Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 26, 2012 – Returning to the same venue in back-to-back years for the first time, Canada returns to the international stage this week as Halifax hosts the 2012 FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH Junior World Championships for players under the age of 21. This year’s 12th annual double-gender event starts Wednesday in Halifax, a regional municipality of over 300,000 residents located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada.
The world championship event will be held through Sunday (Sept. 2) at the purpose-built beach volleyball complex on the Salter Lot of the Halifax Waterfront. This is the not only the second time in the event’s 12-year history that it is being held in North America, but also the second straight year in Halifax.
Gathered in Halifax for this year’s event are 81 teams (41 men and 40 women) from 34 countries. With 32 teams in each gender qualified into their respective main draws, the additional teams for each gender are reserve teams if needed to complete the respective 32-team fields. This is the first time in event history that a 32-team main draw field is being used for the competition.
The 32 teams will be divided into eight four-team pools for round-robin play of three matches per team. The women will begin with two rounds on Wednesday and one on Thursday, while the men will have two rounds on Thursday and one on Friday.
The top three teams in each pool (24 total) will advance to the single-elimination bracket phase of the tournament. The women will begin their single elimination phase with two rounds on Friday followed by the women’s quarterfinals and semifinals on Saturday. Men will play their first elimination round on Friday, followed by the second round and quarterfinals on Saturday and the semifinals on Sunday morning.
The bronze and gold medal matches for each gender will be held on Sunday event at the SEA stadium center court.
A total of 2,000 tons of special sand have been transported to the Salter Sand complex to build the four competition and two practice courts for the venue, which includes the 2,000-seat stadium center court. Single day or all-tournament tickets for the event are on sale through the event website at www.sandjamhalifax.ca. Event information is available at 902.444.3773. Children, five and under, are free for the entire event when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
“These events have been critical to create a new generation of Beach Volleyball athletes,” said Angelo Squeo, the FIVB Beach Volleyball Events Director. “In a few years, these players will challenge for FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour medals and vie for berths in future Olympic Games. The winners of these events will also be rewarded by the FIVB and the respective organizers with wild cards and free transportation to take part in the main draw of a FIVB SWATCH World Tour event in 2012 or 2013.”
Countries represented in Halifax at the 12th anniversary of this event are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Burundi, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Poland, Russia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, United States and Venezuela.
A total of 12 of those countries are participating in this event for the first time: Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Israel, Nigeria, Peru, Republic of South Africa, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Togo
Among the men’s teams are 20 men’s players (six teams and eight other players) who played in last year’s FIVB SWATCH Junior World Championships in Halifax, including Canada’s Garrett May who with then teammate Sam Schachter won the gold medal in 2010 in Alanya, Turkey and finished fourth last year in Halifax with Dany Demyanenko. This year May will be playing with Dallas Keith.
The top returning men’s team from last year championship in Halifax is Poland’s silver medalists Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak, who also won the gold medal at the 2010 FIVB SWATCH Youth World Championship in Porto, Portugal.
A total of 11 women’s players (one team along with nine other players) from last year’s event are in Canada this year along. Switzerland’s Nina Betschart, who won the gold medal last year in Halifax with Joana Heidrich, will be playing this year with Anouk Verge-Depre. Verge-Depre, who finished fifth in the 2009 youth worlds in Alanya, Turkey, has played in 11 FIVB SWATCH World Tour events, including seven this season.
Another one of the top women’s entries is USA’s Summer Ross, who won the inaugural USA national collegiate sand volleyball pairs championship this past spring. Ross, who is playing with Sara Hughes in Halifax, was a double gold-medal winner in 2010, winning the youth world championship with Jane Croson in Porto, Portugal and the junior worlds with Tara Roenicke in Alanya, Turkey.
Ross is the only player in FIVB history who has pulled off that double victory. Ross missed last year’s event in Halifax while competing for in the indoor volleyball team at the University of Washington where after the season she transferred to Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. to play in the inaugural collegiate season of sand volleyball, helping lead her team to an undefeated national championship with a perfect 17-0 team record.
Among the other top returning women’s players is Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes who won the silver medal in Halifax last year with Victoria Altomare. Humana-Paredes is playing this year’s event with Taylor Pischke.
A founding province of Canada, Nova Scotia is nearly surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, and is known for its high tides, lobster, fish, blueberries and apples. Halifax was the site of the first British town in Canada, founded in 1749. Since then, the area has evolved to be home for charming fishing villages, farming communities and Atlantic Canada's largest city. Halifax, the gateway to Atlantic Canada, has flourished as a prominent port city. Halifax was founded in 1749 by Governor Edward Cornwallis and 2,500 settlers to act as a naval and army base to protect the area, creating Canada’s first permanent British town on the world’s second-largest natural harbor. The peninsula, which Halifax is located on, is 4.5 miles wide and two miles long.
As the host nation, Canada has two men’s teams and three women’s teams qualified into their respective 32-team fields. In addition to defending champion May and new teammate Keith, the other men’s teams in the field of 32 is Nick Del Bianco/Ben Chow, who finished ninth in Halifax last year. Besides Humana-Paredes and new teammate Pischke, the two other women’s teams representing Canada are Julia Hamer/Charlotte Sider and Sophie Bukovec/Julie Longman.
