FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour heading to Antalya, Turkey for FIVB Open

Back in Turkey for the second straight year, the 2015/2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour will present the double-gender FIVB Antalya Open, to be held in Antalya on May 10-15.  It will mark the fifth men’s competition in Turkey and second time that a women’s FIVB tournament will be held in this country and second FIVB World Tour event in Antalya.

A total of five 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 last year’s double-gender FIVB Open in Antalya.

Turkey has hosted a total of four 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 Italy, Latvia, Mexico and Norway.

In last year’s first women’s FIVB World Tour event in Turkey, winning the gold medal was Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova, while the silver medal went to Italy’s Marta Menegatti/Viktoria Orsi Toth and claiming the bronze was USA’s Emily Day/Jennifer Kessy.

The 2015/2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar began with three Open events at the end of 2015. The remainder of the 2015/2016 calendar will include multiple FIVB Open and multiple FIVB Grand Slam events along with more Swatch FIVB Major Series events, and the second Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals. The highlight of the calendar will be the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil featuring 24 teams in each gender.

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 Mediterranean resort of Antalya features 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.

The event continues the Road to Rio that lasts until June 13, 2016 with FIVB World Tour events counting towards the Olympic Ranking in order to determine the 15 of 24 spots for each gender that will take part in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The 2016 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 is back again this year as it completes its portion of the qualification process for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil.