It will be a beautiful party

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1 N o 135 May 2005 English edition FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE VOLLEYBALL 2005 Swatch-FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships powered by Smart The best Teams of the World in the Heart of Berlin! The 2005 Swatch-FIVB Women s and Men s Beach Volleyball World Championship powered by Smart will take place on the Schlossplatz June The 48 men s and 48 women s teams will compete for the medals as US$1,000,000 will be distributed. Olympic gold medalists Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil and Misty May and Kerri Walsh of the United States are expected to compete in the 5 th annual Swatch-FIVB World Championship as both teams captured the world titles in 2003 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil has claimed six World Championship gold medals, including three men (1997, 1999 and 2003) and three women (1997, 1999 and 2001). Mariano Baracetti The last Men World and Olympic Champions Emanuel-Ricardo (BRA) and Martin Conde of Argentina captured the 2001 men s title in Austria. Emanuel claimed the 1999 world title with Jose Loiola in France while Guilherme Marques and Para Ferreira captured the 1997 crown for Brazil in Los Angeles. May and Walsh denied the Brazilian women their fourth-straight world crown by defeating Adirana Behar and Shelda Bede in the 2003 finale. Adriana and Shelda won the 1999 and 2001 for Brazil after placing third in the 1997 World Championships after losing to eventual champions Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva in the semi-finals. A total of 449 teams from 41 countries have competed in the first four Swatch-FIVB World Championships where over US$ 2.5-million has been distributed. The men s Swatch-FIVB World Tour returns to Berlin for the 10 th time as the 2005 stop will be part of the Swatch-FIVB World Championships. Host Germany will be looking a repeat of the 2004 Berlin stop when Markus Dieckmann and Jonas Reckermann won the gold medal. The 2004 Berlin stop also marked the firsttime that Brazil did not earn a podium spot as Olympic Champions and 2003 World gold medalists Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos dropped the bronze medal match to Mariano Baracetti and Martin Conde of Argentina, the 2001 FIVB World Champions. The women s Swatch-FIVB World Tour returns to Berlin for the fourth-time as the 2005 stop will be part of the Swatch- It will be a beautiful party Beach Volleyball is taking a big step forward by setting up camp in the centre of Berlin from 21 to 26 June for some unique competitions, four years after the fabulous World Championships which took place in Austria and two years after Rio de Janeiro. The World Championships are also a huge party which gathers together Berlin s population and all visitors to the capital. All the schools in Berlin will stay closed for a day so that the children can attend the show. The social significance of the event did not escape the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, who is so thrilled about this big event that he accepted the patronage of the 2005 World Championships. The FIVB and the FIVB President are very proud of this news: The Chancellor of Germany is bestowing a great honour on the Beach Volleyball world! We are extremely grateful to him, underlined Dr. Rubén Acosta. M. Schröder, who saw the pictures of the Beach Volleyball competitions in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, has confirmed his intention of being present at as many of the matches in Berlin as possible. The Mayor of Berlin, M. Klaus Wowereit, was the first person to convince the city council and Mr. Böger, the Sports Minister, to do their best to bring Beach Volleyball to the heart of Berlin. The 2005 Swatch-FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships are an integral Schlossplatz hosts the world s best Beach Volleyball players FIVB World Championships. Host Germany will be looking for its first podium finish for its women s teams as Suzanne Lahme and Danja Musch placed 4 th in the 2004 Berlin stop. part of the 2005 World Tour. This is the most important FIVB Beach Volleyball competition, just after the Olympic Games. The World Championships will be broadcast all around the world on more than thirty TV channels, Eurosport included. RTL will even produce a special programme each day, from midday to the end of the last match! The stadium and facilities live up to this eagerly expected event. More than 600 tonnes of materials have been brought to Berlin for the construction of the stadium of 4000 square metres, which will have the capacity for 8000 spectators. Finally, timing has luck on its side: after the United States (1997), France (1999), Austria (2001) and Brazil (2003), the World Championships finish up in Berlin the same year that the German Volleyball Federation celebrates its 50th anniversary... The last Women World and Olympic Champions May-Walsh (USA) Find out more at

