32 Countries to compete in SWATCH FIVB World Championships in Stavanger

June 11, 2009

Ingrid Tørlen and Nila Håkedal are Norway's "hope" in Stavanger. Photo: www.vmstavanger.com.

Led by Beach Volleyball pairs from Brazil, Germany and the United States, a total of 96 teams from 32 countries and all five confederations have been seeded for the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships presented by ConocoPhillips to be held June 25 through July 5 in Stavanger, Norway.

The seed lists for the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships were announced Thursday June 11 with FIVB President Jizhong Wei present along with Angelo Squeo, the FIVB’s Beach Volleyball Director, and two members of the Norwegian organizing committee – Bjørn Maaseide and David Cox.

“We are looking forward to the competition with a world class field competing for the prestigious gold medals on the unique dock-side setting in Norway,” said President Wei. Squeo praised the Norwegian organizers for “developing a fantastic setup for the event. This will be the best world championships despite the economic crises. It will be an exciting 11 days in Stavanger.”

Maaseide, who has been instrumental in the development of Beach Volleyball since the mid-1990s and the chief architect of Stavanger stop on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour since 1999, calls it “an all-out effort to produce a world class event. No host committee has worked harder to put together an event. With today’s announcement, the Beach Volleyball fans know the teams and initial pairings for the opening phase of the competition. Stavanger has been a fixture on the world tour for the past 10 years and this year’s event will showcase Norway and Beach Volleyball world-wide.”

Featuring US$1-million in prize money, the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships will have 48 men’s and 48 women’s teams competing on the courts on the Vaagen Harbour docks as Stavanger hosts a SWATCH FIVB World Tour event for the 11th-straight season.

The seeding of the SWATCH FIVB World Championships which took place at the FIVB Headquarters was attended by the promoter Bjorn Maaseide, the FIVB President Jizhong Wei and the Beach Volleyball Department Director Angelo Squeo.

The seeding of the SWATCH FIVB World Championships which took place at the FIVB Headquarters was attended by the promoter Bjørn Maaseide, the FIVB President Jizhong Wei and the Beach Volleyball Department Director Angelo Squeo. Photo: International Volleyball Federation.

The 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships features pool play matches June 25 through July 1 to set the field for the 32-team single-elimination brackets where play begins July 2. The women’s medal matches will be July 4 followed by the men’s podium placement matches July 5. The winning teams will share the $60,000 first-place prizes.

The pool play match schedule will be announced on Friday as the ninth-seeded Norwegian team of Nila Ann Hakedal and Ingrid Torlen will play the opening match June 25 during the opening ceremonies against 40th-seeded Stine Andreasen and Lotte Vestergaard of Denmark. The match will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Over 64,000 tickets have already been sold for the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships. A “World Championship Pass” is available which offers a 35% discount off the normal price of each ticket. A wide range of accommodations are still available (booking code JBG999).

For more information, please visit the event web site at www.vmstavanger.com.

Source: International Volleyball Federation