FIVB World Tour 2017

  • After a winter break the World Tour gets underway today in Fort Lauderdale, one of the earliest season starts ever. FIVB introduced a new structure, there are practically no more Grand Slams, they are replaced by 4- and 5-star events. As usual, there are a couple of question marks in the calendar, probably there are going to be a few dynamic changes on the run. The Finals location is a secret, Toronto hosted the event in 2016.


    The calendar can be found here.


    A lot of new teams will enter the 2017 season. Once the Olympic cycle is over, now is probably the best time for players to look for new partners. Some of the more interesting pairs include Ricardo-Harley, Gibb-Taylor Crabb, Rosenthal-Trevor Crabb, Patterson-Brunner, Pedro-Gut Carvalhaes, Evandro-Andre Loyola, Krasilnikov-Lyamin, Seidl-Winter, Alvaro Filho-Saymon, Walkenhorst-Matysik, Fijalek-Bryl, Prudel-Kujawiak.

  • Unlike last year's eclipse when it came to the Swatch Major Series videos, this year they have made broadcasting available. You just need to register on their online platform here and you will have access to the video coverage, both live and on-demand. They use the Laola player so you can even download matches the same way you would on Laola. This is a big step forward, I believe. I hope normal World Tour events will also be available on YouTube as in previous seasons.

  • Fort Lauderdale Major, 5 stars, USA


    7 - 11 February


    Semifinals:


    Lucena-Dalhausser (USA) - Evandro-Andre (BRA) 0-2 (16-21, 19-21)
    Alvaro Filho-Saymon (BRA) - Hyden-Doherty (USA) 2-0 (21-16, 21-9)


    Bronze medal match:


    Lucena-Dalhausser (USA) - Hyden-Doherty (USA) 2-1 (14-21, 21-13, 15-10)


    Final:


    Evandro-Andre (BRA) - Alvaro Filho-Saymon (BRA) 0-2 (15-21, 17-21)


    Volleycountry's report: link

  • I had no idea that the Rankings is based on the past 365 days, I was thinking it would reset and start from 0 every season.
    That`s why it never made sense to me, I would look at it and some teams that were winning a lot were not on the top and I would not get why? But now I know why!.

  • I had no idea that the Rankings is based on the past 365 days, I was thinking it would reset and start from 0 every season.
    That`s why it never made sense to me, I would look at it and some teams that were winning a lot were not on the top and I would not get why? But now I know why!.

    I found out that recently, too. However, if I recall correctly, it hasn't always been the case. I think the Olympic beach volleyball season which started at the end of 2015 saw teams gather points from scratch. Or even if I am wrong about that, I clearly remember a season when the Grimalt cousins were leading at the beginning of the year due to some South American events during almost complete absence of World Tour events by the time.


    Anyway, it is true for 2017 and there were Brazilian qualifiers for newly formed teams in order to get the right to participate in Fort Lauderdale.

  • Kish Island, 3 stars, Iran


    15 - 18 February


    Semifinals:


    Kantor-Losiak (POL) - Stoyanovskiy-Yarzutkin (RUS) 2-0 (21-13, 21-17)
    Schümann-Thole (GER) - Lyamin-Krasilnikov (RUS) 0-2 (19-21, 15-21)


    Bronze medal match:


    Stoyanovskiy-Yarzutkin (RUS) - Schümann-Thole (GER) 2-1 (13-21, 21-17, 15-7)

    Final:


    Kantor-Losiak (POL) - Lyamin-Krasilnikov (RUS) 1-2 (21-18, 19-21, 8-15)

    Volleycountry' report: link


    Windy conditions in Iran, the newly-formed Russian pair Lyamin-Krasilnikov got accustomed better. Krasilnikov's serves and defense were crucial for the outcome in the second and third set. Also, a less known German team broke into the semis by beating fellow compatriots Böckermann-Flüggen. Sometimes you have the feeling that Germany could send any two beach volleyball players to an event and they might still make it to the medal games :D

  • Also, a less known German team broke into the semis by beating fellow compatriots Böckermann-Flüggen. Sometimes you have the feeling that Germany could send any two beach volleyball players to an event and they might still make it to the medal games :D

    Really happy for Lorenz and Julius that they could achieve such a good result. They are not part of the federation's newly founded trainings group and accordingly lack of financial and organisational support. Very important for them to gain ranking points and a decent price money :thumbup:
    While we might see some german podiums on 2 or 3 star tournaments, i am not so optimistic about the higher level tournaments. There is clearly a lack of excellence on the german side and apart from Böckermann/Flüggen, most teams will even struggle to qualify for the top tournaments.



    Evandro-Andre (BRA) - Alvaro Filho-Saymon (BRA) 0-2 (15-21, 17-21)

    Alvaro Filho and especially Saymon were really on fire and a joy to watch in this match. If they keep this level they will surely add some great results this season.