2 News FIVB The German Volleyball Federation celebrated its Jubilee Strength through Unity The German Volleyball Federation celebrated its 50 th birthday, May 5 th, On this occasion, Dr. Rubén Acosta, President of the FIVB, addressed a message: Since 1955, the history of the German Volleyball Federation has been closely tied to the history of the German people. The same remains true today, particularly since 1990 when the two federations were united after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now stronger than ever, German Volleyball has experienced extraordinary growth and I would like to pay tribute President von Moltke celebrates with players of German Women national team FIVB Volleyball and Beach Volleyball A Record-Breaking Year! The FIVB Board of Administration, representing 35 nationalities, examined during its last meeting, at the end of April, the various sport-related aspects of world Volleyball as well as prospects for the coming years. The meeting underscored one undeniable fact: Volleyball and Beach Volleyball are constantly gaining in popularity on all continents. The 2006 World Championships got underway with a record number of 174 teams (97 men s and 77 women s). By the end of the competition, those teams will have taken part in 52 tournaments. The final phase will be played out in Japan in late 2006, with 24 women s teams and 24 men s teams. Sixty-two teams have never participated before. The FIVB Board of Administration also heard reports on other major competitions. An overview is provided below: 2005 Grand Champions Cup - The teams due to meet in Japan at the end of November include the Champions of each continent - following the 2004 Summer Olympic Games - plus one invited team. to all of the men and women who are celebrating the jubilee of their National Federation this year. So congratulations on your 50 th anniversary, an event in which the FIVB takes great pride! In recent years, our German friends have demonstrated on numerous occasions their ability to take up major challenges. In 2002 they volunteered to organise the 2002 Women s Volleyball World Championships, despite the very short lead time and severe floodings throughout Europe. They were remarkably successful: 280,000 spectators attended 90 matches in eight different cities! This success was repeated in 2003 with the Men s European Championships. Last year for the first time, the German Volleyball Federation staged a World Grand Prix preliminary round. And this year, Germany is bringing us the Beach Volleyball World Championships! These congratulations are clearly welldeserved. I would also like to express my sincere respect to the German Volleyball Federation for the tremendous work it has done to promote our sport. My heartfelt gratitude goes first to President von Moltke, whom I would like to commemorate for his leadership and charisma, and second to his team, who have greatly succeeded in this grand endeavor. World Grand Prix - The 13th World Grand Prix will span a four-week period, from 24 June to 18 July The preliminary rounds will take place over three weeks in Japan, Italy, China, Korea, Macau, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand. The final round will be held in Japan for the first time since World League - In 2004, three pools of four teams competed in the intercontinental round. Some 72 matches were played in 28 cities over six weekends. Encouragingly, television coverage increased by 18.5 %, with a total of 674 hours of airtime. The 2005 World League is taking place from 27 May to 3 July, with the final round being played in Belgrade from 8 to 10 July. Beach Volleyball - The 2005 Swatch- FIVB World Tour is offering record prize money of 7.5 million dollars! In addition, one million dollars in prize money will be up for grabs at the 2005 World Championships held in Berlin from 21 to 26 June. FIVB H.E. Marquis Juan Antonio Samaranch honours FIVB Executive Committee The Life Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee, H.E. Marquis Juan Antonio Samaranch, attended the FIVB Executive Committee meeting, at the end of April. This visit came at the invitation of FIVB President Dr Rubén Acosta, whose close ties of friendship with Mr Samaranch go back many years. The visit by the former IOC President delighted the members, who have been meeting to prepare recommendations for the FIVB Board of Administration. Dr Rubén Acosta expressed his heartfelt thanks to Mr Samaranch for the latter s tremendous commitment to the worldwide promotion of sport - and of Volleyball in particular - throughout his years at the helm of the IOC. We will never forget how much you have contributed to the development of sport on all five continents, nor the wise advice you imparted to us throughout all these years! We are extremely grateful to you, stated the President of the FIVB. In response to these remarks, Mr Samaranch noted that credit was due to President Acosta and his wife, Mrs Malú Acosta, for their work in promoting a sport with so much promise for the future. Volleyball has undergone a fantastic transformation over the past twenty-five years. I have always known that Volleyball was a universal sport whose appeal to the world s youth would never cease to grow, emphasised Mr Samaranch. For his part, Mr Christopher Smith, President of the Beach Volleyball World Council, reminded those present that it was President Samaranch who, in Atlanta in 1996, opened the doors of the Olympic Games to Beach Volleyball. The extraordinary success enjoyed by the Olympic tournaments in Sydney and Athens, in 2000 and 2004, confirmed how enlightened President Samaranch s vision had been. H.E. Juan Antonio Samaranch left the FIVB Executive Committee meeting under thunderous applause. H.E. Marquis Juan Antonio Samaranch welcomed at FIVB headquarter by Dr Rubén Acosta 2 FIVB X-Press No 135 May 2005

