Berlin awaiting another FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour returns again to Germany from June 17 to 22 for the double-gender FIVB Berlin Grand Slam. The Berlin event will mark the 15th time for a men’s competition in Germany and the ninth women’s tournament held in this country. All 22 previous FIVB World Tour events have been staged in Berlin with the 2005 event being the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships.

This year’s FIVB Berlin Grand Slam will be fourth Grand Slam of the 2014 season and second in a string of seven FIVB Grand Slams to be held over an eight-week window. The seven consecutive FIVB Grand Slam events start in Moscow, Russia (June 10 to 15) and ends in Klagenfurt, Austria (July 29 to August 3).

Germany has hosted a total of 22 FIVB World Tour events (14 men, 8 women all in Berlin) with Brazil leading the medal count in both genders.  In the men’s totals, Brazil has 17, followed by Germany and Switzerland with four each, Argentina, Norway, Spain and the USA with three each, Australia with two and with one each men’s medals are Canada, Poland and Russia.

After eight FIVB World Tour women’s events held in Germany (Berlin), Brazil leads the medal parade with eight total medals followed by the USA with seven, China with four and with one each women’s medals are Australia, Cuba, Germany, Italy and Japan.

At the 2013 FIVB Berlin Grand Slam, Brazil's Vitor Felipe/Evandro Goncalves were the first-time gold medal winning team in the men's competition while Brazil’s duo of Talita Antunes/Taiana Lima took the top prize in the women's competition.

With a population of 3.4 million people, Berlin is Germany's capital and largest city. It is also the second most populous city and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany on the River Spree, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has about 4.5 million residents from over 180 nations. Due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.

The 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour will include 10 double-gender FIVB Grand Slam tournaments along with the inaugural FIVB Grand Slam and eleven FIVB Beach Volleyball Open events.

This year's 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.

The 2014-2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball Continental Cup also returns this year as it starts its portion of the qualification process for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.