Beijing Olympic Volleyball

FIVB Board of Administration

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Lausanne, March 7, 2008 – The 38 members of the FIVB Board of Administration and FIVB Commission Presidents shall meet in Lausanne from Wednesday 12 to Friday 14 March for the first time in the new Boardroom at “Château Les Tourelles”. Dr. Rubén Acosta will open and preside over the annual meeting, as the FIVB President has done since 1985. Many important questions will be on the table, particularly the use of a new ball in the Beijing Olympic Games, limitation of players coming from another National Federation, new Development Centres in South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina and other countries, to consider as automatic resignation the act of National Federations who declare to have joined another organization, and, most noteworthy, the change of the Election Congress to the Olympic year.



In accordance with the democratic FIVB decision-making process, all the Presidents of the FIVB Councils and Commissions will present proposals agreed by their members and the Board of Administration must discuss all of them before they are submitted to the World Congress for a final decision. The 31st FIVB World Congress will be held in Dubai on June 16-17, 2008.



Organisers of future competitions will make video presentations about FIVB events they are set to host, with a special focus on the Men’s and Women’s 2010 World Championships to be organised by Italy and Japan, respectively. The five Continental Confederations will also report on the growth of the sport and its new perspectives for 2009-2012.




Remember the ball is in your court. Are you ">too small to play volleyball?
April Chapple is a freelance copywriter for volleyball products and promotions, columnist for USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaching Volleyball magazine and author of numerous online articles on playing and coaching volleyball. Author of the upcoming ebook "How to Stop Serving Like a Wimp" April's volleyball sites are volleyballvoices.com, volleyballvoyeur.com, beijingolympicvolleyball.com, and aprilsbeachvolleyballog.com. She can be reached at april@volleyballvoices.com

I know you want to learn the secrets of how the pros play like they do. The fastest way for you to do that is to sign up for the FREE Volleyball Voices Newsletter so you can be the first person on your team to get the inside track on how to stay off the bench and gain more playing time by improving all your volleyball skills, fast! Just fill out that box in the upper right hand corner to receive today's volleyball news you can use.

Three World Olympic Qualification Tournaments

Four places have to be decided yet and they will be assigned through three World Olympic Qualification Tournaments in Düsseldorf/Germany (23-25 May), Espinho/Portugal (31 May – 1 June) and Tokyo/Japan 31 May – 8 June).

Only the winner of these tournaments will reach the goal – Beijing. Because of the tournament in Tokyo is also the Asian Olympic qualification the best Asian team will be qualified for the Olympic Games, too.

China (Host)

2. Brazil, World Cup, 1st)

3. Russia (World Cup, 2nd)

4. Bulgaria (World Cup, 3rd)

5. Venezuela (winner South America)

6. Egypt (winner Africa)

7. Serbia (winner Europe)

8. USA (winner NORCECA)

9. Winner Asia

10. 1st Tournament Düsseldorf

11. 1st Tournament Portugal

12. 1st Tournament Japan

Remember the ball is in your court. Are you ">too small to play volleyball?

April Chapple is a freelance copywriter for volleyball products and promotions, columnist for USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaching Volleyball magazine and author of numerous online articles on playing and coaching volleyball. Author of the upcoming ebook "How to Stop Serving Like a Wimp" April's volleyball sites are volleyballvoices.com, volleyballvoyeur.com, beijingolympicvolleyball.com, and aprilsbeachvolleyballog.com. She can be reached at april@volleyballvoices.com

I know you want to learn the secrets of how the pros play like they do. The fastest way for you to do that is to sign up for the FREE Volleyball Voices Newsletter so you can be the first person on your team to get the inside track on how to stay off the bench and gain more playing time by improving all your volleyball skills, fast! Just fill out that box in the upper right hand corner to receive today's volleyball news you can use.

FIVB First Executive Vice-President Wei praises Beijing Games' preparations

Mr. Jizhong Wei and Mr. Shanrit Wongprasert talk at a press conference at the Capital Indoor Stadium Beijing, China, April 21, 2008 - FIVB First Executive Vice-President Mr. Jizhong Wei and Mr. Shanrit Wongprasert, FIVB Board of Administration Member and Sports Events Council Member, have both expressed their satisfaction with the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 China Club Volleyball Tournament, the test event for the Olympic Games, and overall preparations for the Summer Games.

The two FIVB officials have been at the test event in Beijing to check preparations and to suggest any adjustments to BOCOG.

"On the whole, we are very satisfied with the facilities, the successful running and the performance of the working team at the test event," Wei said at a press conference on Saturday.

