FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour heading back to Turkey after 17 years

One of six new venues the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar, Antalya, Turkey will host the double-gender $150,000 FIVB Antalya Open, to be held October 20-25. It will mark the fourth men’s competition in Turkey and first that a women’s tournament will be held in this country.

A total of three previous FIVB World Tour events have been staged in Turkey.

In 1996, 1997 and 1998, Alanya, Turkey hosted men’s stops on the FIVB World Tour prior to this year’s event in Antalya.

Turkey has hosted a total of three men’s FIVB World Tour events and Brazil leads the medal count with six medals and with one men’s medal each are Argentina, Canada and Norway.

The 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar includes five FIVB Grand Slams, the new FIVB Swatch FIVB Major Series of three events, seven FIVB Opens and a special Swatch FIVB Season Final in the United States. A showcase event was the $1 million 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in the Netherlands (June 26-July 5).

Situated on a steep cliff over the Mediterranean, Antalya is a picturesque city surrounded by mountains. Developments in tourism, starting in the 1970s, have transformed the city into an international resort. With its airport and central location, Antalya is "the capital of Turkish tourism", a gateway for the Turkish Riviera and many historical sites. Furthermore with its palm-lined boulevards, its prize-winning marina, preserved historical neighborhood of Kaleiçi, and the modern developments along the coast, the city of Antalya is a major attraction in its own right. Antalya and its surroundings are a very important part of Turkish tourism.

The principal holiday resort of the Mediterranean is the beautiful region of Antalya with a majestic coastline of beaches and rocky coves where the towering Toros (Taurus) Mountains provide a magnificent view behind the city. The population of the city is 2.4 million. Antalya is an attractive city, at an altitude of only about 50 meters. The picturesque old quarter called Kaleiçi which has narrow, winding streets and charming wooden houses next to the city walls is one of the main attractions.

Since its founding in the 2nd century B.C. by Attalus ll, a king of Pergamon who named the city Attaleia after himself, it has had a continuous history. The Romans, Byzantines and Seljuks occupied the city before it came under Ottoman rule.

A total of 15 countries are hosting events this year as the 2015 FIVB World Tour has begun the Olympic qualification process with all FIVB World Tour events (except the FIVB World Tour Finals) in 2015 up until June 13, 2016 counting towards the Olympic Ranking in order to determine the 15 vacancies for each gender that will take part in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The 2015 FIVB World Ranking system will again 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. While the FIVB World Championships had 48 teams, all other tournaments have 32 teams and begin with a qualification tournament in each gender to determine the final eight teams in the main draw fields.

Country quota playoffs are also held, as needed, to determine the final teams for qualification tournaments.

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