Take an inside scoop of 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix – Volleyball news
The premier international women’s volleyball competition, the FIVB Grand Prix, is scheduled to take place from June 8 to July 1. This is going to be the 20thedition of the tournament as the first FIVB Grand Prix was held in 1993. Since the inception of the
event, it Federation International de Volleyball has regularly organised the competition.
The 2012 FIVB Grand Prix will be attended by sixteen teams of the world. The opening rounds of the tournament will be hosted by various countries but the Final Round is set to take place in Ningbo, China. The wonderful women’s volleyball action will be continued
for three weeks and millions of volleyball enthusiasts will be able to catch the performances world's renowned players.
Teams from Germany, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, United States, China, Japan, and South Korea will be on board to compete for the title trophy.
Team USA will enter the competition as defending champion. The American musketeers successfully defended their title in previous edition of the tournament and emerged as the second team in the history of FIVB Grand Prix to win back-to-back titles. Previously,
Brazil was the only country with two back-to-back Grand Prix wins. The Brazilian squad stayed on top in 2008 and 2009. However, Brazil has another record, which still needs to be broken.
Brazil marked the hat-trick by winning World Grand Prix titles in 2004, 2005, and 2006. This year, the US team has a fair chance to take up the challenge and win the title for third consecutive time. The U.S. squad has already qualified for the Olympics
and there will be no pressure on them. Hence, they have brighter prospects to make their way to the top position.
The Federation International de Volleyball has already announced the composition of pools. The grid of sixteen teams will be divided into four pools, where each pool will have four teams. In the first week of the tournament, Puerto Rico, China, Thailand,
and Argentina will be placed in Pool A. United States, Germany, Dominican Republic, and Algeria or Chinese Taipei will play in Pool B. Pool C will feature teams from Japan, Cuba, South Korea, and Turkey, while Pool D will be composed of Poland, Serbia, Italy,
and Brazil.
China, Dominican Republic, South Korea, and Poland will play host to the first week matches at the 2012 FIVB Grand Prix. The pool composition will be slightly different in the next two weeks. The preliminary robin round will cover its length over three weeks
and finally the top teams of the competition will enter the Final Round.
The 2012 edition of the FIVB Grand Prix will take place before the 2012 London Olympic Games, which has added more value to the event. Teams are much more desperate than ever to prove their game skills in front of the international audience. The clock is
ticking down quickly and soon the action will be kicked off and better teams will capture the limelight.
Tags: