AVC has announced that a new competition format will come into effect for all AVC Championships from 2018

AVC has announced that a new competition format will come into effect for all AVC Championships this year with teams from the same level dealing with close battles, promising a real adrenaline rush and boisterous cheers from the very beginning of the tournament.

Following the 2017 AVC Board of Administration’s unanimous decision on discussion topics proposed by the Sports Events Council, the new AVC competition format will see teams being drawn into three or four pools up to the total amount of the participating teams. Each team, as well as the host side, will be assigned into a pool according to their previous ranking.

As the three or four best-ranked teams from the previous tournament will be drawn in the same Pool A, the next best three (or four teams) will contest Pool B. Pool C will comprise teams finishing next best three or four teams, with Pool D featuring teams which did not participate in the previous tournament.

“The new format of all AVC Championships will provide nonstop excitement from the first match. The teams finishing top three or top four in the previous edition are likely to have the same standard and tactics. Therefore, they will come up with their best performances from the start to vie for the top spot of their pool. Situations will also be the same in the other pools, with teams with the similar standards fighting it out for a better position in their pools,” cited AVC Secretary-General Mr Shanrit Wongprasert.

With their rankings from the previous edition being taken into consideration for drawing of lots, the participating teams have already been drawn in respective pools in all AVC Championships this year. However, the casting lots for all 10 AVC Championships will be made on Monday, February 26 at Dusit Princess Srinakharin Hotel in Bangkok to decide the match schedule of each championship.

“According to the new competition format, teams will first compete in the pool round-robin preliminaries, where they all will be ranked respectively in their pools. The knockout second round will be held later, with team finishing first taking on team finishing 8th and the 2nd playing the 7th. If there are more than eight teams such as 11 teams in this year’s Asian Women’s Club Championship in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan from July 11 to 18, after the first round, top teams in Pool A will have the rest day, while the remaining teams will compete in the so-called “qualification tournament for teams in quarter-finals,” allowing lower-ranked teams (team finishing 4th and below) to fight for their best outcome in the Championship,” Shanrit explained.

“If there are 16 teams or more, the Championship will be split to Division 1 and Division 2, to be held at the same time in the same Championship. Each Division will comprise teams to be drawn according to their rankings in the previous edition. However, at the end of the Championship, only two teams with the worst performances in Division 1 will be relegated to Division 2 in the next edition of the Championship, while top two teams in Division 2 will be promoted to compete in Division 1 instead.

For a better understanding in the new AVC competition format, the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship, which is due to be held in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand from May 20 to 27, 2018, will be brought to use as example.

A total of 13 teams have already confirmed their participation in the youth event. Japan, champions at the previous edition in Chongqing, China in 2017, are in Pool A with China (2nd) and Korea (3rd). Pool B comprises hosts Thailand (4th), Chinese Taipei (5th) and Hong Kong (6th). Australia (7th), New Zealand (8th) and Iran (9th) are in Pool C, while Pool D consists of Uzbekistan (10th), (11th), (12th) and (13th). Kazakhstan, India and Malaysia, all of which did not compete in the previous episode, have been drawn in Pool D as  11th, 12th, 13th teams.

In the round-robin preliminaries, Japan, China and Korea will play in Pool A to fight for a better 1-2-3 finish, while Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong in Pool B will compete for their better positions among the 4-5-6 rankings. Australia, New Zealand and Iran will contest Pool C for the 7-8-9 rankings, while Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, India and Malaysia will battle for their better rankings from 10th to 13th places.

After the first round in Nakhon Pathom, the top three teams Japan, China and Korea in Pool A will have a rest day on May 23, leaving only team finishing 4th to play team finishing 9th, the 5th to take on the 10th, the 6th to fight against the 11th, the 7th to battle it out against the 12th and the 8th to meet the 13th. The winning teams will then advance to the quarter-finals, while the losers will play in the 9th-13th classification.

“The new competition format will not only reduce one competition day from 9 days in usual to 8 days,  but also help spectators enjoy the thrilling match from the beginning of the championshiph. As the much stronger teams will have to come up with their best form throughout the tournament, the lower-ranked sides have to fight it hard for their survivals in the next round. I believe that audience will be thrilled nonstop by the action-packed matches set for all AVC Championships this year,” Shanrit said.

The drawing of lots will be held on February 26, 2018 for 10 AVC Championships as follows.

1. The 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand from May 20 to 27.
2. The 19th Asian Women’s U19 Volleyball Championship in Bac Ninh, Vietnam from June 10 to 17.
3. The 12th Asian Men’s U18 Volleyball Championship in Tabriz, Iran from June 29 to July6.
4. The 2018 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan from July 11 to 18.
5. The 19th Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship in Manama, Bahrain from July 21 to 28.
6. The 1st AVC Women’s Challenge Cup in Hong Kong from July 30 to August 5.
7. The 2018 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from July 30 to August 6.
8. The 6th AVC Cup for Men in Chinese Taipei from August 8 to 15.
9. The 1st AVC Men’s Challenge Cup (host country to be announced later) from September 15 to 22.
10. The 6th AVC Cup for Women in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand from September 16 to 23.
11. 
    