3 Volleyball 2006 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Men & Women First and second rounds results Date Teams Set Result per set (points) Total Pts Time Audience Women s World Championship / First Round / Saint-Dié, France 27-Apr BIH-NOR : Apr FIN-BEL : Apr FRA-FIN : Apr BEL-NOR : Apr FRA-BEL : Apr FIN-BIH : Apr FRA-BIH : Apr FIN-NOR : May FRA-NOR : May BEL-BIH : Men s World Championship / First Round / Tallinn, Estonia 29-Apr EST-ALB : Apr ISR-BIH : Apr ISR-EST : Apr BIH-ALB : May ALB-ISR : May EST-BIH : Women s World Championship / First Round / Portugal 04-May BLR-SLO : May SVK-POR : May SLO-SVK : May AUT-BLR : May SVK-AUT : May POR-SLO : May AUT-POR : May BLR-SVK : May SLO-AUT : May POR-BLR : Men s World Championship / First Round / Tulcea, Romania 06-May BEL-BLR : May ROM-NOR : May NOR-BLR : May ROM-BEL : May BEL-NOR : May BLR-ROM : Men s World Championship / First Round / Mar del Plata, Argentina 06-May ARG-URU : May PAR-URU : May ARG-PAR : Women s World Championship / First Round / Guatemala City, Guatemala 11-May NIC-MEX : May HON-GUA : May PAN-HON : May NIC-GUA : May PAN-NIC : May MEX-GUA : May MEX-PAN : May HON-NIC : May MEX-HON : May PAN-GUA : Men s World Championship / Second Round / Varna, Bulgaria 13-May BUL-TUR : May SVK-ROM : May SVK-BUL : May TUR-ROM : Date Teams Set Result per set (points) Total Pts Time Audience May BUL-ROM : May TUR-SVK : Men s World Championship / First Round / Tiszaujvaros, Hungary 13-May MLD-SLO : May HUN-AZE : May SLO-AZE : May MLD-HUN : May AZE-MLD : May HUN-SLO : Men s World Championship / First Round / Ratchaburi, Thailand 20-May THA-UZB : May THA-AFG : May UZB-AFG : Men s World Championship / Second Round / Vila de Conde, Portugal 20-May LAT-EST : May POR-AUT : May POR-EST : May LAT-AUT : May AUT-EST : May POR-LAT : Men s World Championship / First Round / Costa Rica 20-May NCA-HON : May CRC-GUA : May HON-GUA : May CRC-NCA : May GUA-NCA : May CRC-HON : Men s World Championship / First Round / Trinidad & Tobago 25-May LCA-DMA : May TRI-AGU : May AGU-LCA : May TRI-SKN : May DMA-AGU : May LCA-SKN : May DMA-SKN : May TRI-LCA : May AGU-SKN : May TRI-DMA : Women s World Championship / Second Round / Baku, Azerbaijan 27-May BEL-ROM : May AZE-ESP : May ROM-ESP : May AZE-BEL : May ESP-BEL : May AZE-ROM : Men s World Championship / Second Round / Helsinki, Finland 27-May FIN-SLO : May GER-CRO : May SLO-GER : May CRO-FIN : May CRO-SLO : May FIN-GER : Men s World Championship / Second Round / Opava, Czech Republic 27-May CZE-ENG : May DEN-UKR : May DEN-CZE : May UKR-ENG : May ENG-DEN : May CZE-UKR : World Championships Events in June 2005 Gender Round Confederation Pool Starting on: Ending on: City Country Participants W 2 CEV E 6/10/2005 6/12/2005 Athens Greece Greece, Ukraine, France, Belarus W 2 CEV F 6/11/2005 6/13/2005 Zagreb Croatia Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia & Montenegro M 1 NORCECA A 6/15/2005 6/19/2005 Bridgetown Barbados Barbados, Dutch Antilles, Jamaica, Cayman Isl., British Virgin Isl. W 1 NORCECA B 6/15/2005 6/19/2005 Bridgetown Barbados Barbados, Anguilla, Dominica, St. Kitts M 2 AVC D 6/17/2005 6/19/2005 Almaty Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, United Arab Emirates W 3 CEV I 6/17/2005 6/19/2005 Dresden Germany Germany, Poland, 1st F, 2nd E M 2 AVC F 6/22/2005 6/24/2005 Teheran Iran Iran, Australia, Qatar, Uzbekistan M 2 AVC E 6/24/2005 6/26/2005 Chennai India India, China, Thailand, Indonesia FIVB X-Press N o 135 May

4 Volleyball 2005 FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX The World Grand Prix Emotion, feminine grace and suspense all the way! Message from the FIVB President, Dr Rubén Acosta: Emotion, feminine grace and suspense are guaranteed! The World Grand Prix is a prestigious competition of global class which brings together, year after year, twelve of the best teams in the world. It is very important for me to wish every success to all the athletes and organisers and to congratulate them for their commitment and the fair play they have demonstrated. The Grand Prix tour will take our teams to Tokyo, Reggio Calabria (Italy), Ningbo (China), Seoul (South Korea), Macau, Hosts Iran, Korea and India have earned their tickets to the 2005 Youth Boys Under-19 Volleyball World Championship after finishing top three at the recently concluded 5 th Asian Youth Boys Volleyball Championship. The Asian Youth Boys Championship was also a qualification tournament for the World Youth Boys Championship, which is scheduled to be held in Algiers and Oran, Algeria from August 24 th to September 1 st. I.R. Iran National Team (Champion of Asia) Iran downed Korea in the final match of the Championship 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-12) in only 68 minutes in front of a 3,500 strong partisan audience. Iran entered the finals after clinching a 3-0 win over defending champions India in the semifinals on Wednesday. Korea, who won all their matches like Iran, finished second to also qualify for the Under-19 World Championship. The last berth was taken by India, who placed third with a 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei in the playoff-match for bronze. A VOLLEYBALL Iran, Korea and India qualify for 2005 Youth Boys U-19 World Championships total of eight teams took part in the tournament. The participating teams were divided into two pools for the preliminary round from May And after one days rest, the eight teams played the second round on a knock out basis with the four winners from Iran, Korea, India and Chinese Taipei entering the semifinals. In the semis Iran beat India 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-16) while Korea defeated Chinese Taipei 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-16). Finals results For 1 st place: Iran beat Korea 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-12). For the 3 rd : India beat Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-22). For the 5 th : Japan beat China 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 28-26, 25-15). For the 7 th : Thailand beat Australia 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-23). Final ranking: 1) Iran, 2) Korea, 3) India, 4) Chinese Taipei, 5) Japan, 6) China, 7) Thailand, 8) Australia. Argentina host Paraguay in World Championship warm-up The Argentina Boys Youth side completed a hard-fought three-match friendly series against Paraguay on Thursday beating their near neighbours 2-1 as part of their preparation for the 2005 Youth Boys U-19 World Championships. The first match in Necochea saw two very tired teams after a long bus trip and it was Paraguay who won 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 24-26, 25-17) while the second match in San Cayetano, was won by Argentina, 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-21). The last match saw both teams at their best with Argentina winning 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 27-29, 25-14, 16-14) in the city of Benito Juarez. Hong Kong, Manila, Taiwan and Bangkok this year. So most of the tournament will once again take place on the Asian continent. As you recall in 2003 it had to be moved to Europe for the first time in its history due to the SARS epidemic; Italy then accomplished an admirable task in order to be able to receive the preliminary tour and final tour. Everyone also remembers the superb final which saw Brazil get the upper hand over Italy in Reggio Calabria last year! This year too we will be in Reggio Calabria with Group B. I am really delighted about it. It is interesting that the 2005 World Grand Prix enables athletes and those who surround them to enter a preliminary phase, with as perspective the summer Olympic Games in Most of the teams present this year will certainly be, to a large extent, the ones that we will meet again in three years time and who dream, of course, of marching one day into the Olympic stadium of Beijing... But, in the meantime, there are four weeks filled with great tension, impassioned and exciting fights from 24 th June to 18 th July which will lead the finalists to Sendai, in Japan. Dear Volleyball friends, the popularity of the World Grand Prix is constantly growing. It is the result of many cumulated efforts and of the great professionalism shown by the organisers of the different competitions. I really look forward to meeting you, because it is through all of you athletes, organizers, and partners that our magnificent sport is able to live and grow! BEACH VOLLEYBALL NEWS Swatch-FIVB World Tour Canada Open confirmed! The Men s and Women s Open Tournament in Montreal, a leg of the 2005 Swatch-FIVB World Tour, has been confirmed. It will be held from 24 to 28 August, one week later than originally scheduled. The National Volleyball Federation of Canada, presided by Mr David Carey, has decided to assume responsibility for organising this important competition, with the endorsement of the FIVB. A few weeks ago, due to the impossibility of finalising an agreement with the promoter who was in charge of organising the Montreal Open, Volleyball Canada began looking at whether it would be able to take up the challenge, less than four months from the expected start of the event. It has just confirmed that it can and will do so. This is excellent news. I am very pleased that David Carey and his team will be in charge. I know they are determined to organise a top-quality tournament, declared FIVB General Manager Jean- Pierre Seppey when the announcement was made. The Montreal Open will take place at the Uniprix Stadium, a site that has been used a number of times for tennis tournaments and has extensive facilities. However, the top European teams will not be able to be present, because they are scheduled to participate in the European Championship Final of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) from 25 to 28 August in Moscow, virtually the same dates. 4 FIVB X-Press No 135 May 2005