"The preparations for the Volleyball Tournament of the Olympic Games have reached FIVB requirements and FIVB’s suggestions in the past inspections are all implemented.

"We should do better than before, at least better than the Athens Olympic Games," said Wei.

Wei also reserved praise for the venue staff at the two Olympic Volleyball venues, the Capital Indoor Stadium and the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium.

"We are also very happy with the hard work of the working team, including the technical people and volunteers," said Wei. "If we have the same people working with us during the Olympic Games, we believe we are going to reach a very high level."

Wongprasert echoed Wei's comments.

"On behalf of FIVB, I am very appreciative of the cooperation of all the persons concerned. The key of our success is that everybody is willing to work hard.

"The facilities in the two competition venues are ready for high competition and the main requirements in the two competitions halls and the six training courts have been fulfilled," said Wongprasert. "We have no big problems and just some adjustments are needed."

The FIVB delegation highlighted areas for improvement in the providing of better areas for the press to work, better positioning of TV cameras and less time taken in security checks for spectators.

The "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 China Club Volleyball Tournament began Wednesday, April 16.

A total of four Men's and four Women's teams participated in the five-day tournament.

The "Good Luck Beijing" Volleyball Tournament follows a successful dress rehearsal for Beach Volleyball in August 2007 at Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground, the 12,000-seater venue for the Beijing Games Beach Volleyball Tournament.

In line with International Olympic Committee requirements and prior commitments by Beijing, the China Club Volleyball Tournament and the FIVB Beach Volleyball Women's Challenger are two of 42 "Good Luck Beijing" sports events.

Remember the ball is in your court. Are you ">too small to play volleyball?

April Chapple is a freelance copywriter for volleyball products and promotions, columnist for USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaching Volleyball magazine and author of numerous online articles on playing and coaching volleyball. Author of the upcoming ebook "How to Stop Serving Like a Wimp" April's volleyball sites are volleyballvoices.com, volleyballvoyeur.com, beijingolympicvolleyball.com, and aprilsbeachvolleyballog.com. She can be reached at april@volleyballvoices.com

I know you want to learn the secrets of how the pros play like they do. The fastest way for you to do that is to sign up for the FREE Volleyball Voices Newsletter so you can be the first person on your team to get the inside track on how to stay off the bench and gain more playing time by improving all your volleyball skills, fast! Just fill out that box in the upper right hand corner to receive today's volleyball news you can use.

2008 SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar Double gender Dubai Open given thumbs-up

The dazzling city of Dubai will host a SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2008 Open event in October The double gender Beach Volleyball Dubai Open has been confirmed for later this year as an event on the SWATCH FIVB 2008 World Tour.

United Arab Emirates Volleyball Association President Mr. Mohamed Abdul Karim Julfar earlier this week rubberstamped the $350,000 Open which will take place in the Gulf state’s largest city through October 5-11.

The SWATCH FIVB World Tour Dubai Open is expected to be one of many future Beach Volleyball and Volleyball events hosted by the UAE as part of an exciting shared vision with the FIVB that will develop the sport in the Middle East.

On a recent visit to the UAE, FIVB Beach Volleyball Events Director Angelo Squeo and Mr. Julfar also talked about the possibility of staging a World Tour Open event from 2009 onwards in Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE.

Mr. Julfar said during the FIVB visit that he could envisage more top-class Volleyball and Beach Volleyball events hosted in the UAE in the future.

A new project involving the setting up of a permanent Beach Volleyball centre in Dubai for foreign teams wanting to train during winter also was discussed during Mr. Squeo’s visit. UAE’s weather would make it a popular destination for the best Beach Volleyball pairs in the world, against whom the host country’s pairs would be available to play.

The 2008 SWATCH FIVB World Tour begins late March with the Adelaide Australia Open and is scheduled to end with the Sanya Open in China in November. The 20 men’s events and 19 women’s events throughout 2008 will generate a record $8.325 million in Prize Money. Important proposals made at opening session of FIVB Board of Administration to be forwarded for approval at 31st World Congress

The FIVB President Dr. Rubén Acosta (centre) with the FIVB Vice-Presidents, Mr. Wei (left) and Mr. Marte Hoffiz Lausanne, March 12, 2008 – Dr. Rubén Acosta, President of the FIVB, opened the 2008 Board of Administration meeting Wednesday in the new FIVB Boardroom in Lausanne. For the first time in many years, the Presidents of the Commissions were requested to make their presentations during the Board in order for all members to immediately discuss the proposals before they are forwarded for approval at the 31st FIVB World Congress.