12th Asian Womens U17 Pool Distribution

AVC have already announced the 2018 AVC & FIVB Beach Volleyball Competition Calendar in Asia

Satun, a southern province of Thailand with world-famous islands and gorgeous beaches, has become a development hub for beach volleyball of Asia when it will host two major competitions this year including the 2018 Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships in September.

Satun, which lies 985 kilometres south of Bangkok, has already held the AVC Beach Tour Satun-Pak Bara Open for two consecutive years in 2016 and 2017. At the last year’s edition, the competition sites at Pak Bara, which has a long sweeping beach with fantastic views over the sea and nearby islands stretching southward, were jam-packed with a horde of enthusiastic fans who survived adversity to boost their favourite teams’ morale despite the night matches.

Following a great success of the past two editions, Satun has been entrusted by the FIVB to host the double-gender FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star Event from April 8 to 11. The AVC also gave the province the green light to organise the 2018 Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships between September 25 and 28.

Meanwhile, the AVC have already announced the 2018 AVC & FIVB Beach Volleyball Competition Calendar in Asia, which made 2018 a busy year for Asian beach volleyball.

Australia will get the Asian beach volleyball competition in 2018 off the ground when Shepparton will host the double-gender FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star Event from February 1 to 4, followed by the men’s only FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 3 Stars during February 20 and 24 in Kish Island, Iran. Doha, Qatar and Oman will host the next men’s only FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, with the former organising the 4 Stars meet between March 6 and 10 and the latter the 1 Star event from March 14 to 17.

In March, three Asian beach volleyball tournaments will be held, starting with the Asian Men’s & Women’s U19 Beach Volleyball Championships in Canberra, Australia between March 1 and 3 (Oceania Zone qualifying for Youth Olympic Games and FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships).

After that, Maldives will play host to the Asian Women’s U19 Beach Volleyball Championships from March 20 to 22 (Asian Zone qualifying for Youth Olympic Games and FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships). Fresh from hosting the Women’s U19 competition, Maldives will then organise the Asian Men’s U19 Beach Volleyball Championships between March 25 and 27 (Asian Zone qualifying for Youth Olympic Games and FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships).

In April, two tournaments will by hosted by Thailand comprising the double-gender FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star Event in Satun from April 8 to 11 and the AVC Beach Volleyball Tour “19th Samila Open” in Songkhla during April 14 and 17.

China will then stage the double-gender FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 3 Stars in Xiamen between April 18 and 22, followed by the AVC Beach Volleyball Tour “2nd Can Tho Open” in Can Tho, Vietnam from April 20 to 23 and the double-gender FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star in Langkawi, Malaysia during April 26 and 29.

The other interesting tournaments due to take place in 2018 are as follows.

May 3-6: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star (double gender) in Manila, the Philippines
May 4-7: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2 Stars (women’s only) in Nanjing, China
May 9-12: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star (women’s only) “14th Tuan Chau Halong” in Tuan Chau Halong, Vietnam.
May 10-13: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star (double gender) in Bangkok, Thailand
May 23-27: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 4 Stars (double gender) in Yangzhou, China
May 31-June 3: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2 Stars (double gender) in Jinjiang, China
June 21-24: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2 Stars (double gender) in Singapore
June 22-25: FIVB Beach Volleybal World Tour 2 Stars (women’s only) in Nantong, China
June 26-July 1: FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships in Nanjing, China
July 12-15: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star (women’s only) in Daegu, Korea
July 18-21: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star (women’s only) in Ulsan, Korea
July 25-29: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 4 Stars (double gender) in Tokyo, Japan
August 2-5: FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1 Star (women’s only) in Kochi, India
August 18-September 2: 19th Asian Games in Indonesia
September 25-28: 2018 Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships in Satun, Thailand
October 1-12: 3rd Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.

2018 AVC Volleyball Events Calendar

2017/2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball Calendar at the World Tour Council meeting

Highlights of the 2017/2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball Calendar include 5-star Major events in Fort Lauderdale (USA), Gstaad (Switzerland) and Vienna (Austria), culminating in the fourth edition of the Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals from August 14 to 19 – venue to be announced at the end of November. A fourth Major event, still to be confirmed, is currently scheduled from May 29 to June 3 in Croatia. 

The calendar also features eleven 4-star events, five 3-star events, five 2-star events and seventeen 1-star events. In addition, Nanjing, China will host the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships from June 26- July 1. 

Fixture Link PDF

The new 5-star Vienna Major (July 31-August 5) will welcome teams back to the Austrian capital exactly one year after the hugely successful 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. Players can also look forward to a 4-star event in Tokyo from July 25-29 – the World Tour’s first visit to the Japanese capital – just two years before the Olympic Games take place in the city in 2020.

