latest update: 05/07/2003 14:21 +0300 ATHENS 2003 The FIVB Men's Beach Volleyball Challenger "Athens 2003" on August 19-24 will launch the new Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre in Athens, where a permanent stadium has been constructed. The FIVB Challenger tournament is being hosted by the Hellenic Volleyball Federation and the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games ATHENS 2004, and will be modelled on the competition format for the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games. A total of 24 teams will participate and there will be no qualification tournament. A maximum of two teams per national federation are allowed to enter. With the exception of host country Greece, only teams ranked from position 33 or lower in the FIVB World Ranking as of July 21, 2003 are eligible. In addition two wild cards will be awarded. For competing athletes, the event carries FIVB World Ranking points; however, they do not count towards Olympic qualification. The preliminary round consists of six pools of four teams each with the first two teams from each pool, plus the four best ranked third placed teams advancing to the Round of Sixteen. From then on, the competition will be single elimination right through to the final. A feature of the event, which will also apply for the Olympic tournament, will be evening sessions played under artificial lighting. The new Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre, situated in the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex in the Municipality of Kallithea and now in the final stages of completion, will have an eventual capacity for the Olympic Games of 10,000. The permanent seating capacity will be ready for the FIVB Challenger. Teams wishing to enter in the event should directly submit their Entry Forms through their NATIONAL FEDERATIONS to ATHOC Entries Department (fax. +30-210-3441 047).
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