5 Beach Volleyball News BEACH VOLLEYBALL NEWS The Beach Volleyball definite site in Beijing 2008 Magnificent Showcase in the Heart of the Capital! Dr Rubén Acosta and Mrs Malú Acosta visited Beijing in May to discuss with BOCOG the selection of the site for the Beach Volleyball venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. President Acosta and Mr Yang Shu an, BOCOG Executive Vice-President held a heated but frank and friendly discussion following a presentation made by BOCOG. After a long exchange of opinions, FIVB agreed not to insist upon keeping the Olympic Beach Volleyball venue in Tiananmen, while at the same time BOCOG agreed not to insist in having Beach Volleyball venue in the Olympic Green. FIVB required BOCOG to secure the venue in question in the downtown area within the 4th Ring Road while BOCOG agreed to immediately report to the municipal government authorities so that a solution acceptable to both, BOCOG and FIVB could be found during Dr Acosta visit in Beijing. During his visit, Dr Acosta paid a site inspection visit to Chaoyang Park and several other locations in the city downtown area in order to seek for the best possible options for the Olympic Beach Volleyball venue. On May 11, Mr Liu Peng, Minister of Sport, President of the Chinese Olym- pic Committee, and Executive President of BOCOG met with Dr Acosta at the office building of the State Sport General Administration of China and discussed several important subjects including the FIVB s continuous help to raise the level of China men s Volleyball and Beach Volleyball towards Beijing On May 13, Mr Wang Qishan, Mayor of Beijing and Executive President of BOCOG met with Dr Acosta at the office of the Beijing Municipal Government. In this occasion, the Mayor recalled the exciting moment he shared with Dr Acosta during the Athens Olympic Games while watching the Chinese women s Volleyball team surmounting a 0-2 loss, in a thrilling final match against the Russian team, for a historic come back in the sport. Concerning the 2008 Olympics, the Mayor explained that the Municipal Government faced great challenges and was forced to make some adjustments of the Olympic venues but expressed his confidence in staging a high level Olympic Games with distinctive characteristics in Beijing in 2008 and thus, even if the municipal government would need to take measures to overcome eventual difficulties to honour its commitment, the Mayor confirmed on its behalf their agreement with the last FIVB proposal deciding that the Olympic Beach Volleyball venue definitely will be located in the Chaoyang Park. Dr Acosta heartedly welcomed the Mayor and the municipal government for their decision and asked for a complete renovation of the 18,000 seats Capital Indoor Stadium. The Olympic Beach Volleyball venue will be located downtown in the Chaoyang Park BEACH VOLLEYBALL NEWS 2005 Swatch-FIVB U-19 World Championships The stars of tomorrow set to compete in France! From 2 to 7 August, the 24 best women s teams and the 24 best men s teams in the world will meet up in Saint Quay Portrieux, in Brittany (France). The 2005 Swatch-FIVB World Championships for players aged under 19 promises to be a thrilling event indeed! In addition to the title, the winning team will earn a ticket to participate in a World Tour event. This incentive further enhances the appeal of the World Championships, which are a sort of high-level training ground for the world s great champions of tomorrow. This year, a decision was made to modify the age groups in order to be in line with the continental Confederations. Hence, The young players of Beach Volleyball meet in Britain, at Saint-Quay Portrieux we now refer to U-19 rather than U-18, as was the case in the past. Another development is that the French Volleyball Federation, under the helm of Gil Pellan, is organising the event this year, taking over from promoters. The French Federation s commitment is an extremely positive sign for the FIVB, which is keen to forge even closer ties with the National Federations, says Jean-Pierre Seppey, General Manager of the FIVB. There is little doubt that the success of the first U-21 World Championships in Lavandou in 2001 inspired other countries to organise similar major events. In 2002, for example, the first U-18 World Championships were held in Greece, and Mozambique followed suit when it hosted the U-21 event. The FIVB is delighted to see teams from all five continents participating in these competitions. This is not just a test run for France. In 2003, the U-21 World Championships took place at Saint-Quay Portrieux, a wonderful site located in the superb Côtes d Armor region where, this year, the world s elite players aged under 19 will be competing! FIVB X-Press N o 135 May

