At the end of 2014 FIVB released its first draft of beach volleyball events to follow in 2015. The FIVB World Tour calendar has been a subject of discussions over the last seasons and we have often witnessed changes even during an ongoing season. The 2015 preliminary plan makes no exception as it leaves some question marks about the course of events.

There is no hesitation that the highlights of the year will be marked by the World Championships in four Dutch cities from 26th June till 5th July. It will be the first ever World Championship to be held in more than one location, namely in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Apeldoorn and The Hague.

Another novelty will be the introduction of the World Tour Finals from 29th September till 4th October. After failing to realize the idea in the past two seasons due to various reasons, FIVB will launch this event in 2015. The points gained by participants will not be taken into consideration for the Olympic qualification rankings. It will feature the top 8 teams in the season standings and will probably act as an unofficial season finale, at least as far as big money, ranking points and Tour stars’ participation are concerned. The Finals’ format and location are yet to be determined. FIVB only confirmed the USA as an organizer.

The new Major Series have also been announced. Four tournaments offering the same monetary awards as any normal Grand Slam will be introduced. These shall be set in Croatia (Porec), Norway (Stavanger), Switzerland (Gstaad) and Germany (host to be decided). Problems have already arisen as the German Beach Volleyball Management has been experiencing difficulties in choosing a venue. Rumors rule out Berlin, a successful World Tour stop for many years, whereas the proposed city of Munich appears unwilling to offer finances for the World Tour.

The number of Grand Slams in 2015 will be 5, according to the last information bulletin. These include Russia (Moscow), USA (St. Petersburg), Japan (Yokohama), USA (Long Beach) and Poland (host to be announced). Brazil was initially announced as a Grand Slam organizer as well, but so far it seems there will be no South American stop in the new season. USA will have the honor to welcome the game’s finest athletes three times this summer because of the 2 Grand Slams and the Finals scheduled there.

Last, we will see two other cities with a World Tour debut. Istanbul in Turkey and the Swiss Lucerne will stage two Opens. The rest are planned at Fuzhou (China) – season opener on 21st April, Sochi (Russia), Xiamen (China), Puerto Vallarta (Mexico), Doha (Qatar) and Mangaung (South Africa).

The complete FIVB World Tour calendar can be found here.

Picture: FIVB