2010 FIVB Men’s and Women’s Volleyball World Championships:

Italy gets ready to host Drawing of Lots: Record 214 national teams await outcome Lausanne, September 26, 2008 – The Drawing of Lots for the 2010 FIVB Men’s and Women’s World Championships’ preliminary rounds will take place in Turin, Italy, on Monday, September 29 at 4 p.m. local time. The first-, second- and third-round preliminary tournaments for what is set to be the most successful World Championships in FIVB history with a record 214 national teams registered to take part will run from December 2008 to August 2009. The women’s first-round tournaments in Europe, NORCECA and Asia are scheduled to be played during the first two weeks of December and the month of January, with the men’s first round in these three continents scheduled for the same period. As teams advance through the preliminary round tournaments, higher-seeded teams join in the qualification process at both the second- and third-round stage. The women’s second-round tournaments in all five continents will be held between May 15 and June 15, with the men’s held May 15-31. The women’s third round will be through June 19 to July 19, before the annual FIVB World Grand Prix, while the men’s third round is set for August 14-30, after the annual FIVB World League. The distribution of teams in each of the five continental pools is based upon the number of registered teams belonging to each continent, the teams’ FIVB world ranking as of January 5, 2008, and the zone in which teams belong. Six first-round, 12 second-round and 14 third-round tournaments will determine 22 of the 24 women’s teams advancing to the final round in Japan, while nine first-round, 12 second-round, 15 third-round tournaments will determine 22 of the 24 men’s teams for the final round in Italy. Japan as host and Russia as defending champions have directly qualified for the women’s final round, while Italy as host and Brazil as defending champions have automatically advanced to the men’s final round. In accordance with FIVB regulations, eight European, six NORCECA, four Asian, two South American and two African teams will advance to the women’s final round. For the men’s final round, eight European, five from NORCECA, four Asian, three African and two South American will advance Photo caption Hosni Karamosly (TUN) spikes against Steve Brinkman (CAN) during the 2006 World championship in Japan