  • Really happy for Lorenz and Julius that they could achieve such a good result. They are not part of the federation's newly founded trainings group and accordingly lack of financial and organisational support. Very important for them to gain ranking points and a decent price money :thumbup:
    While we might see some german podiums on 2 or 3 star tournaments, i am not so optimistic about the higher level tournaments. There is clearly a lack of excellence on the german side and apart from Böckermann/Flüggen, most teams will even struggle to qualify for the top tournaments.

    Well, it is difficult to compare every new team to Brink-Reckermann, a partnership that conquered everything in men's beach volleyball. Besides, the game's geography has changed since then. I agree that not all German teams are of top quality, yet they seem to always produce some talented youngsters who keep winning matches, medals, and points. Perhaps they do indeed shine in less important tournament but these provide a perfect ground for development towards the bigger events. Böckermann-Flüggen also started winning medals on such and they developed pretty well. Besides, there are always surprises and quite often we've seen Germany as cause for those surprises. Last, who cares if they win mostly in 1, 2, or 3-star events after the Brink-Reckermann era? It shows there are still a number of good, above-average German teams and it is more than enough, in my opinion.


    The problem seems to be with the lack of money for volleyball/beach volleyball in the country, not that much with the quality of those who practise it.

    Alvaro Filho and especially Saymon were really on fire and a joy to watch in this match. If they keep this level they will surely add some great results this season.

    Agree. Purely in terms of game display and qualities, these two have potential, no question about it. However, let's have in mind the fact that Brazilians have geographical/meteorological advantages when it comes to off-season (in the span November-February) preparation. Also, a lot of teammates are still getting used to each other, not only Alvaro and Saymon, and some will even focus on the WCH in Vienna later this year. It's still a bit too early but it was a great achievement for their confidence and I am also eager to know how far they can go.

  • Well, it is difficult to compare every new team to Brink-Reckermann, a partnership that conquered everything in men's beach volleyball. Besides, the game's geography has changed since then.

    I don't think it is about comparing the new teams to Brink/Reckermann. No one is expecting that kind of success from any german team at the moment. But besides this, there always had been other teams who could deliver good results at the high level tournaments. I just don't see this happening at the moment and even mid-term.


    In this context, your second phrase is very true, there are many more nations now taking serious efforts on beach volleyball and therefore it is much harder to constantly deliver good results. The german federation tries to counter this development with a more centralised system, a bit similar to the "brazilian system" and finally is investing some money here. This may help the younger players/teams to reach the required level but imho, beside Böckermann/Flüggen, all other teams will struggle for a while to compete at highest level.


  • Are there any advantages of becoming a Laola1 premium member?
    As a non-premium member the Fort Lauderdale tournament does not show up in the Laola1 BVB archives.


    Thank you.


    The Fort Lauderdale tournament was part of the Swatch Major Series, thus you can only watch it (as of this year) on their website after you register here. The Swatch Major Series won't be shown on Laola1's website.


    As far as the premium account is concerned, I don't have much information. I don't know if the video quality available will be better, although I find the non-premium one great too, but what I know is that premium users don't get these annoying ads. It's not expensive and might be worth considering, but it surely depends on how often you watch Laola1 in general.

  • So World Tour final will take place in Hamburg 8)


    Thats great news for german male teams as they will have two secured spots for the tournament. Tbh, I don't think they would have qualified in a normal way.


    Personally, i will surely miss the action on the side courts as all matches will take place in the stadium. Last year it was such a pleasure to watch great teams from nearby. But you can't have it all and the big price money will surely secure a great competition and highly motivated teams. :thumbup:


    http://worldtour.2017.fivb.com…r-finals-head-to?id=66235

  • The Fort Lauderdale tournament was part of the Swatch Major Series, thus you can only watch it (as of this year) on their website after you register here. The Swatch Major Series won't be shown on Laola1's website.


    So the Swatch Major Series has live online video coverage. As does the Smart Beach Tour. And even some of the CEV Satellite events are available live and and on catchup with Laola1.


    So then on to one of the bigger events in the tournament the current 4-Star FIVB event in Rio de Janeiro and there is .... absolutely nothing. Save watching the scoreboard numbers slowly increase (Which is actually surprisingly exciting!)


    Perhaps part of the FIVB initiative to 'grow the game' could be to let fans SEE the game! Surely streaming a couple of static webcams can't be that expensive.


    [End of rant!] :wacko:

  • FIVB youtube channel will stream both men`s and women`s semi finals, bronze and gold medal games.


    Thank you rbdfabio, that's a good point, which I forgot to mention.


    However, if you follow a particular Country/Player/Partnership then just showing a couple of odd matches at the end of the tournament means that you probably won't see your Country/Player/Partnership play on court at all.

