News 09/10/2015 Jalisco State Governor visits FIVB Puerto Vallarta Open Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, October 9, 2015 — Aristoteles Sandoval, governor of Mexico’s Jalisco state, paid a special visit Thursday evening to the FIVB Puerto Vallarta Open practically unannounced and without much fanfare. The double-gender $150,000 FIVB Puerto Vallarta Open is the season opening event on the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. The first of three tournaments on the 2015 portion of the 2016 FIVB World Tour schedule, it is being held through Sunday at the purpose-built event site on Playa Camarones. Back in Puerto Vallarta for the second straight year, the FIVB World Tour is visiting Mexico for the sixth time for men and the sixth time for women. Saturday’s schedule will include both the men and women’s quarterfinals and semifinals followed by the bronze and gold medal matches for each gender on Sunday.Governor Sandoval arrived at the stadium while Mexican women’s duo Bibiana Candelas and Ana Rios faced off against Rimke Braakman and Jolien Sinnema from the Nehterlands. Mexico lost 21-13 and 21-15 to their rivals, and while the governor cheered for the both teams, he amped up his enthusiasm whenever Mexico scored a point. “Jalisco is a state with a history of distinction is multiple sport disciplines and, of course, beach volleyball cannot be left out,” Gov. SandovaI said. “I believe the level in Jalisco is quite competitive and people always talk about the quality of our sporting events and this is clearly one of them. It is an honor for us in the state of Jalisco and the entire country of Mexico to have an FIVB World Tour event here in Puerto Vallarta.””The tournament was made possible with support of the state government and it’s important to continue celebrating this event since sports tourism is a great strategy for promoting Puerto Vallarta,” Mr. Sandoval added after enjoying the match and touring the venue.“We hope this event continues growing,” Mr. Sandoval said. “I would like to congratulate the organizers as well as those who have promoted this location since having a port city that offers sports attractions is a great combination. We will continue working hand in hand with the organizers and supporting them in whatever way we can.”“Yes, of course, we’ll continue working hard to support these initiatives,” expressed the governor when asked whether future editions of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Puerto Vallarta Open would be possible.Gov. Sandoval sat in the VIP section of the stadium, along with Teresita Marmolejo, president of the Puerto Vallarta chapter of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce, and Laura Almaral, general manager of the event.Mr. Miguel Castro Reynoso, state secretary of development and social integration and Mr. Sergio Ramirez Robles, state government delegate in Puerto Vallarta accompanied the governor during his visit. Print this Page News {{item.LocalShortDate}} {{item.Title}} All the News