Beach Volleyball special: FIVB announces 2011 SWATCH FIVB calendar
The SWATCH FIVB World Tour 2010 rounded off with the Phuket Open Tournament in Thailand last month. The 2010 season has been very productive and created great opportunities for beach volleyball players to demonstrate their abilities and character in front
of huge audience. After the successful completion of 2010 season, the FIVB has finalised the schedule for next season.
In the recent memory, FIVB has announced the 2011 calendar. The SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar 2011 will feature 17 events, which include six Grand Slams and ten Open tournaments (six of which will feature double-gender competitions). It is the third consecutive
year that FIVB is conducting six Grand Slams in a year. The 2011 season will complete its run in eight months. According to the set schedule of FIVB, 13 countries will host the SWATCH FIVB competitions. The information has been disclosed from the headquarters
of FIVB in Lausanne, Switzerland. The detailed calendar with all information about dates, locations and fixtures is yet to be announced in a couple of weeks.
The FIVB will offer a total of $7.94 million as prize money in the 2011 SWATCH FIVB World Tour. The Grand Slams will be held in Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, and Beijing. China will also feature new Grand Slam this year. Each of the Grand
Slams will offer $600,000 to the winners. FIVB will also feature Quebec, Canada on the calendar for the first time, while France, Marseille and South Korea have been dropped out. There are some other places in Asia and Middle East, which are under consideration.
President of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Commission Dr. Ary Graça said that the SWATCH FIVB World Tour 2011 will bring a boost to beach volleyball in the region. It has so many new features and some of the exciting new venues have been selected for competitions.
It will surely help Federation International de Volleyball to capture the market and collect huge amounts of revenue. In Dr. Ary Graca’s opinion, the system of Olympic qualifying and Continental cup fixtures have added more value to the SWATCH FIVB World Tour.
The 2011 SWATCH FIVB World Tour will be opened with Brasilia Open tournament in April, which will feature both gender matches. Likewise, first Grand Slam will be played in Beijing, China. The SWATCH FIVB World Tour will cover rest of the stages in next months.
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