2014 FIVB World Championship - Poland - 8/30

Norceca First Round Group G May 18-20

POOL PLAY
Panama 0-3 Honduras (26-28, 21-25, 20-25)
El Salvador 3-0 Turks & Caicos (25-11, 25-8, 25-12)
Panama 3-0 Turks & Caicos (25-8, 25-6, 25-15)
El Salvador 2-3 Honduras (25-21, 33-31, 18-25, 14-25, 9-15)
Honduras 3-0 Turks & Caicos (25-10, 25-14, 25-17)
El Salvador 1-3 Panama (20-25, 25-23, 18-25, 20-25)

FINAL STANDINGS
1. Honduras, 13 pts
2. Panama, 9 pts
3. El Salvador, 8 pts
4. Turks & Caicos, 0 pts
Top 3 teams advanced to Second Round
5 pts, 3-0 win
4 pts, 3-1 win
3 pts, 3-2 win
2 pts, 2-3 loss
1 pt, 1-3 loss
0 pts, 0-3 loss

Quote from brahmin

4. Turks & Caicos, 0 pts

What is this country ?!

Quote from triglav_kran

What is this country ?!

It isn't a country. It's Britain dependent terirtory like Puerto Rico is Ameircan dependent territory or Martinique is French dependent territory.

Polish police to fight with corruption CBA visited today polish volleyball federation and 2 companies due to corruption scandal connected with choosing cities to organize World Champioships 2014 in Poland.

http://sport.onet.pl/siatkowka…,1,5147550,wiadomosc.html
http://aktualnosci.siatka.org/…m-zwiazku-pilki-siatkowej

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WCH 2014: No more wheeling and dealing

It is going to take a little longer, but there will be no speculations and tactical failures. We know the competition system which will be in force during 2014 World Championships in Poland.

It is supposed to be a Polish response to the 2010 World Championships in Italy - a tournament which ended in total embarrassment. The organizers prepared a peculiar competition formula, encouraging teams to lose games.

- Absurd, unjust, demotivating - that's how the then head coach of Poland, Daniel Castellani, spoke of this regulation monster. Castellani refused to speculate in Italy, which led to Poland's defeat. He later paid for that decision with his job.

Polish patent

The only team who could have seen any advantages of the Italian system were the hosts, who had treated themselves with an indecently easy path to the semifinal. They eagerly took advantage of it during the tourney, risking being ostracised by other participants. - This system is a dud. I have no idea how on earth FIVB could have agreed on something like that - president of the Polish Volleyball Federation, Miroslaw Przedpełski, said after the tournament was over. And so yesterday, with no hidden satisfaction, he introduced us to the regulations which will apply during the championships in Poland. - There is no perfect game system, but I am convinced that this one will prove itself good. It is our own idea and the world federation has already accepted it.

Polish scheme is largely based on a formula that was in force in Japan in 2006. There are only two novelties - first one is a group draw before the second phase of the tournament; second - an increase in the number of matches from 96 to 100 by adding the quarterfinals. The competition is going to look as follows: 24 teams will be divided into four groups (Poles will play in Wroclaw), which means that each squad is going to take on at least five opponents in the tournament. - It is a nod to the weaker teams that are going to drop out after the first phase of the competition. In Italy they played only three matches; here, they will stay a little longer - explains Przedpełski. The top four teams from each group will advance to the second phase, and they will retain their results achieved in matches against all other teams that still remain in the tourney. - This means that each and every game is important. You cannot afford to slip in the first stage of the tournament, because then your team may fail to collect enough points to advance to the quarterfinals - says former coach, Ireneusz Mazur.

In the second phase, two eight-team groups will be created (Poles are to play in Łódź), but there's a surprise. Before the World Championships, it will not be known in advance which groups are going to be joined together. The whole thing will be resolved by a draw. This idea was introduced in order to avoid accusations that the hosts had arranged themselves a route to the podium long before the tournament.

