Presentation
Anapa, Russia returns as site for FIVB Beach Volleyball Open
The third of seven double-gender Open events on the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour schedule, Russia will present the FIVB Anapa Open on May 27 to June 1. It will be the second time Anapa has hosted a FIVB World Tour event having also hosted a FIVB Open in 2013.
Russia won both the men and women’s gold and bronze medals in Anapa last year while Germany won the silver medal in each gender. Making it to the top of the podium in last year's edition were Russia’s Yaroslav Koshkarev/Konstantin Semenov in the men's competition and Ekaterina Khomyakova/Evgeniya Ukolova in the women's.
Anapa is the third Russian city to host a FIVB beach volleyball international event joining Moscow and St. Petersburg. Also part of the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, the FIVB Moscow Grand Slam will be held June 10-15.
To date, Russia has hosted a total of 24 FIVB World Tour events (13 men, 11 women) with Brazil leading the medal count in both genders. In the men’s totals, Brazil has 15, followed by Germany with six, USA with five, Russia with three and China, the Netherlands and Switzerland with two each. With one medal in Russia are Argentina, Latvia, Norway and Portugal.
After 11 FIVB World Tour women’s events held in Russia, Brazil leads the medal parade with 13 total medals followed by the USA with eight, China with six, Germany with two, Russia with two and Spain with one.
Anapa is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. It is a tourist destination with a permanent population of just over 60,000 people. Anapa, like the other Black Sea coast resorts, has a superb sunny summer climate and beautiful, mostly sandy beaches.
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.