6 Development News DEVELOPMENT NEWS Volleyball in Africa: An Important Factor for Development In Africa, things have been changing in the last few years. Several recentlyelected National Federation Presidents are attempting to develop Volleyball in their country by establishing closer ties both with their respective governments and the International Volleyball Federation. In order to contribute towards the development of our sport, the FIVB provides National Federations with a variety of resources. The Sports Aid Programme courses launched by the FIVB in the 80s are the main tool for making Volleyball and Beach Volleyball better known. The presence of a qualified FIVB instructor in a given African country adds credibility to its National Federation, and the course often becomes a national event as a result. Young African children playing Volleyball Through its Sports Aid Programme, the FIVB also sends technical and educational material to National Federations. This occurs in particular when a National Federation submits a concrete project to the FIVB, such as organising a Junior championship in Niger or keeping children and adults busy in refugee camps in Sudan. The African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) is an important partner of the FIVB in the development of Volleyball on the continent. It participates in organising pre-world Championship tournaments by staging useful courses, such as the Volleyball Information System course scheduled to take place at the end of April. The CAVB has also set up a project called Volleyball everywhere in Africa which aims to make Volleyball one of the main subjects taught in physical education classes and to organise Volleyball festivals in schools. Problematic distances However, many problems continue to hamper the development of our sport in African, including the distances separat- Moreover, the FIVB wants to ensure that the people who take part in the theoretical and practical phases of these courses will be in a position to teach top quality Volleyball later on. In this respect, it is important that they should continue receiving information about the many ways of practicing our sport. Sadly, Park Volley (which can be practiced on any surface) or Mini Volley (for children) are often left by the wayside despite the flexibility of their rules and their suitability for countries desperately short of equipment. The FIVB regularly receives information from National Federations regarding equipment shortage. As a result, the FIVB Development Commission has begun studying the possibility of producing materials at low cost. To this end it has contacted a ball production specialist to discuss the manufacturing of balls using local resources. Some African craftsmen have learned to make balls with fabric, oilcloth and sponge, which young pupils find easy to handle. The future lies with young talents We can t underestimate the need of School Volleyball programme. The FIVB is targeting a younger stratum of society. At this stage it is assessing requirements and is looking forward to providing new equipment to the National Federations striving to develop our sport in their respective countries. Many government Ministers, Olympic Committee members and other dignitaries attend the course s official ceremonies, which are covered by national television and media. Thanks to this commitment and to media interest, numerous people turn towards our sport and want to be part of the universal Volleyball family. ing capitals and provinces. Most African countries are huge and their roads are often chaotic. This is the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which insists that the Sports Aid Programme course be given each year in a new region served by an airport. The city of Lumumbashi, located in the south-eastern corner of the country, will have the privilege of hosting a Teachers course this year. The FIVB Technical and Development Department in Lausanne attaches great value to these Teachers courses as it considers that participants whose interest in our disciplines has been successfully aroused will naturally pass on their passion to their pupils. Many African countries have enthusiastically received two FIVB questionnaires on the practice of school Volleyball. While they allude to difficulties, they also stress the growing success and potential of our sport among the youth. Africa s National Federations are even considering staging a continental competition which Morocco would be interested in hosting. The African continent may well flourish thanks to the Volleyball in Schools programme, which would encourage other continents to follow suit. Such is the wish of the FIVB and of all those who commit themselves towards sport and development. All Contributions Welcome! Please send us your comments and articles to: xpress@fivb.org or by mail to: International Volleyball Federation Avenue de la Gare Lausanne Switzerland Tel : +41 (21) Fax: +41 (21) FIVB X-Press No 135 May 2005

