Fort Lauderdale, USA, September 16, 2015 - The Beach Major Series will hold a media conference on Thursday, September 17 at 10.30 local time for the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals at the Fort Lauderdale Beach Park (1100 Seabreeze Boulevard, 33316) to formally announce the $500,000 inaugural event to be played September 29 through October 4.
Being staged at the same site as the event, the 10.30 media conference will feature remarks by Beach Major Company CEO Hannes Jagerhofer, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors' Bureau representatives Nikki Grossman and Carol Hudson, and Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber President & CEO Dan Linblade. The SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals are the culmination of the 2015 edition of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - the International Volleyball Federation's annual competition for the top beach volleyball athletes and teams in the world, featuring the top eight point leaders from the 2015 FIVB World Tour plus two wild cards in each gender.
Also participating in the media conference will be American players competing in the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals - Lauren Fendrick, Casey Patterson and April Ross. Patterson and two-time Olympian Jake Gibb will be the No. 1-seeded men's team in the event. Fendrick, who is a player's representative on the FIVB Beach Volleyball Commission, and Ross will be seeded first in the women's competition. Ross captured the silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games with Jen Kessy, who will also be playing in the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals with Emily Day. The second United States pair in the men’s event will be former Florida residents Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena. Dalhausser is a two-time Olympian and captured the gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Summer Games with Todd Rogers.
The media conference will be set amidst the backdrop of the 4,000-season stadium currently being constructed on Fort Lauderdale beach. After the opening remarks, Fendrick, Patterson and Ross will provide some friendly competition as internationally-ranked competitors on the FIVB World Tour hit the sand for a player exhibition, offering a preview of what’s to come and early access for visuals and interview.
Media interested in attending for coverage should contact Mallory McQuail (mallory@susanpenrod.com, 203/470-7569) of Susan Penrod PR for inquiries, to RSVP or for advance needs and onsite coordination.
The SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals for men and women will feature 10 teams per gender competing for the $100,000 first-place prizes - the biggest winner’s check ever for an international Beach Volleyball event. With a total of 20 two-person teams from eight countries participating (Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the United States), the six days of competition will feature both pool play and elimination rounds leading to October 4s finales at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park.
Reigning FIVB world champions Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt and Agatha Bednarczuk/Barbara Seixas of Brazil will be among the featured pairs in the competition. The two teams captured their world titles at the start of July in The Hague as The Netherlands hosted 2015 event at four sites in the European country featuring 48 teams per gender. Both Brazilian tandems also enter the Fort Lauderdale event as the top teams on the 2015 FIVB World Tour.
The new beach volleyball challenge system will also feature at the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals after the system was introduced at the Rio Open from September 2-6.