Lausanne, Switzerland, August 13, 2016 — Led by the top-seeds in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 61 of the athletes competing in Brazil, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), has posted the official entries and seeds for next week’s regular season finale of the internationally-televised 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour to be held in the United States.
The 2016 FIVB World Tour regular season concludes in Southern California at the ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball at the $800,000 FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam to be held just after the Rio Olympics on Aug. 22-28 on a purpose-built venue at Alamitos Beach.
Playing in the USA for the second time and final time this year, there are 61 men’s teams from 28 countries and 62 women’s teams from 22 countries coming to America for the ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball at the $800,000 FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam. This will be the fourth consecutive year that the FIVB World Tour has stopped in Long Beach, Calif.
Leading the field at the $800 FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam will be Brazil’s Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt and Brazil’s Larissa Franca/Talita Antunes. Brazil’s dynamic duos are the defending gold medalists in Long Beach and are both the top seeds in Rio where both have advanced to the quarterfinals on their home sand in the Olympic Stadium on iconic Copacabana Beach.
Overall, the field in Long Beach will include 14 men’s Olympic teams and 16 1/2 women’s Olympic tandems who have been competing since last week in Brazil.
The ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball at the $800,000 FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam will be the 21st men’s event of the season and 18th women’s event on the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour that started with three events at the end of 2015.
SWATCH FIVB WORLD TOUR FINALS
As part of the second season of the sponsor partnership, the Swatch FIVB Beach Volleyball Season Final will also be held again. Being held in Toronto, Canada, the finale will be held on Sept. 13-18. The event will again feature the top eight teams and four wildcards for each gender from the 2016 FIVB World Tour. This illustrious group will compete for a total purse of $500,000 with the winning men and women’s tandems receiving $100,000 each.
USA’S FIVB HISTORY
The other 2016 FIVB World Tour event held in the USA was the double-gender $150,000 FIVB Cincinnati Open in Ohio, held on May 17-22 which was during the Olympic qualifying window.
Through the 2016 Cincinnati event, the United States has hosted a total of 30 FIVB World Tour events (15 men, 15 women) with Brazil is tied for the lead in the medal count for men and leads the women.
In the men’s totals after 15 events in the USA, Brazil and the USA have 15 medals each, followed by Argentina, Canada, Norway, Spain and Switzerland with two each and with one men’s medal each in the USA are Italy, the Netherlands and Poland.
After 15 FIVB World Tour women’s events held in the United States through 2015, Brazil leads the medal parade with 21 total medals followed by the USA with 15, Australia and Germany with three each and with one women’s medal each in the USA are China, the Slovak Republic and Spain.
With the first USA visit being held in Miami, Florida in 1994, the 1997 event was the inaugural FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, held in the Tennis Center stadium at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).
2016 OLYMPIANS
Olympians abound in the field for the $800,000 FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam with the Rio 2016 Olympic Games women’s gold medal match next Wednesday (Aug. 17) and the men’s gold medal match next Thursday (Aug. 18). In all, eight of the top 12-seeded men’s teams in Rio and 10 of the top 12-seeded women’s team in Rio are entered in the Long Beach main draw.
Besides Brazil’s Alison/Bruno Schmidt, the other men’s Olympic top 12 teams entered in Long Beach are: USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (third-seed in the Olympics), Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves/Pedro Solberg/Evandro Goncalves (fourth), USA’s Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson (sixth), Spain’s Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera (seventh), Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins (ninth), Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (11th) and Italy’s Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri (12th).
The other Rio Olympics men’s teams and their Olympic seed entered in Long Beach are: PrudelCanada’s Chaim Schalk/Ben Saxton (16th), Poland’s Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz (17th), Chile’s cousins Esteben Grimalt/Marco Grimalt (20th) and Canada’s Josh Binstock/Sam Schachter (24th).
Besides Brazil’s Larissa/Talita, the other women’s Olympic top 12 teams and their Olympic seeds entered in Long Beach are: USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross (third), Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (fourth), Canada’s Sarah Pavan/Heather Bansley (fifh), Australia’s Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy (seventh), Germany’s third-seeded Karla Borger/Britta Buthe (eighth), Italy’s Marta Menegatti/Laura Giombini (ninth), Switzerland’s Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre (10th), Spain’s fifth-seeded Liliana Fernancez/Elsa Baquerizo (11th) and Poland’s second-seeded Kinga Kolosinska/Monika Brzostek (12th).
The other Rio Olympics women’s teams and their Olympic seed entered in Long Beach are: USA’s Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat (13th), Argentina’s Ana Gallay/Georgina Klug (14th), Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr (17th), Netherlands’ Jantine vander Vlist/Sophie van Gestel (20th), Czech Republic’s Marketa Slukova/Barbora Hermannova (23rd) and Russia’s Ekaterina Birova/Evgeniya Ukolova (24th).
Venezuelan Olympian Olaya Pazo will also be playing in Long Beach, but instead of her normal teammate Norisbeth Agudo, Pazo will be teamed with her sister Rebeca Pazo.