7 Development News DEVELOPMENT NEWS Volley 2000: A successful Concept in Sweden Have you ever heard of Volley 2000? It is actually a very successful concept bringing up skilful young Volleyball players in Sweden. The Volley 2000 concept saw the light of day in sport halls around Sweden for the first time in the early spring of One year before that the successful head coach of the Men s National Team, Anders Kristiansson, presented his idea for Volley 2000 in front of a sceptical crowd at the Volleyball Congress. Many of the delegates and trainers shook their heads. Volleyball with a bounce, that is against the sense of Volleyball, The players will never understand the real game, etc. At that time the crowd was dubious of the idea of changing the number of players to four, lowering the net and allowing a bounce in the defence. But ten years later the sceptical trainers have changed their minds. They have seen the future and it is filled with successful Volleyball trainers and burgeoning clubs filled with young enthusiastic volleyball players. The Swedish Volleyball Association, SVA, were at that time in a deep crisis. It had difficulty recruiting young players and was losing its youngsters to other sports such as ice hockey, handball and basketball. What the SVA realised was that the young players was not attracted by the product that was offered at that time namely Mini Volley, according to Anders Kristiansson, now the successful coach of the Belgium team Nooliko Maaseik and the inventor of Volley The heart of the Volley 2000 is not the bounce; the hidden secret is that the players learn how to read the movement, the speed and the angels of the ball much faster than with normal Volleyball rules. Also the height of the net and the size of the court slow down the game, allow long rallies and get a sensation of playing instantly. The attraction to the sport has increased and young girls and boys now choose Volleyball ahead of other sports for the first time in many years. The evidence is there. The licenses for young players between the ages of 10 to 12 have increased strikingly. This year the SVA had 238 teams and 1200 young players competing in the Volley 2000 Championships. When the SVA started the Championships in 1998 it had 57 teams taking part, says Paul Engström, who is responsible for the education and development of Volley 2000 in the SVA. The catalyst that lead Anders Kristiansson to become the saviour of the future of Volleyball in Sweden, was not just down to the diving numbers of licensed players but was probably more to do with his burning interest in figuring out how one can develop a young Volley 2000 player to be a fully skilled Volleyball player, in the traditional sense, so he or she ends up in the line-up for an Olympic final or becoming a professional player in another country. Volley 2000 could be the start of that journey for many young kids today. Rules - The quick guide to Volley 2000 Volley 2000 is a team sport with no body contact, every player participates as much as much as the other and no one is left sitting on the bench. Each team has 4 players on the court. If the team has more than 4 players, a substitution is made every time the team rotates. The Blue team are serving (with under arm serve) the ball. The White team are receiving the serve. The court is 18 by 9 meters and divided by a net in the middle. Each half of the court is 9 meter by 9 meter, which means it s the same size as in volleyball. The height of the net is 200 centimetres. The teams are allowed three (3) touches and one (1) bounce before the ball must cross the net. The bounce gives the players time to play many difficult balls and it also gives them time to build a proper attack. This makes the rallies long and exciting. The play starts with the serve and the serve reception must be executed without the bounce. After this, the bounce is used whenever a player chooses to do so. The serving player is in the only backcourt player. When using an under arm serve the player can be as close to the net as three meters. If an overhand serve is used, the player must stand behind the baseline. During the serve, players of the serving team must give the opponents a clear sight of the server. In order to receive a hard serve or a hard attack you can stop the ball with the palm of your hands. It is easy and efficient. The bounce can then be used to help the next player to continue the rally. The serving team must rotate when a player has served and won four points in a row. This speeds up the game and allows all players to get a chance to play all positions in the match. The matches are played in best of three sets. In the first two sets the first team scoring 25 points wins. In case of a third set the first team scoring 15 is the winner of the match. Each set must be won by a two points margin. One of the main reasons that Volley 2000 finally was accepted in the whole country was that the SVA made very clear that this was what they believed in and wanted to use for the future. We can already see a big difference in the technical skills of the youth. Today ten years old players are more advanced in their technique then before the days of Volley 2000, says Anders Kristiansson. Before an under arm serve at the 3 meters... Another thing that is positive with Volley 2000 is that we can measure longer rallies. And a very important fact is that Volley 2000 attracts more boys to our fabulous sport, says Paul Engström in the Swedish Volleyball Association. FIVB X-Press N o 135 May

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