Toronto, Canada to host second Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals

Continuing in its mission to become the world’s number one family entertainment sport, the International Volleyball Federation, international governing body for the Olympic sport of beach volleyball, will present in association with the Beach Major Group, the second annual double-gender Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from September 13-18.

 

To be held at Polson’s Pier in Toronto, the event is the culmination of the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. With a $500,000 total purse the event will feature the top eight FIVB World Tour point leaders plus four wild cards in each gender. The tournament will have a special format with the winning team in each gender taking home a $100,000 gold medal prize.

 

SWATCH SOUNDS

The launch of the World Tour Finals last year in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, saw Brazil capture both gold medals with 2016 Olympic champions Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt winning the men’s tournament while winning the women’s gold medal was Brazil’s Larissa França/Talita Antunes, the top-ranked team in the world again this year.

 

OH CANADA!

The Toronto event is the only FIVB international tournament to be held Canada in 2016 and the first in Canada since the FIVB Quebec Open in 2011 and the first time back in Toronto since 2000. Canada also hosted the 2011 and 2012 FIVB U21 World Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

 

Up until 2011 Quebec, Canada has hosted a total of 16 FIVB World Tour events (eight men, eight women). Overall, the FIVB World Tour has visited three Canadian cities for double-gender events—Montreal (2002, 2005, 2006), Toronto (1998, 1999, 2000) and Quebec (2011).

 

Brazil leads the medal count in both genders. In the men’s totals after eight events in Canada, Brazil has 13 medals, followed by USA with 15, Australia and Canada with two each and with one men’s medal each in the Canada are Argentina and Spain.

 

After eight FIVB World Tour women’s events held in Canada through 2011, Brazil leads the medal parade with 14 total medals followed by USA with seven, China with two and with one women’s medal is Australia.

 

WELCOME TO TORONTO

Toronto has the largest population of any city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario. The greater Toronto metropolitan area has a population of nearly 2.7 million making it the fourth largest city in North America, after Mexico City, New York City and Los Angeles. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, and culture, and is widely recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world.

 

Located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto is situated on a broad sloping plateau intersected by an extensive network of rivers, deep raciness and urban forest. It anchors the Golden Horseshoe, a densely populated region surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario that is home to 8.7 million people, or around 26% of the entire population of Canada. The vastly international population of the city reflects its current and historical role as a melting pot of nationalities. While English is the primary language spoken by the majority of Torontonians, there are over 160 different languages spoken in the city.