The members of the Beach Volleyball Commission in the FIVB Boardroom in the Château Les Tourelles |
October 17, 2009, Lausanne, Switzerland - The FIVB Beach Volleyball Commission and FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Council held their annual meetings in the Château Les Tourelles on 14-15 October where Confederation Presidents, Confederation Beach Volleyball representatives and player and promoter representatives met followed by the World Tour Council meeting on 17 October where more than 25 Beach Volleyball promoters and Federation Presidents attended along with key stakeholders Swatch (World Tour title sponsor), Descente (official sportswear supplier), IMG (TV Sales and TV Coordination Agency), IFM (Sports Marketing Surveys) and Hutcheson Sand and Mixes (Sand consultant).
The FIVB was extremely proud to report record-breaking television numbers for the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Tour and the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships in Stavanger, Norway. With two SWATCH FIVB World Tour events still to be held, Beach Volleyball worldwide total revenues in 2009 are already 180% higher than in 2007 - the last year in which the Beach Volleyball World Championships and World Tour were played together, and 130% higher than in 2008 when just the World Tour was played. The key announcement during the meetings was the confirmation of Rome as the venue of the 2011 SWATCH FIVB World Championships; other major decisions included the announcement of the 2010 and 2011-2012 Tentative Calendars which will be announced officially at the end of November while a progress report was given on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Cup and the newly conceived Olympic qualification formula. The 2010 season will foresee 11 women’s and 10 men’s Open and seven Grand Slam (Double Gender) events, for an unprecedented total prize money/bonus pool of $8.19m. Negotiations are still pending for three events. The city of Rome and Stare Jablonki have been attributed Grand Slam tournaments for the first time in the history of the Tour.
Furthermore, new FIVB projects were announced such as an initiative called Beach Volleyball Around the World which is directed towards amateur players and a development project for National Federations based on the successful experience of The Netherlands federation.
The FIVB also confirmed that starting from the event in Sanya (China) in 2009 a new Mikasa ball, the VLS 300, will be used for next season leading towards the 2012 Olympic Games.
“A lot of positive and innovative ideas for FIVB Beach Volleyball came out of these meetings,” FIVB Beach Volleyball Commission President Mr Ary Graça said. “With the projects discussed during these annual meetings, Beach Volleyball has a bright future and a solid group of committed stakeholders. Many important decisions and open discussions have taken place involving many of the key partners who are aiming to develop Beach Volleyball as a sport by consolidating its success right around the world.” |