Close to the ideal

Four teams will advance to the quarterfinals, where they are later to face each other according to the key: E1 – F4, E2 – F3, E3 – F2 and E4 – F1. So at that point there will be no draw, unlike during the Olympic Games in London. Then, everything will go downhill - straight to semifinals and finals.

In total, medalists will have to play up to 12 matches, which is more than during the murderous World Cup. - It is going to be a very long tournament, so coach Andrea Anastasi must perfectly prepare the team for all difficulties of the event - says Mazur. He adds that this formula should minimize the risk of so-called "tactical defeats".

- We really do not need to worry about a replay from the Italian World Championships. It looks like there will be no need to face the dilemma of whether it is worth to win a game. Still, in the second phase of the tournament, some teams may want to choose a rival. But this cannot be avoided in any system. Even during the Olympic Games in London, where a draw before the quarterfinals was introduced, the Italians clearly wanted to "run into" Team USA. There is no such thing as a perfect formula. I hope ours is at least close to the ideal - Mazur ends.

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source: http://siatkowka.przegladsport…artykul,146774,1,282.html

I like the idea of making a draw before advancing to a next phase, and it's a good opportunity for the relatively weak teams to play more against strong teams by making the pools bigger in the first phase More importantly, the fans should be the ones who will be cheering when the number of matches increase...

If you read the entire article, you can clearly predict the bottom line - whenever there is Italy involved, there are match-fixing scandals

Now seriously, I was just joking with the sentence above, 12 games in a World Championship is too much in my opinion. I understand Poland is trying to create the ultimate system, maybe what they are suggesting right now is close enough, but still the number of games shouldn't be that high as the quality is what would be risked. I have always been in favour of the eliminations, no chance to do Math, maybe even 1/8-finals would be fine, but that's just my opinion.

Quote from YavorD

If you read the entire article, you can clearly predict the bottom line - whenever there is Italy involved, there are match-fixing scandals

Now seriously, I was just joking with the sentence above, 12 games in a World Championship is too much in my opinion. I understand Poland is trying to create the ultimate system, maybe what they are suggesting right now is close enough, but still the number of games shouldn't be that high as the quality is what would be risked. I have always been in favour of the eliminations, no chance to do Math, maybe even 1/8-finals would be fine, but that's just my opinion.

It is not that high. The World League plays 12 matches over 6 weeks. That is the only guaranteed international competition on an annual basis.

Olympics guarantee only 5, maybe 6, max 8. And that is every 4 years.

Most of the international matches are played within your region. Even then it is only every two years, excluding Europe's qualifying rounds.

Quote from YavorD

If you read the entire article, you can clearly predict the bottom line - whenever there is Italy involved, there are match-fixing scandals

You know, Italy has always been a mean opponent for us, there's much tension involved. Guess it is just tempting to snap back, even in a newspaper article

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12 games in a World Championship is too much in my opinion. I understand Poland is trying to create the ultimate system, maybe what they are suggesting right now is close enough, but still the number of games shouldn't be that high as the quality is what would be risked.

The idea of a cheating-free formula is one thing, but I sense that marketing considerations played a role here as well. I mean, being a true paradise for volleyball, Poland is the perfect country to 'use' for promoting the sport and making some extra money.

I can't see how even with this formula, cheating will be eliminated. Where there are combinators like some coaches and even former captains , there will always be calculations. The weak spot of this formula is the second round group stage, right before the 1/4 finals. The last match can decide whether you're 2nd or 3rd for example and if in the other group everything is clear, you can choose opponents. Ofc, this is just a possibility.

The bad thing is that there is a thin line between calculations and one-match deciders. What do I mean - if we play an elimination phase from the beginning, there is no risk of calculations. But then luck plays a huge part - who's gonna be your opponent and if your opponent is weaker than you, plays the match of their lives, eliminates you and then loses 3:0(-15 -15 -15) in the next phase. So if we remove such risks, we have to set more matches which will let some calculations in the whole picture again. I don't believe how the calculations and "luck"("one-match deciders" is better said) both can be eliminated. They seem to be inversely proportional.