FIVB LONG BEACH GRAND SLAM PURSE/POINTS
The gold medal teams at the FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam will split $57,000 and 800 points, the silver $43,000 and 720 points, the bronze $32,000 and 640 points and fourth place $24,000 and 560 points.
MEN’S POINTS/EARNINGS
After 20 men’s events on the 2016 FIVB World Tour, Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins have moved all the way to the top of the FIVB World Tour point standings with 5,270 points in 12 events while USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena are second with 5,070 points in just 10 events. Third is Italy’s Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri duo is second with 5,060 points. Fourth is Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak with 4,760 and fifth is USA’s John Hyden/Tri Bourne with 4,710 points. Sixth is Mexico’s Lombardo Ontiveros/Juan Virgen with 4,430 points while seventh is Canada’s Ben Saxton/Chaim Schalk with 4,400 points, eighth is USA’s Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson with 4,300 points, ninth is Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen with 4,300 points and 10th with 4,140 points in just seven events is Brazil’s Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt.
In the 2016 FIVB World Tour men’s season earnings after 20 events, Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins have climbed to the top of the money list with $217,875 in 12 events. Second is Brazil’s Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt with $206,000 in just seven events, third is USA’s Dalhausser/Lucena with $188,000, Brazil’s Pedro Solberg/Evandro Goncalves tandem is fourth with $166,0, and fifth is Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen with $148,375. Sixth is Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak with $139,750, Tied for seventh with $132,375 each are Brazil’s Saymon Barbosa/Gustavo Carvalhaes and Canada’s Ben Saxton/Chaim Schalk, ninth is USA’s Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson with $124,125, and 10th is Netherlands’ Reinder Nummerdor/Christiaan Varenhorst with $120,125.
WOMEN’S POINTS/EARNINGS
For the women after 17 events on the 2016 FIVB World Tour, Germany’s Ludwig/Walkenhorst remain on the top rung on the ladder with 5,980 points in only 11 events. Moving up to second with 4,800 is Germany’s Julia Sude/Chantal Labourer, third with 4,730 is USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross while fourth with 4,700 points is Germany’s Karla Borger/Brita Buthe and Germany’s Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler duo is fifth with 4,620 points, Sixth is Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca with 4,340 in just eight events. Seventh is Italy’s Marta Menegatti/Viktoria Orsi Toth tandem with 4,260 points, eighth with 4,110 points is Switzerland’s Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Vergé-Dépré, ninth is Argentina’s Ana Gallay/Georgina Klug with 3,970 points and 10th with 3,950 points is Spain’s Elsa Baquerizo/Liliana Fernandez.
In the 2016 FIVB World Tour women’s season earnings after 17 events, Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst remain in the top spot with $282,375 in earnings in just 11 events while second is USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross with $217,000 in just eight events, third with $210,000 in just eight events as well is Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca, fourth with $139,250 is Germany’s Julia Sude/Chantal Laboureur and fifth with $138,875 is Germany’s Karla Borger/Britta Buthe. Sixth with $127,000 is Canada’s Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan, seventh is Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkner with $111,150, eighth is Spain’s Elsa Baquerizo/Liliana Fernandez wih $102,000, ninth with $99,000 is Brazil’s Eduarda Lisboa/Elize Maia and 10th with $98,375 is Netherlands’ Madelein Meppelink/Marleen Van Iersel.
ON THE HORIZON
Brazil is hosting five international events in 2016. In addition to Maceió, Rio, Vitoria and Fortaleza, the Brazil events will be capped with the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Aug. 6-18). After the Swatch A1FIVB Klagenfurt Major two weeks ago, one more event remains on the 2016 FIVB World Tour schedule followed by the finals.
Following the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, there are two more events scheduled on the 2016 FIVB World Tour calendar. First event scheduled is in the United States--the ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball at the $800,000 FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam (Aug. 23-28, Southern California) and the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals (Sept. 13-18, Toronto, Canada). The Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals, with $100,000 going to each winning team, will feature the top eight point leaders in each gender from the current FIVB World Tour plus four wild card teams in each gender.
GROWING HISTORY
The ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball at the $800,000 FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam in the United States will be the 350th men’s tournament since the FIVB began play in 1987 and the 311th FIVB women’s tournament since their competition started in 1992.
FIVB 2016
Based in Lausanne, Switzerland as the international governing body for the Olympic sports of Beach Volleyball and Volleyball, the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball calendar features a purse of US$8.25 million with a season that extends from last October to this October, competing at 22 venues in 12 countries. The schedule includes four FIVB Grand Slams, four Swatch FIVB Major Series events, 13 FIVB Opens and the special Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals. The showcase event will be the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil (Aug. 6-18).
The 2015 portion of the 2016 FIVB World Tour calendar started in October in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and included two more open events prior to the remainder of the schedule resuming at the FIVB Kish Island Open in Iran in February.
FIVB EVENT FORMAT
Implemented in 2013, the format of all the FIVB Beach Volleyball international tournaments – whether FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam or FIVB Beach Volleyball Open – are the same, featuring pool play followed by single elimination knockout rounds. Country Quota playoffs returned as needed in 2015 to determine the final teams for the qualification tournament.