Porto primed for FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships

Portugal stays the course of international beach volleyball this year when it once again hosts the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships. The 13th annual double-gender age group event will be held in Porto from July 29 to August 3 as the FIVB now has an unprecedented four age-group world championships for beach volleyball held annually.

While the National Volleyball Federation of Portugal has hosted 22 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Open events (all in Espinho), this will also be the third FIVB U19 World Championships held in Portugal, following the championships of 2010 and 2013. The FIVB U21 World Championships where held on Porto Santo Island in 2004.

Part of the massive international platform for the FIVB Beach Volleyball next generation of stars, the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships have been held every year since 2002 making it the second oldest of the four FIVB age group events.

Winning the men’s FIVB U19 World Championships last year in Porto were Germany’s Moritz Reichert/Clemens Wickler while the women’s 2013 FIVB U19 World Championships gold medal was won by Brazil’s Eduarda Lisboa/Taini Silva.

In the first 12 years of the U19 men’s competition, Poland has 11 final four placements and nine medals in total which include four gold medals.  Other countries with men’s gold medals have been Germany with three and with one each have been Brazil, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and the United States. In the women's competition of the U19 women’s championships, Germany leads with nine final four placements and nine total medals including three gold medals. Other countries with women’s gold medals have been Brazil, the Netherlands and Poland with two each and with one each have been Australia, Lithuania and the United States.

Along with the U19, the other long-standing age-group world championships are the U21 championships and this year both will be held in cities that have hosted other FIVB age-group events in the past.  The 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships will be held in Larnaka, Cyprus from July 22 to 27. First being held in 2001, this year will be the 14th annual U19 championships making it the oldest of the FIVB age-group World Championships. With its inaugural tournament in 2013, the second FIVB U23 World Championships will be held from June 10 to15 in Myslowice, Poland.

As part of the initiatives of FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° and his leadership team, the FIVB Beach Volleyball U17 World Championships have been added to the annual FIVB calendar in 2014. The inaugural FIVB U17 World Championships will be held in Acapulco, Mexico from July 15 to 20.

Porto is the second-largest city in Portugal behind Lisbon, located on the northwest coast of Portugal along the Atlantic Ocean and one of the major urban areas in Southern Europe. The urban area of Porto, which extends beyond the administrative limits of the city, has a population of 1.3 million, making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal.

Located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. Its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. One of Portugal's internationally famous exports is port wine, is named after Porto

The age-group FIVB World Championships have historically seen many of the young stars of today building their experience level to advance up the ladder in international competition. This year’s 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for professional athletes will include 10 FIVB Grand Slam events, a new FIVB Grand Slam Final and at least nine FIVB Beach Volleyball Open events.

The format of all the FIVB Beach Volleyball international tournaments – whether pro or age-group 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.