Lausanne, Switzerland, November 30, 2016 - One of several returning countries on the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar, Australia will host the double-gender FIVB Shepparton 1-Star event, to be held from March 3 to 5. It will mark the first time an FIVB international event has been held in Australia since the 2000 Olympic Games were played on beautiful Bondi Beach outside of Sydney.
The 2017 FIVB World Tour schedule lists a second event in Australia as the FIVB Sydney 2-Star event will be held from March 17 to 19.
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Latest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMedia GuidesThe five-star structure instituted starting with the 2017 FIVB World Tour is one of the many steps taken by the FIVB to modernize and streamline its competitions in a golden period for beach volleyball on the heels of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and on the road to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° said, “The aim of the new structure is to provide a platform and formation of events that increase the number of competitions in a growing number of hosting countries and create a sustainable business model while providing additional commercial flexibility and opportunities.”
In the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, USA’s Dain Blanton/Eric Fonoimoana captured the gold medal and for the women Australia’s Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst won the gold medal.
Overall, Australia has hosted 10 FIVB international events including the 2000 Olympic Games (five men and five women).
On the men’s side five tournaments have been held in Australia-three in Sydney and one each in Adelaide and Brisbane.
On the women’s side five tournaments have been held in four different cities with Brisbane leading the way with two events. With one women’s event each has been Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
In the men’s medal count in Australia through 2000, Brazil leads with seven total medals followed by the United States with five, Argentina (1), China (1) and Germany (1).
In the women’s medal count, Brazil has dominated with 10 total medals followed by the United States (3), Australia (1) and Germany (1).
Shepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately 181 kilometres (112 mi) north-northeast of Melbourne. In June 2015, the estimated urban population of Shepparton, including Mooroopna, was 49,371.
Shepparton began as a sheep station and river crossing in the mid-19th century, before undergoing a major transformation as a railway town. Today it is an agricultural and manufacturing centre, and the centre of the Goulburn Valley irrigation system, one of the largest centers of irrigation in Australia. It is also a major regional service city and the seat of local government and civic administration for the City of Greater Shepparton, which includes the surrounding towns of Tatura, Merrigum, Mooropna, Murchison, Dookie Toolambe and Grahamvale.
Shepparton has Victoria's second largest Aboriginal community after Melbourne, making up approximately 10 per cent of the city's population. The concentration of Indigenous Australians is the largest of any Victorian city and is 4 times the national average (2.5 per cent). Shepparton has a large immigrant community, with people from places such as India, Albania, Afghanistan, Iraq, Greece, Italy, Sudan and Macedonia as well as many other places.
The highlight of the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar will be the 2017 FIVB World Championships, a 48-team (per gender) event to be held July 28-August 6 in Vienna, Austria.
The 2017 FIVB World Ranking system will include FIVB Beach Volleyball Major Series, 5-star, 4-star, 3-star, 2-star and 1-star 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 are the same, featuring 32-team pool play followed by single elimination knockout rounds.
Country quota playoffs are also held, as needed, to determine the final teams for qualification tournaments.
The first men’s FIVB World Tour event was played February 17-22, 1987 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil while the first women’s FIVB World Tour event in Brazil was played in 1993 in Rio de Janeiro. The women’s FIVB World Tour held its first tournament in Spain in 1992.