Infomedia

Press Releases

Olympic Volleyball and Beach Volleyball tickets sell out months ahead of Beijing 2008

Lausanne, May 7, 2008 – Further underlining the continued success of Volleyball and Beach Volleyball as Olympic disciplines is the news that tickets for the tournaments at the Beijing Games have already been sold out. The Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) has confirmed that internet sales for tickets have closed more than three months ahead of the August 8-24 Summer Games. BOCOG is keeping back a small percentage of tickets to sell on a daily basis at the Volleyball and Beach Volleyball venues during the Men’s and Women’s tournaments.

A record number of more than 200 National Teams are already registered to play in the 2010 Volleyball World Championships

Lausanne, May 6, 2008 – FIVB President Rubén Acosta's vision of the 2010 FIVB World Championships being the best ever is set to be realised after the record target of 200 registered National Teams was reached for the next edition of Volleyball's celebrated quadrennial tournament. "We established a goal of 200 National Teams participating in the 2010 FIVB Volleyball World Championships to beat the record we had of 176 teams in 2006," said Dr. Acosta on Tuesday. "I am really proud so many National Federations applied to be part of this grand competition that will herald a new decade in the history of the FIVB. Thanks to this large participation of teams the competitions will be the best ever, culminating with two fantastic Finals in Italy and Japan." More

Talita & Renata net all-Brazilian Women's SWATCH FIVB World Tour finale

Shanghai, China, May 4, 2008 - Two victories in the same Beach Volleyball event over the three-time SWATCH FIVB World Tour champions Juliana Felisberta and Larissa is a rarity, but Talita Antunes and Renata Ribeiro achieved the feat here Sunday by winning the All-Brazilian finale at US$350,000 China Shanghai Jinshan Open. After defeating top-seeded Juliana and Larissa to advance to the China Shanghai Jinshan Open semi-finals Friday afternoon, the fourth-seeded Talita and Renata scored a 21-18 and 22-20 win in 41 minutes over their Brazilian rivals to capture their fifth SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal together and share the $28,000 first-place prize.

Harley & Salgado successfully defend China Shanghai Jinshan Open title

Shanghai, China, May 3, 2008 - Make it two-in-a-row for Harley Marques and Pedro Salgado and three-straight for the Brazilian men at the Jinshan Beach Volleyball Stadium as the second-seeded South Americans captured the US$350,000 China Shanghai Jinshan Open gold medal here Saturday afternoon by defeating a team from the host country before a capacity crowd of 3,500. Facing fourth-seeded Penggen Wu and Linyin Xu of China for the second-time this season in a SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal match, Harley and Salgado scored a 21-16 and 21-16 win in 44 minutes to successfully defend their China Shanghai Jinshan Open title while sharing the $28,000 first-place prize.

FIVB confirms receipt of World League team lists

Lausanne, April 30, 2008 – All aboard for the World League! The FIVB has received the squad lists for all 16 National Teams taking part in the 2008 FIVB World League, the flagship annual event in Men’s Volleyball involving the world's best players competing for more than USD 20 million Prize Money. The composition of each team is published on the FIVB website and can be found by clicking on the “Teams” link on the left-hand side of the page at: www.fivb.org/EN/Volleyball/Competitions/WorldLeague/2008/

Cuban Women aiming for the gold in Beijing

Havana, Cuba, April 30, 2008 - Cuban Women's Technical Director Antonio Perdomo is in confident mood as the Beijing Games approach. "We have the option for the gold in Beijing and we are certainly going after it," said Perdomo, who recognised there are six or seven teams also in with a shout to be crowned Olympic Champions. "But we, of course, don't train to lose and we will play to get the ultimate goal," said Perdomo. The Women’s Olympic Tournament is set for August 9-23 and the Cuban Women, currently taking part in a training camp, will play in three tournaments ahead of the event, culminating with the FIVB World Grand Prix. More

Countdown starts for Germany ahead of WOQT: China, Czech Republic, USA opponents during preparation

Düsseldorf, Germany, April 28, 2008 - The dream of participating in the Olympics for the first time since 1972 could finally come true in 2008 for the German Men’s National Team, who have a great opportunity to qualify at the upcoming World Olympic Qualification Tournament in their hometown of Düsseldorf. Germany missed out on their first opportunity to qualify at the European Olympic Qualification Tournament in January in Izmir, Turkey, but Head Coach Stelian Moculescu and his players have a second bite of the cherry May 23-25 when they host Spain, Cuba and Chinese Taipei at ISS Dome. The winner of the tournament advances to Beijing for the Olympic Volleyball Tournament in August. More

Athletes passionately express their feelings on Beijing 2008

Lausanne, April 28, 2008 - Gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland, athletes from around the world who represent the voice of sportsmen and women on the International Olympic Committee, met to discuss how to address the challenging international backdrop into which the Olympic Games have been drawn in recent weeks. The Athletes' Commission members spoke passionately and from their own experiences about the inappropriateness of manipulating and using athletes as political tools. At the close of the meeting, they released the following statement. "In 2001, the International Olympic Committee voted to award the Olympic Games in 2008 to Beijing, China. We believe the rationale for that choice – that the bid was the best one, technically excellent and that the Games should be brought to a country where one fifth of the world lives – was a sound rationale then, and remains sound today. Indeed, some of our Commission members were members of the IOC at the time and fully supported the choice of Beijing and still do." More

