Norway’s picturesque Stavanger awaiting Swatch FIVB Major Series event

Returning last year following a two-year absence, the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour will again travel to Norway for the double-gender 2015 FIVB Swatch Stavanger Major Series tournament. The Stavanger event, to be held from June 9 to 14, will mark the 18th time a men’s competition and 15th women’s tournament has been held in Norway.

With 33 all-time FIVB World Tour Events held in Norway, the FIVB will be launching the dynamic Swatch FIVB Major Series of three key tournaments scheduled as part of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2015. With the FIVB international calendar opening in April in Fuzhou, China, the $800,000 Swatch FIVB Stavanger Major will be held from June 9 to 14.

Porec, Croatia will host the first Swatch FIVB Major Series tournament followed by Stavanger and finally Switzerland (Gstaad, July 7 to 12). 

As part of the new sponsor partnership, the Swatch FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Final will be held in the United States (Fort Lauderdale, Fla., September 29 to October 4). The first-time event will feature the top eight teams and two wildcards for each gender from the FIVB World Tour 2015. This illustrious group will compete for a total purse of $500,000 with the winning men and women’s tandems receiving $100,000 each.

Up until 2014, Norway has hosted a total of 33 FIVB World Tour events (18 men, 15 women) with 25 being held in Stavanger and eight in Kristiansand with Brazil leading the medal count in both genders.  In the men’s totals after 18 events, Brazil has 28, followed by Germany with six, USA with five, Switzerland three, Norway two and with one men’s medal each are Argentina, Australia, China, Latvia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia and Spain.

After 15 FIVB World Tour women’s events held in Norway through 2011, Brazil leads the medal parade with 18 total medals followed by USA with 13, China with five, Austria and Greece with two apiece and with one women’s medal each are Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the Slovak Republic.

Two American teams won the two gold medals in Stavanger in 2014. Winning the men’s gold was Phil Dalhausser/Sean Rosenthal while capturing the women’s gold was Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross.

The 2009 FIVB event in Stavanger was the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships.

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2015 calendar will include five FIVB Grand Slams, a new FIVB Swatch Beach Volleyball Major Series of three events, six FIVB Opens and a special FIVB Swatch Beach Volleyball Season Final in the United States.

The showcase event will be the $1 million FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships The Netherlands 2015.

A total of 14 countries will host events this year as the FIVB World Tour 2015 also begins the Olympic qualification process with all FIVB World Tour events (except the 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.

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

The planet's best beach volleyball players return to the Vaagen Harbour dockside purpose-built courts in Stavanger, the "oil" capital of Norway.

With a population of over 121,000 Stavanger is the third largest city in Norway and sits on the western coast of the country on the North Sea.