With competitive and recreational sport slowly returning to action, the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) today confirmed a number of 1-star and 2-star Beach Volleyball World Tour events for later this summer.
The decision followed close consultation with the respective local event organisers and public health authorities, and will see tournaments in Ljubljana (Slovenia), Montpellier (France), Klaipeda (Lithuania), and Larnaka (Cyprus) go ahead with rigorous health measures in place, and if it is safe to do so. These events will provide beach volleyball players with the opportunity to revive the feeling of international competition which has been on hold since spring in light of the global coronavirus pandemic.
As such, international beach volleyball will return at the end of July in Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana, with a 1-star event due to run there from 30 July to 2 August. Earlier today, the CEV also published the respective event regulations and opened registration for teams.
The events in Klaipeda and Montpellier will be taking place as previously announced at the end of August. The men’s 1-star tournament in Montpellier will run from 25 to 29 August, while Klaipeda will host the very first World Tour on Lithuanian soil from 27 to 30 August for the highly anticipated 2-star women’s event.
In addition, Larnaka will host the last event, currently scheduled for the summer of 2020, on 18-20 September. The 2-star event, originally scheduled for July 2020, will see the Volleyball Family in Cyprus counting down the days until it can welcome elite women’s beach volleyball teams.
The return of beach volleyball action, which follows the effort by starting several national tours and domestic competitions across Europe earlier this month, is incredible news for beach volleyball players and fans alike.
Continued assessments will take place in regards to health and safety, international travel restrictions and policies. In addition, all of the events above will be held under strict guidelines on medical protocols and social distancing to ensure that the resumption of the World Tour takes place in a safe environment which is the highest priority for all parties involved.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the events due to take place in Ios (Greece), Bettystown (Ireland), Vaduz (Liechtenstein) and Sønderborg (Denmark) have announced the cancellation of these tournaments due to ongoing restrictions in their respective countries preventing the delivery of sports events and/or large gatherings.
Any further updates to the beach volleyball calendar will be shared at a later stage, and the updated beach volleyball calendar can be downloaded here.
The FIVB Ranking System has been frozen since 16 March 2020. The FIVB will continue to monitor all global travel restrictions and access to competitions ahead of every single World Tour stop. As the situation is constantly evolving , further announcements will be made in the coming weeks on the possible resumption of the Ranking System. This will depend on securing the fair access of all eligible participants to events, and details will be communicated in the Event Regulations of each scheduled event.
The FIVB will launch the application process for the 2020/2021 calendar by the end of June, and is aiming to feature as many 1 to 5-star events across the globe as possible. The revised terms and conditions for hosting FIVB World Tour events will also be communicated to all stakeholders and posted on the FIVB website.
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