Stars to watch in Beijing: Bulgarian spiker Matey Kaziyski

Lausanne, April 22, 2008 – Matey Kaziyski is set to be one of the leading lights for the Bulgarian Men’s National Team at the Beijing Olympic Games in August. He is a spiker of devastating talent for his country and an extremely popular athlete who was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2007 FIVB World Cup, which booked Bulgaria's ticket for the Summer Games, and bronze at the 2006 FIVB World Championships, both in Japan. A fluent English speaker who plays his Club Volleyball for Italian team Itas Diatec Trentino in Italy, Kaziyski chatted with Volleyball legend Andrea Zorzi as part of the Italian's "Follow Me" blog at the 2007 World Cup. More

FIVB First Executive Vice-President Wei praises Beijing Games' preparations

Beijing, China, April 21, 2008 - FIVB First Executive Vice-President Mr. Jizhong Wei and Mr. Shanrit Wongprasert, FIVB Board of Administration Member and Sports Events Council Member, have both expressed their satisfaction with the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 China Club Volleyball Tournament, the test event for the Olympic Games, and overall preparations for the Summer Games. The two FIVB officials have been at the test event in Beijing to check preparations and to suggest any adjustments to BOCOG. "On the whole, we are very satisfied with the facilities, the successful running and the performance of the working team at the test event," Wei said at a press conference on Saturday. More

FIVB First Executive Vice-President Wei hails ongoing Beijing test event, reserves special praise for Wongprasert

Beijing, China, April 17, 2008 – The smooth running so far of the test event in Beijing for the Olympic Games Volleyball Tournaments has been confirmed by FIVB First Executive Vice-President Mr. Jizhong Wei. Wei, on-site during the “Good Luck Beijing” 2008 China Club Volleyball Tournament as part of the FIVB Control Committee, also singled out the efforts of Mr. Shanrit Wongprasert during the event as deserving of special praise. Wongprasert, an FIVB Board of Administration Member and Sports Events Council Member, is insisting on staying with the FIVB delegation overseeing the five-day test event despite an unfortunate family matter. More

China Club Volleyball Tournament tests Olympic Volleyball venues

Beijing, China, April 16, 2008 – The "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 China Club Volleyball Tournament began Wednesday in the Capital Indoor Stadium and Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium with the aim of testing the two competition sites set to host the Olympic Volleyball Tournaments at the Beijing Games. FIVB First Executive Vice-President Jizhong Wei is on hand at the test event to check on preparations and to suggest any adjustments to BOCOG. Mr. Wei noted after two days’ inspection and a rehearsal on the morning of Tuesday, April 15, that the requests and adjustments FIVB had put forward during past inspections have been implemented and so the conditions, facilities and other preparations in the two venues for the test event had met the requirements for holding the highest-level FIVB competitions. More

FIVB sets system for drawing of lots in Gstaad for Olympic Games Beach Volleyball tournaments

Lausanne, April 16, 2008 – The FIVB has confirmed the structure of the drawing of lots that will determine the composition of the Preliminary Round Pools in the Beijing Olympic Games Beach Volleyball Tournaments. A "serpentine system" will be followed in the draw in Gstaad, Switzerland, on Saturday, July 26, to determine the exact seeding in the Pools of the 24 Men's teams and 24 Women's teams that will compete in Beijing. In both tournaments there will be six Pools (A, B, C, D, E, F), each containing four teams. Firstly, from the top six seeded teams in the FIVB Beach Volleyball Olympic ranking (featuring a maximum two teams per country), the No. 1 seed will be placed in Pool A, the No. 2 seed in Pool B and so on to the No. 6 seed being placed in Pool F.
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USA Men to play against Argentina

Anaheim, California, April 15, 2008 – USA Volleyball, in conjunction with NBC and the U.S. Olympic Committee, will host an Olympic Exhibition Volleyball match between the U.S. Men’s National Team and Argentina on May 27 in Irvine, California. The U.S. Men’s National Team is ranked third in the world and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games by winning the NORCECA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in January in Puerto Rico. Argentina is ranked sixth in the world and will be vying for an Olympic berth at the Men's World Olympic Qualification Tournament through May 31 to June 8 in Tokyo, Japan.

USA Women scheduled to meet Brazil in three-match series

Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 15, 2008 – USA Volleyball, in conjunction with NBC and the U.S. Olympic Committee, are set to host three matches as part of a 2008 Olympic Exhibition series between the U.S. Women's National Team and Brazil through June 11-14 prior to the FIVB World Grand Prix and the Olympic Games in Beijing. Both the United States and Brazilian women's teams qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games with medal-stand performances at the 2007 FIVB World Cup. Brazil finished with the silver medal at the World Cup, while the U.S. finished with the bronze despite defeating their exhibition match opponent in head-to-head competition during the World Cup.