Women heading to Czech Republic for FIVB Beach Volleyball Open

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour will return to the Czech Republic for the single-gender FIVB Prague Open to be held May 21-25. While it will be the fifth FIVB World Tour event in Prague, it will be the first time the city and the country have hosted a women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event. It will be the first of two women-only Open events currently on the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour schedule.

Previously, Prague had FIVB World Tour Open men’s events in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. In the first four events in Prague, Brazil and the United States captured all but three of the 12 total medals. The Czech Republic has also held four FIVB Challenger men’s events, three in Brno and one in Karlovy Vary.

As it has in so many venues, Brazil leads the way in Prague, winning five total medals (two gold medals, one silver and two bronze) followed by the USA with four total medals (two gold, one silver and one bronze medal). The other medals have been won by men’s teams from Germany (two--one silver, one bronze) and Switzerland (one--bronze).

With a population of over 1.2 million, Prague is situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia and has been the political, cultural, and economic center of the Czech state for over 1,100 years. Prague is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and is among the most visited cities on the continent.

Since 1992, the historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities", "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city". Prague opera, theatre, sightseeing, restaurants & nightlife make this one of the most exciting cities in Central Europe.

The eleven FIVB Beach Volleyball Opens on the 2014 FIVB World Tour include seven double-gender, two men-only and two women-only tournaments, adding numerous possibilities for athletes to compete in high quality, FIVB international competition. Over the course of the year more Open events could be added to the schedule, ensuring that all five Confederations will host an FIVB event in 2014.

The 2014 FIVB World Ranking system will include FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam and Open events along with additional pre-approved events at the inter-continental, continental and national levels.

Implemented in 2013, the format of all the FIVB Beach Volleyball international tournaments – whether FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam or FIVB Beach Volleyball Open – are the same, featuring pool play followed by single elimination knockout rounds.