Four countries will host a World Tour event for the first time, with stops scheduled in Muscat, Oman (March 14-17), Manila, Philippines (May 3-6), Tuan Chau Island, Vietnam (May 9-12) and Singapore (June 21-24). And eight venues will join Vienna and Tokyo in welcoming an event for the first time, including Satun, Thailand (April 8-11), Mersin (May 2-6), Aydin (May 17-20) and Samsun (July 26-29) in Turkey, Huntington Beach, United States (May 2-6), Ostrava, Czech Republic (June 20-24), Jinjiang in China (May 31-June 3) and Kochi in India (August 2-5).

The first four venues on the 2018 calendar - The Hague (Netherlands), Shepparton (Australia), Kish Island (Iran) and Fort Lauderdale (USA) - also hosted events in 2017. They will be joined by other events returning in 2018 in the Netherlands (Aalsmeer – an indoor event), China (Xiamen, Nanjing and Nantong), Malaysia (Langkawi), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Monaco, Morocco (Agadir), Portugal (Espinho), Korea (Daegu and Ulsan) and Russia (Moscow). 

Other venues returning to the World Tour in 2018 include Doha in Qatar (March 6-10), Lucerne in Switzerland (May 9-13) and Bangkok in Thailand (May 10-13).

Two more tournaments are scheduled to take place in Yangzhou, China (May 23-27) and Poland (June 27-July 1). More information on these events will be made available in due course. In all, China and Turkey will host the highest number of events in 2018.

VTL 2017 fixture released by TVA

                                                                 FULL FIXTURE

FIVB announces the Volleyball Nations League– a joint project between the FIVB, IMG and 21 national federations

The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) today announced the Volleyball Nations League, which is set to begin in 2018. The league will revolutionise volleyball competitions, making it one of the most important events in the history of the sport.

The Volleyball Nations League – a joint project between the FIVB, IMG and 21 national federations – will present volleyball in a way that has never been experienced before, building on the innovative sports presentation on display at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. In both the men’s and women’s leagues, 12 core teams and 4 challenger teams will battle to become Volleyball Nations League champion by playing in a round robin format. With a total of 130 matches throughout the league season, every team will play a minimum of 15 matches and each core nation will host at least one pool, bringing the action closer to fans around the world.

By pushing the boundaries of technology, innovation and digital broadcasting, spectators at home will witness new and diverse angles, showcasing the world class athleticism of each nation’s best players.

For the very first time, the FIVB, in collaboration with IMG, will take complete control of content production, maximising quality and promoting a compelling, on-court narrative, which is easy for fans to engage with and understand.

The FIVB will ensure in-stadium interaction by implementing a new concept called active engagement, where fans are involved in every rally. When there is a fantastic sporting moment, spectators celebrate it by imitating match situations like the Monster Block, which has already been embraced by fans across the globe.

Speaking at the FIVB’s 70th anniversary celebrations in Paris, where the Volleyball Nations League announcement took place, FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça said: 

“This is a pivotal moment in the future of our sport. The Volleyball Nations League is the most important competition in the FIVB’s history and will revolutionise how volleyball is presented; making it more fan-centric and placing our fans, both inside and outside the stadium, at the very heart of the action.

“The FIVB has enjoyed great success over the last 70 years; volleyball has grown to become one of the most popular and widely practised sports in the world. But, we must always look forward and find ways to evolve and innovate as we aim to become the world’s number one family sport. The Volleyball Nations League will help us to achieve our vision and set the standard for athlete and viewer experience.”

Ioris Francini, co-President of WME|IMG, said: “This is a very exciting development for the FIVB and we are delighted to play a pivotal role in the Volleyball Nations League. This unique initiative and format heralds a new era for the sport and will produce an even better experience for all concerned, from the teams and players to fans and viewers watching on various media platforms. 

“Our role in producing live matches, along with distributing the media and digital rights, cements our long-standing relationship with the FIVB, which dates back to 2009. Volleyball has a very bright future.”

In the men’s event, Brazil, Italy, the USA, China, Serbia, France, Argentina, Iran, Poland, Germany, Japan and Russia make up the core teams, while Australia, South Korea, Canada and Bulgaria are the four designated challenger teams. 

For the women’s competition, Brazil, Italy, the USA, China, Serbia, the Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey, South Korea, Germany, Japan and Russia comprise the 12 core nations. Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Poland and Belgium have also been selected as challenger teams.  

The aim of the Volleyball Nations League is to raise the level of the sporting action for fans and provide a world class platform for athletes to compete and grow. Launching a men’s and women’s competition under the same name and format promotes equality in volleyball, while also making it simpler and more engaging to follow.

As well as the Volleyball Nations League, there will also be a secondary, Challenger League, incorporating promotion and relegation to guarantee that volleyball remains the most competitive and engaging, multi-gender sport in the world.