Hagatna, Guam, March 6, 2020 - A total of 25 teams from seven countries have entered the fifth women's event on the 2019-2020 FIVB World Tour calendar. Pool play highlights Friday's schedule followed by elimination rounds Saturday and the final four matches Sunday where the winning pair shares the US$1,000 first-place prize.
Read more: USA, Japan pairs advance to main draw in Guam
The logo created for the international beach volleyball tournament for women has a special meaning for the island in the Pacific Ocean. Volleyball Federation president Herman Ada said the Guam Beach Cup 2020 logo is "simple but is a source of pride and meaning for us here on Guam."
Ada noted that "the stick figures may appear to be very simple, however they are immediately recognizable icons here on Guam. The stick figures are a representation of pre-contact Chamorro (the native inhabitants of island) cave art found in Gadao's cave here on Guam."
The Guam federation president explained that "Chief Gadao was a legendary warrior and had the reputation as the strongest man on the island, a Guamanian Hercules. This irked another chief named Malaguaña, who decided he would challenge Gadao. When the two met, Gadao kept his identity a secret and played a trick on Malaguaña. Gadao promised that he would take Malaguaña to the strong chief and that he would provide him with a meal after his journey. When Gadao began to prepare the meal, he squeezed milk out of a coconut with his bare hands. Malaguaña saw this and he exclaimed that if this man was so strong, imagine how strong his chief must be. The wily Gadao never revealed his name and Malaguaña went home crestfallen."
Ada said, "the shape in the logo is called a Sinahi, a Chamorro word that literally means crescent moon." At the 2018 FIVB World Congress in Cancun, Mexico, Ada wore a piece of jewelry at the event with the crescent shape carved from oyster shell. The Guam Volleyball president said that "in the older days, this type of jewelry was worn by the island's chiefs and high ranking clansmen."
Guam federation president Herman Ada at the 2018 FIVB World Congress