After welcoming all members, the President stressed that the objectives of the meeting were to discuss transparency in FIVB finance and accounting changes, to consolidate FIVB solidarity and respect of its principles, to acknowledge and capitalize on the growth of the FIVB and adjust FIVB regulations in accordance with that growth, to follow up the activities and proposals of the Commissions, and to determine the actions needed to optimise the position of Volleyball events in the sport market place.

The President also stressed in his introduction the proposal regarding the recognition of players under the National Federation flag of the country in which they are playing and also the eligibility of said players to play for the National Team of the country in which they are playing after two years, depending on authorisation given by the Board.

Pointing towards the future, Dr. Acosta explained to the Board that maintaining leadership means maintaining close links with each respective National Federation. “Many of them are already close to the objective of our Vision 2012, some are far,” said the FIVB President. “The National Federations are a factor of our success and the FIVB must be their leaders as a major organisation, as it is now.”

Dr. Acosta also reported in his opening address that in 2007 total live attendance multiplied along with coverage from TV, new media and Press. More than 4 million spectators from more than 150 countries watched at least one Volleyball match.

The Board decided to appoint a taskforce from Medical, Technical, Refereeing, Development and Legal Commissions to regulate the age of players in Junior and Youth World Championships in order to avoid cheating.

It was noted that one of the best events ever for Beach Volleyball was the 2007 SWATCH FIVB World Championships in Gstaad, Switzerland. There was a proposal to award the Silver Cross to Mr. Kunz, the promoter in Gstaad.

Noted by Dr. Acosta was the success of the Men’s and Women’s World Cup in 2007 in Japan. It was noted there were 500,000 spectators in 12 cities and 1.5 billion TV viewers worldwide.

The following details and proposals also were presented during the opening Board session Wednesday:

Asian Schools’ Projects . FIVB Board Member Mrs. Rita Subowo, announced the start of initial construction in Thailand in five provinces as part of a 3 million USD project after the tsunami tragedy in Asia. Construction sites were visited by FIVB and Mondo and it is estimated that the first schools with Volleyball courts will be ready in April.

Accounts report and balance sheet

The FIVB made a complete reorganisation of its accounts and is ready to follow the new requirements of the Swiss accounting practices, managing budgets in the most accurate way. The external audit conducted by Ernst & Young confirmed the healthy financial situation of the FIVB.

Investments

Mr. Ary Graça, President of the Investment Committee, presented the results of the investment plan previously decided by the commission, using three different banks to manage the FIVB portfolio with impressive results.

Donation to FIVB

The Board accepted and were appreciative of Madame Malù Acosta and her family for the donation of the antique furniture of incalculable value to the FIVB Headquarters and recommended allocating a plaque in the building indicating the name of the donor and details to recognise this kind act.

World League

It was reported that the total attendance for the 2007 World League was 637,000 fans, with 2,244 hours of TV coverage and more than1 billion TV viewers for the Finals, with 757 hours of live TV coverage. The 2008 World League Finals in Rio will be from July 23-27. From 2009, countries that have the lowest attendances will be replaced.

World Grand Prix

Spectators totalling 334,975 in 2007 were reported. Final round attendance improved in 2007 from 2006. There were 500 hours of first-run TV coverage, 498.65 million potential TV households.

Development Centres

The Commission reported on Centres in Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, Bahrain, India, Thailand, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Indonesia and new Development Centres in Argentina, South Africa and Nigeria. It was approved that every National Federation will be required to establish a Development Centre and then obtain FIVB recognition for the Centre.

The working session of the FIVB Board of Administration continues on Thursday and Friday. All decisions taken in the three-day session are to be forwarded for approval at the 31st FIVB World Congress in Dubai on June 16-17 2008.

Remember the ball is in your court. Are you ">too small to play volleyball?

April Chapple is a freelance copywriter for volleyball products and promotions, columnist for USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaching Volleyball magazine and author of numerous online articles on playing and coaching volleyball. Author of the upcoming ebook "How to Stop Serving Like a Wimp" April's volleyball sites are volleyballvoices.com, volleyballvoyeur.com, beijingolympicvolleyball.com, and aprilsbeachvolleyballog.com. She can be reached at april@volleyballvoices.com

I know you want to learn the secrets of how the pros play like they do. The fastest way for you to do that is to sign up for the FREE Volleyball Voices Newsletter so you can be the first person on your team to get the inside track on how to stay off the bench and gain more playing time by improving all your volleyball skills, fast! Just fill out that box in the upper right hand corner to receive today's volleyball news you can use.