  • OK, time to resurrect the thread again, it has been silent for a while. Moscow has seen some great matches and especially finals for a few years now, this year's is no exception. Volleycountry's report you can find here. Great rallies and overall wonderful beach volleyball played at 12°C :|


    The more interesting part of the season is still ahead, although some events have been dropped from the calendar, thus making the season a bit shorter, favourites should start collecting more points with time, but as for now, most teams have ups and downs.


    How do you like the star structure and the new group format applied at 3 and 4-star events? I found the star structure a bit confusing, I am used to Grand Slams and Opens. I don't think this idea makes the Tour more attractive, besides events have been cancelled and some categories are barely represented. Regarding the number of pool matches, we have 4 now instead of 6, which reduces the number of encounters and gives teams fewer opportunities to make a mistake. It doesn't seem too weird, in my opinion, but as the level difference among top teams is decreasing, this formula doesn't favour surprises and lower-ranked teams as much as the old one. Besides, you know I am not a fan of formulas where rankings are made on a different basis for each team (because of different opponents).


    Generally speaking, FIVB's constant changes now affected beach volleyball as well, even if not directly concerning the game rules. Constant change has been proven wrong, I won't be surprised if they return the old structure back or if they further modify the ongoing one, making neutral spectators more confused.

  • OK, time to resurrect the thread again, it has been silent for a while. Moscow has seen some great matches and especially finals for a few years now, this year's is no exception. Volleycountry's report you can find here. Great rallies and overall wonderful beach volleyball played at 12°C :|

    I was told, they even had snow during some morning matches :white:


    How do you like the star structure and the new group format applied at 3 and 4-star events? I found the star structure a bit confusing, I am used to Grand Slams and Opens. I don't think this idea makes the Tour more attractive, besides events have been cancelled and some categories are barely represented. Regarding the number of pool matches, we have 4 now instead of 6, which reduces the number of encounters and gives teams fewer opportunities to make a mistake. It doesn't seem too weird, in my opinion, but as the level difference among top teams is decreasing, this formula doesn't favour surprises and lower-ranked teams as much as the old one. Besides, you know I am not a fan of formulas where rankings are made on a different basis for each team (because of different opponents).


    Generally speaking, FIVB's constant changes now affected beach volleyball as well, even if not directly concerning the game rules. Constant change has been proven wrong, I won't be surprised if they return the old structure back or if they further modify the ongoing one, making neutral spectators more confused.

    FIVB had initially planned a single-out mode for 3 and 4 star tournaments. So i think the group format which is applied now and secures at least two matches for all teams of main draw benefits the athletes much more. Travelling around the world with the risk of only having a single match just doesn't make sense.


    One of the biggest problems of the tour this year is that FIVB doesn't give any price money anymore and the organizers have to finance it all alone. Thats why we see far less high level tournaments than we had in recent years. A lot of organizers are just not able to find good paying sponsors. That, of course, affects the athletes too. Especially those who don't have big support from their federations.

  • Well... I think these "Star" system a bit confusing. It used to be much more simple.


    According to Alison, he had to play in Moscow just to get a few points because its needed 6 out of 8 best results. That's why we saw so many high level players there in Moscow.
    And the award prize money had dropped 6 times from 2016. I think is too expensive to travel and get nothing.


    And yes, there was snow :D

  • I double-checked it before posting here. Even like that it seems there is no mistake. Local football star Ivan Perisic will take part in the Porec Major this week and he will start right from the Main Draw! Obviously, it is purely an entertainment decision and I think it is fine :) However, I wonder if a volleyball player would ever be allowed to play football professionally just for the sake of entertaining the crowd. It is a rhetorical question, don't bother answering. Should be fun, though, Perisic's match is set to be tonight at around 9 o'clock.

  • The 8 participating teams for the World Tour Finals in Hamburg have been announced here. Those are Lucena-Dalhausser (USA), Evandro-Andre Loyola (BRA), Losiak-Kantor (POL), Lyamin-Krasilnikov (RUS), Alvaro Filho-Saymon (BRA), Nicolai-Lupo (ITA), Doppler-Horst (AUT), and Herrera-Gavira (ESP). There are still 4 wild card invitations to be sent, however, so the list is not complete.


    As weird as it may seem though, the reigning Olympic champions Alison-Bruno and the World Tour title holders Samoilovs-Smedins are not among the best 8 :| The Latvians are only 12th in the current World ranking, whereas Alison-Bruno are 7th, but they are only the third best Brazilian team this year. Samoilovs-Smedins are clearly struggling in 2017, not having won any medals so far. Alison-Bruno "only" won the Rio Open in May, which is way below their standards. Still, I get the feeling that, for the sake of the competition itself, both teams might receive wild cards. I just don't remember if they can allow three teams from the same country in the Finals. A German team should get at least one invitation, too, I presume, and the fourth berth is wide open. But a Canadian team (Pedlow-Schachter most probably) would deserve to be in Hamburg as well.