|
|
 |
| |
2005 SWATCH-FIVB Beach Volleyball World
Championships :
The World's Best Teams Start Meeting in Berlin
Berlin, Germany, June 22-: 48 Men and women teams when
they start to meet together on Wednesday to compete for
medals and places on the podium in the 2005 SWATCH-FIVB
Men's and Women's Beach Volleyball World Championships
on the Schlossplatz in Berlin. Total prize money of one
million dollars will be awarded in the competition in
both genders. Four years after the spectacular World
Championships in Austria, and two years after Rio de
Janeiro, the 2005 Beach Volleyball World Championships
will take place in the nerve centre and economic hub of
the new German capital.
Everyone is expecting Olympic Champions Emanuel Rego and
Ricardo Santos (Brazil) and Misty May and Kerri Walsh
(United States) to participate in this 5th edition of
the SWATCH-FIVB World Championships. These two duos made
headlines around the world in 2003 with their
performances on the sand in Rio. Brazil has earned six
gold medals in Beach Volleyball World Championships,
with the men winning in 1997, 1999, and 2003 and the
women in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
The SWATCH-FIVB Men's World Tour is returning to Berlin
for the tenth time. Host country Germany is looking to
repeat its 2004 success when Markus Dieckmann and Jonas
Reckermann won the gold medal in the German capital.
Germany is hoping to finally see one of its women's
teams up on the podium. Suzanne Lahme and Danja Musch
placed fourth in the 2004 Berlin stop.
The World Championships are also a huge party for Berlin
residents and visitors alike. Berlin schools will even
close for a day, so the school children can attend the
show. The social significance of the event has clearly
not escaped German Chancellor Gerhard Schrِder, who
showed his enthusiasm by accepting to be patron of the
2005 World Championships.
The FIVB President, Dr. Rubén Acosta, appreciated these
efforts. "The Beach Volleyball community is very
honoured that the German Chancellor has accepted to be
the patron of this major event. We are grateful to him
for that," said Dr. Acosta. Mr. Schrِder has stated his
intention of attending many matches of the competition.
The Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, was the first to
convince the City Hall - and Mr. Bِger, Minister of
Sports - to make every effort to bring Beach Volleyball
to the heart of Berlin.
The 2005 SWATCH-FIVB Beach Volleyball World
Championships are considered a part of the 2005 World
Tour. They are the FIVB's most important Beach
Volleyball competition after the Olympic Games. The
World Championships will be broadcast worldwide by more
than thirty TV networks, including Eurosport. The
stadium whose area is about 5,000-square meters can
accommodate 8,000 spectators. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