Quote from brahmin

It is not that high. The World League plays 12 matches over 6 weeks. That is the only guaranteed international competition on an annual basis.

Olympics guarantee only 5, maybe 6, max 8. And that is every 4 years.

Most of the international matches are played within your region. Even then it is only every two years, excluding Europe's qualifying rounds.

The World League is played for one and a half months (approximately) during the summer, so teams can be involved in 12 up to 16 games each. How does it fit to a two-week competition? I totally see your point, but still think 12 is way too much. triglav_kran is right, we can't avoid both the groups and the eliminations, I never said the tournament should only be with a knock-out stage. You mentioned "luck" as an argument to play only one elimination game versus some random opponent (you are right, you can't just lose one game and go home at a WCH), but I give you "exhaustion" as an argument in a 12-match competition where you are exhausted by the time you reach the semis or the medal games. Anyway, there is no perfect formula, but what I wanted to say, maybe I wasn't understood at first, is that the Olympic formula appeals to me the best. And I am far away from saying that you can't cheat there.

Even during the Olympic Games in London, where a draw before the quarterfinals was introduced, the Italians clearly wanted to "run into" Team USA. " Italiand wanted to run into Germany and fought for the win vs Bulgaria.

Curious what will Media say, when after draw after group phase in one Group will be Teams from 3rd and 4th places and next group from 1st and 2nd.

I think the draw would mean that they just decide then which group will be "attached" to which , and oherwise the rest will stay the same.

So a team will not have the intention to be second in the group in order to avoid a strong team from an other group when they do not know yet against which group's teams they will have to play...(This is how I understand it.) So everything stays the same just you do not know till the last match finish in the group phase that the pool A will be joined with pool B or Pool C or pool D etc. So the draw is not for the teams but for the pools.

So it can't happen that "one Group will be Teams from 3rd and 4th places and next group from 1st and 2nd"

Quote from YavorD

The World League is played for one and a half months (approximately) during the summer, so teams can be involved in 12 up to 16 games each. How does it fit to a two-week competition? I totally see your point, but still think 12 is way too much.

WCH 2014 will be held from September 3 to 21. So, 19 days.

source: http://www.s-w-o.pl/index.php/polskie-prezentacje-w-anaheim/

NORCECA Group F June 7-8, 2012 hosted in British Virgin Islands
Pool Play
Dominica 3-2 St. Kitts & Nevis (25-13, 19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 17-15)
British Virgin Islands 3-0 Montserrat (25-14, 25-4, 25-14)
Dominica 3-0 Montserrat (25-7, 25-4, 25-14)
British Virgin Islands 0-3 St. Kitts & Nevis (11-25, 18-25, 11-25)
St. Kitts & Nevis 3-0 Montserrat (25-18, 25-10, 25-15)
British Virgin Islands 0-3 Dominica (16-25, 12-25, 20-25)

End of Pool Play Ranking
1. Dominica, 13 pts
2. St. Kitts & Nevis, 12 pts
3. British Virgin Islands, 5 pts
4. Montserrat, 0 pts

3RD PLACE
British Virgin Islands 3-0 Montserrat (25-12, 25-10, 25-21)

1ST PLACE
Dominica 3-2 St. Kitts & Nevis (25-22, 19-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13)

TEAMS ADVANCING TO SECOND ROUND
1. Dominica
2. St. Kitts & Nevis
3. British Virgin Islands

NORCECA Group H July 27-29, 2012 hosted in Costa Rica
Pool Play
Guatemala 3-0 Nicaragua (25-19, 25-15, 25-18)
Costa Rica 3-0 Belize (25-14, 25-18, 25-19)
Guatemala 3-0 Belize (25-16, 25-10, 25-7)
Costa Rica 3-0 Nicaragua (25-17, 25-21, 25-16)
Belize 0-3 Nicaragua (15-25, 11-25, 24-26)
Costa Rica 2-3 Guatemala (25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 25-18, 13-15)

