Lausanne, Switzerland, November 30, 2016 - The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour returns to Portugal from July 28-30 for the men’s only FIVB Espinho 2-Star event. The Espinho event will mark the 14th time for a men’s competition in Portugal and there have also been 10 women’s tournaments held previously in this country. The 2017 event will be the 14th men’s FIVB World Tour event held in Espinho and first since 2007.
For the women, there have been nine FIVB World Tour events in Espinho (1995-2001, 2005, 2007) and one in Porto Santo (2006). Additionally Portugal has hosted three FIVB men’s Age-Group and three FIVB women’s Age-Group World Championships in Porto as well as one FIVB men’s Age-Group and one FIVB women’s Age-Group World Championships in Porto Santo. Porto Santo has also hosted one FIVB satellite event.
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Latest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMedia Guides The 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.”
Through 2016, Portugal has hosted a total of 23 FIVB World Tour events (13 men, 10 women) with Brazil leading the medal count in both genders. In the men’s totals after 13 events, Brazil has 23 medals, followed by Germany, Netherlands and the USA with three each, Canada and Switzerland with two each and with one men’s medal each in Portugal are Argentina, Australia and Spain.
After 10 FIVB World Tour women’s events held in Portugal through the 2016 season, Brazil leads the medal parade with 14 total medals followed by the USA with 11, Australia with two and with one women’s medal each in Portugal are China, Germany and Greece.
Espinho is a city and a municipality located in the Aveiro District, Portugal. It is located in both the Greater Porto and the Metropolitan Area of Porto. It is one of the smallest municipalities in Portugal and was until 1899 part of the Santa Maria da Feira Municipality.
In 2011, Espinho had a population of 31,786, in an area of 21.06 km.
It is a beach resort and a zone of legal gambling with a casino - Casino Solverde. Its fair - Feira de Espinho, having been first organized in 1894, is well known in Portugal. The city is home to CINANIMA - Festival Internacional de Cinema de Animação, an international animation festival. The municipal holiday is June 16.
The city, known as the volleyball capital in Portugal, is the home of nine Portuguese sports clubs: Novasemente/Cavalinho, Sporting Clube de Silvalde, Associação Desportiva de Anta, Clube de Voleibol de Espinho, Sporting Clube de Espinho, Associacao Academica de Espinho, Academia de Ténis de Espinho, Clube de Ténis de Espinho and Associação Desportiva Rio Largo.
Sporting Clube de Espinho and Associacao Academica de Espinho are regular presences in the Portuguese Volleyball First Division. The first one is the Portuguese team with more titles (including a CEV Cup) and the second one was once national champion.
The highlight of the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar will be the $1,000,000 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 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 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.