Myslowice Hosts 2006 SWATCH-FIVB U-21 World Championships
The
SWATCH-FIVB World Championships for players under 21 years old returns Europe for the
fourth-time as Poland hosts the sixth annual event
August 23-27 in Myslowice,
Poland. A main draw will determine the 24 teams that will be spread across six
pools to battle it out for the title in a pool-play competition format. “There
has always been considerable interest for the SWATCH-FIVB World Championships
Under 21,” said FIVB President Dr. Rubén Acosta, “since it is the tournament
that produces the stars of tomorrow and helps to maintain the dynamic young
image that Beach Volleyball enjoys.” Located in the Upper Silesia region of
Poland, Myslowice was a crossroads in the era of the German, Austro-Hungarian
and Russian empires. Myslowice has a population of around 75,000, is home to
various international companies and has excellent international transport
connections by road, rail and air.
The
first four SWATCH-FIVB U-21 World Championships were held in France at
Le Lavandou (2001) and
Saint Quay Portrieux (2003),
Catania,
Italy (2002) and Porto Santo, Portugal (2004). Brazil's world famous
Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2005 SWATCH-FIVB World
Championships where Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs captured the gold
medal as Latvia became the third country to win a U-21 men's title. Brazil (2001 and 2003) and Spain
(2002 and 2004) have each won two gold U-21 gold medals. Overall, Brazil
has four medals with a podium finish in each of the first four events before
claiming a fourth-place in 2005.
Spain has three podium placements followed by two each for Germany, Latvia and
Russia, and one each for
the Czech Republic and Venezuela.
Two past men's SWATCH-FIVB U-21
Champions from Brazil have claimed titles on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour.
Pablo Herrera (pictured left), the 2003 champion with Raul Mesa, won the 2004 SWATCH-FIVB World
Tour event in China with Javier Bosma. The pair also claimed the silver
medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Pedro Cunha (pictured right), a three-time U-21
medal winner, captured his first SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event in 2004 with Para
Ferreira at the Puerto Rico stop.
Martins Plavins (left) and Aleksandrs Samoilovs celebrate victory