Besides Canada’s May and Poland’s Kantor/Losiak, another top individual in the men’s field is Brazil’s Marcus Carvalhaes, who won the bronze medal in Halifax last year with Vitor Felipe. This year in Halifax, Carvalhaes will be playing with his brother Gustavo Carvalhaes.
In addition to USA’s Ross and Canada’s Humana-Paredes, among the top women’s players In Halifax is Germany’s Christine Aulenbrock who won the women’s gold medal at the 2009 FIVB SWATCH Youth World Championships in Alanya with Victoria Bieneck. Aulenbrock, who finished fifth in Halifax last year with Isabell Schneider, is teamed this year with Kim Behrens.
Both finishing in ninth place in Halifax last year with different partners, teamed together this year are Russia’s Ekaterina Karapischenko, 19, and Ksenia Dabizha, 18, both veteran international players despite their young ages. Karapischenko won the silver medal in 2009 (Alanya, Turkey) and 2010 (Poroto, Portugal), the bronze in 2008 (the Hague, Netherlands) and finished ninth in 2007 (Myslowice, Poland) at the FIVB SWATCH Youth World Championships as well as a 25th (Modena, Italy) at the FIVB SWATCH Junior World Championships.
Dabizha, on the other hand, won the bronze medal (Larnaka, Cyprus) in 2012 and had ninth place finishes in 2010 (Porto, Portugal) and 2011 (Umag, Croatia) at the FIVB SWATCH Youth World Championships.
Another talented team in this year’s women’s field is Austria’s Lena Plesiutschnig/Katharina Schutzenhofer, who won the silver medal in 2011 (Umag, Croatia) at the FIVB SWATCH Youth World Championships.
Another of the experienced female players is Poland’s Katarzyna Kociolek who won the gold medal (Umag, Croatia) in 2011 and the silver medal (Larnaka, Cyprus) with Karolina Baran. Baran was a late withdrawal a few days ago and Kociolek’s teammate in Halifax with be Jagoda Gruszczynska. Kociolek and Gruszcyznska teamed together to win a gold medal twice this summer, at the under-20 European Championships in Austria and at the under-18 European Championships in the Czech Republic.
In the previous 11 FIVB SWATCH Junior World Championships, Brazilians have captured three men’s and six women’s titles. Pablo Herrera, who won the 2002 U-21 title for Spain with Raul Mesa, captured the silver medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games with Javier Bosma. Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs, the 2005 U-21 champions from Latvia, placed ninth at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and Plavins won the bronze medal and the London 2012 Olympic Games with Janis Smedins. The Latvians upset eventual 2008 Olympic gold medal winners Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States in their first Beijing match. Brazilian Pedro Salgado, the 2008 FIVB Swatch World Tour champions with Harley Marques, captured the 2003 and 2006 U-21 titles with Pedro Cunha and Bruno Oscar Schmidt, respectively.
Overall, Brazil leads in all-time final four finishes at the FIVB SWATCH Junior World Championships with 19 total (9 men’s and 10 women’s) and in gold medals with three men’s and six women’s competition. Second in men’s final four finishes is Germany with six and second in women’s final four finishes is the Netherlands with seven (including one gold medal).
Produced by Canada’s Sports and Entertainment Atlantic (SEA) in association with Volleyball Canada and the Lausanne, Switzerland-based Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), more information is available at www.fivb.org or www.sandjamhalifax.ca. FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH Junior World ChampionshipsAll-Time Final Four Placements (thru 2011)Men Gold Silver Bronze Medals 4ths Final 4sBrazil 3 3 2 8 1 9Germany 0 1 2 3 3 6Spain 2 2 0 4 0 4Poland 1 2 1 4 0 4Russia 0 0 3 3 1 4Italy 2 0 1 3 0 3Latvia 1 1 0 2 1 3Canada 1 0 0 1 1 2Netherlands 0 1 0 1 1 2Austria 0 0 1 1 0 1Czech Rep 0 0 1 1 0 1Ukraine 1 0 0 1 0 1Venezuela 0 1 0 1 0 1France 0 0 0 0 1 1Greece 0 0 0 0 1 1San Marino 0 0 0 0 1 1
