14 (59)
MOP – Marcio
SWATCH Serve – Koreng, Germany 102.1 km/h
 

2011 Women FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Schedule/Results
Dates Site Open/GS/WC Gold Medal Team or Purse
April 17-22  Brasília, Brazil  Open  Juliana Felisberta Silva/Larissa Franca, Brazil
April 26-May 1 Sanya, China  Open Juliana/Larissa, Brazil
May 3-8  Shanghai, China  Open  Sanne Keizer/Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands
May 17-22  Myslowice, Poland  Open  Keizer/Van Iersel, Netherlands
June 6-11  Beijing, China  Grand Slam  Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, USA
June 13-19  Rome, Italy  World Championship  Juliana/Larissa, Brazil
June 27-July 2 Stavanger, Norway  Grand Slam  Jennifer Kessy/April Ross, USA
July 4-9  Gstaad, Switzerland  Grand Slam  Juliana/Larissa, Brazil
July 11-16  Moscow, Russia  Grand Slam  May-Treanor/Walsh, USA
July 19-24  Québec, Canada  Open  Maria Antonelli/Talita Antunes, Brazil
July 25-30  Stare Jablonki, Poland  Grand Slam  Juliana/Larissa, Brazil
August 1-6  Klagenfurt, Austria  Grand Slam  May-Treanor/Walsh, USA
August 9-14 London, Great Britain Olympic Test Event* Liliane Maestrini/Angela Vieira, Brazil
August 15-20 Åland, Finland  Open  Chen Xue/Xi Zhang, China
August 23-28 The Hague, Netherlands  Open  $190,000
November 1-6 Phuket, Thailand  Open  $190,000
* Olympic Test Event offers no points or money towards FIVB Swatch World Tour standings

Finland – Aland, August 16-21 $US$190,000
1. Xue/Zhang, China, $30,000
2. May-Treanor/Walsh, United States, $21,000
3. Juliana/Larissa, Brazil, $15,000
4. Maria/Talita, Brazil, $11,200
Gold – Xue/Zhang def. May-Treanor/Walsh, 21-16, 17-21, 15-9 (43)
Bronze – Juliana/Larissa def. Maria/Talita 21-19, 18-21, 21-19 (56)
MOP –  Xue
SWATCH Serve – Larissa, Brazil, 78.8 km/h