End of Pool Play Ranking
1. Guatemala, 13 pts
2. Costa Rica, 12 pts
3. Nicaragua, 5 pts
4. Belize, 0 pts

TEAMS ADVANCING TO SECOND ROUND
1. Guatemala
2. Costa Rica
3. Nicaragua

NORCECA Group D August 31-September 2, 2012 hosted in French St. Martin
Pool Play
French St. Martin 3-0 Bermuda (25-23, 25-23, 27-25)
Dutch St. Maarten 0-3 Antigua & Barbuda (21-25, 26-28, 15-25)
Dutch St. Maarten 1-3 Anguilla (25-18, 23-25, 17-25, 21-25)
French St. Martin 1-3 Antigua & Barbuda (16-25, 25-21, 17-25, 16-25)
Anguilla 2-3 Antigua & Barbuda (16-25, 25-14, 25-20, 13-25, 10-15)
Dutch St. Maarten 3-1 Bermuda (25-18, 28-26, 21-25, 25-21)
Bermuda 1-3 Antigua & Barbuda (23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 19-25)
French St. Martin 3-1 Anguilla (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19)
Bermuda 3-2 Anguilla (16-25, 16-25, 28-26, 26-24, 15-10)
French St. Martin 3-1 Dutch St. Maarten (25-16, 20-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-12)

End of Pool Play Ranking (5,4,3,2,1,0 points system)
1. Antigua & Barbuda, 17 pts
2. French St. Martin, 13 pts
3. Anguilla, 9 pts
4. Dutch St. Maarten, 7 pts
5. Bermuda, 4 pts

TEAMS ADVANCING TO SECOND ROUND
1. Antigua & Barbuda
2. French St. Martin
3. Anguilla

NORCECA Group E October 6-7, 2012 hosted in Cayman Islands
Pool Play
Cayman Islands 0-3 Suriname (16-25, 23-25, 13-25)
Aruba 0-3 Barbados (10-25, 18-25, 14-25)
Suriname 1-3 Barbados (21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 19-25)
Cayman Islands 2-3 Aruba (17-25, 25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 10-15)
Suriname 3-2 Aruba (25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 15-9)
Cayman Islands 0-3 Barbados (17-25, 14-25, 20-25)

End of Pool Play Ranking (5,4,3,2,1,0 points system)
1. Barbados, 14 pts
2. Suriname, 9 pts
3. Aruba, 5 pts
4. Cayman Islands, 2 pts

3RD PLACE
Aruba 3-2 Cayman Islands (21-25, 25-20, 11-25, 25-16, 15-13)

1ST PLACE
Suriname 3-2 Barbados (25-22, 18-25, 15-25, 25-20, 15-12)

TEAMS ADVANCING TO SECOND ROUND
1. Suriname
2. Barbados
3. Aruba

NORCECA Group C November 3-4, 2012 hosted in Dominican Republic
Pool Play
Dominican Republic 3-0 Guadeloupe (25-12, 25-14, 25-10)
US Virgin Islands 0-3 Haiti (23-25, 17-25, 13-25)
US Virgin Islands 2-3 Guadeloupe (25-19, 17-25, 32-34, 25-20, 11-15)
Dominican Republic 3-0 Haiti (25-15, 25-17, 25-15)
Haiti 3-1 Guadeloupe (25-15, 20-25, 25-18, 25-15)
Dominican Republic 3-0 US Virgin Islands (25-9, 25-12, 25-10)

End of Pool Play Ranking (5,4,3,2,1,0 points system)
1. Dominican Republic, 15 pts
2. Haiti, 9 pts
3. Guadeloupe, 4 pts
4. US Virgin Islands, 2 pts

3RD PLACE
Guadeloupe 3-0 US Virgin Islands (25-23, 25-10, 25-20)

1ST PLACE
Dominican Republic 3-0 Haiti (25-14, 25-16, 25-21)

TEAMS ADVANCING TO SECOND ROUND
1. Dominican Republic
2. Haiti
3. Guadeloupe