Women Gold Silver Bronze Medals 4ths Final 4sBrazil 6 0 3 9 1 10Netherlands 1 2 3 6 1 7Switzerland 1 1 0 2 3 5Germany 0 3 0 3 1 4Czech Rep 0 0 2 2 1 3Poland 1 0 1 2 1 3Russia 1 1 1 3 0 3United States 1 0 0 1 0 1Australia 0 1 0 1 0 1Canada 0 1 0 1 0 1France 0 1 0 1 0 1Italy 0 1 0 1 0 1Austria 0 0 1 1 0 1Greece 0 0 0 0 1 1Mexico 0 0 0 0 1 1Spain 0 0 0 0 1 1
2012 FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH Junior World ChampionshipsAugust 29 – September 2 – Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaMen’s Entry List (as of 26/08/12)A total of 41 men’s teams from 31 countries have officially qualified for the 2012 men’s FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH Junior World Championships for players under 21 years old.Team, CountryMateo Iwanowski/Lisandro Rouzic, ArgentinaNicholas Anstey/Hamish Moore, AustraliaChristoph Dressler/Lorenz Petutschnig, AustriaMarcus Carvalhaes/Gustavo Carvalhaes, BrazilYvan Dukondaine/Briand Mugabowingabo, BurundiBen Chow/Nick Del Bianco, CanadaDallas Keith/Garrett May, CanadaRoberto Frazzoni/Felipe Gomez, ChileMax Andre Adjoua/Aquilas Kobon, Cote d’IvoireJosue Flores/Andres Flores, Costa RicaEsteban Cleyton/Jose Parada, CubaOndrej Benes/Ondrej Perusic, Czech RepublicLuis Adames/Julio Romano, Dominican RepublicFabian Schmidt/Dominik Stork, GermanyPius Setor/Aaron Djarnie, GhanaAxel Mendez/LuisOrellana, GuatemalaNetanel Ohana/Alon Sanderovich, IsraelSergey Bogatu/Viadislav Pustynnikov, KazakhstanArmands Abolins/Haralds Regza, LatviaRicardo Galindo/Juan Revuelta, MexicoRunar Sannarnes/Andreas Takvam, NorwayDiego Diaz/Jose Vargas, PeruPiotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak, PolandAndrey Bolgov/Artem Kucherenko, RussiaIshmail Bangura/Patrick Lombi, Sierra LeoneDean Layters/Carlos Van Nelson, South AfricaChristofer Levin/Manne Norman, SwedenMirco Gerson/Gabriel Kissling, SwitzerlandWichanon Saemee/Kitsada Sangam, ThailandAntoine Kossi/Edoe Kossi, TogoAlex Jones/Kyle Stevenson, United StatesJose Ruiz/Maikhol Salcedo, Venezuela
Men's Reserve Teams, CountryMartin Ermacora/Fabian Kandolf, AustriaRamon Gomes/Saymon Santos, BrazilLucas Coleman/Andrew Kocur, CanadaAaron Nusbaum/Grant O’Gorman, CanadaDavic Meder/Lorenz Schumann, GermanyMichal Bryl/Maciej Rudol, PolandVasili Andrianov/Viacheslav Kirienko, RussiaWeston Carico/Parker Kalmbach, United StatesGerardo Mendez/Vicente Salazar, Venezuela
Women’s Entry List (as of 26/08/12)A total of 40 women’s teams from 28 countries have officially qualified for the 2012 women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH Junior World Championships for players under 21 years old.Team, CountryMariafe Artacho/Taliqua Clancy, AustraliaLena Plesiutschnig/Katharina Schutzenhofer, AustriaDrussyla Costa/Rebecca Silva, BrazilSophie Bukovec/Julie Longman, CanadaJuia Hamer/Charlotte Sider, CanadaMelissa Humana-Paredes/Taylor Pischke, CanadaFrancine Morales/Valeria Valenciano, Costa RicaMailen Deliz/Leila Martinez, CubaEliska Galova/Tereza Vankova, Czech RepublicNairobi Agramonte/Diana Peguero, Dominican Rep.Christine Aulenbrock/Kim Behrens, GermanyAnika Krebs/Sandra Seyfferth, GermanyJosephine Akosua/Benedicta Adjei, GhanaNadia Galan/Ana Villagran, GuatemalaFatoume Chaloub/Nene Kante, GuineaYael Lotan/Viktoria Nesterov, IsraelLyubov Bogatu/Bkhtygul Samalikova, KazakhstanMaura Martinez/Claudia Rios, MexicoJummai Bitrus/Isabela Eyetsonetan, NigeriaIrmelin Sannarnes/Marie Tauboll, NorwayVivian Baella/Sandra Chumacero, PeruJagoda Gruszcynska/Katarzyna Kociolek, PolandAgata Oleksy/Paulina Stasiak, PolandKsenia Dabizha/Ekaterina Karapischenko, RussiaDenyse Mutatsipundu/Charlotte Nzayisenga, RwandaJosephine Sesay/Hawa Kargbo, Sierra LeoneChristin Decalme/Liezle Peterson, South AfricaSara Hellgren/Kristin Lind, SwedenNina Betschart/Anouk Verge-Depre, SwitzerlandSupattra Juajan/Prateep Kambut, ThailandSara Hughes/Summer Ross, United StatesNorisbeth Agudo/Cristel Gonzalez, Venezuela
Women's Reserve Teams, CountryEliza Hynes/Nicole Laird, AustraliaSaria Gschopf/Birgit Schottl, AustriaEduarda Lisboa/Juliana Simoes, BrazilSarah Gosselin/Myriam Halle, CanadaMeaghan MacDougall/Hillary Monette, CanadaKsenia Dyachuk/Ekaterina Makroguzova, RussiaKirby Burnham/Jace Pardon, United StatesGuadalupe Gonzalez/Gina Viva Andrade, Venezuela