FIVB Men's/Women's Beach - June 19-21, 1998

SCHEDULE

19-21 JUNE - MAIN DRAW

Tues.  16 :Arrival of Qualification Tournament teams
                20:00 pm Technical Meeting for Qualification Tournament
                          at the official Hotel (Colony Hotel) 
                          (mandatory attendance) 
Wed.   17 :Qualification Tournament
  
Thurs. 18 :Qualification Tournament
                 Arrival of Main Draw teams
           20:00 pm Technical Meeting for Main Draw teams at the
                   official Hotel (Colony Hotel) (mandatory attendance)
Fri.   19 :Main Draw Men & Women (40 matches x 2)
           Departure of players not qualified for the Main Draw
Sat. 20 :   Main Draw Men & Women (18 matches x 2)
Sun. 21:   Semifinals & Finals Men & Women (4 matches x 2)
Mon 22 :   Departure

  *All matches, including the final match, will be played in FORMAT A (
  1 game to 15 points with a 2 point lead. If there is a 16-16 tie, the
  team that scores the 17th point wins the set and the match with a
  one-point lead only.)

RESULTS - MEN

Rk. Players Country Points Prize (US$) Bonus (US$) 1 Martinez-Conde ARG 340 20,000.00 12,000.00 2 Emanuel-Loiola BRA 306 13,000.00 10,000.00 3 Bosma-Diez ESP 272 8,000.00 7,000.00 4 Kvalheim-Maaseide NOR 238 6,000.00 6,000.00 5 Zahner-Prosser AUS 204 4,500.00 4,500.00 M.Laciga-P.Laciga SUI 204 4,500.00 4,500.00 7 Gatzke-Lewis Dan CAN 170 3,000.00 3,000.00 Blanton-Fonoimoana USA 170 3,000.00 3,000.00 9 Paulo Emilio-Paulão BRA 136 2,500.00 2,000.00 Child-Heese CAN 136 2,500.00 2,000.00 Dieckmann Ch.-Dieckmann M. GER 136 2,500.00 2,000.00 Sinjin Smith-Luyties USA 136 2,500.00 2,000.00 13 Leinemann-Holden CAN 102 2,000.00 1,200.00 Ahmann-Hager GER 102 2,000.00 1,200.00 Lione-Ghiurghi ITA 102 2,000.00 1,200.00 Henkel-Wong USA 102 2,000.00 1,200.00 17 Salema-Baracetti ARG 68 1,500.00 500.00 Fred-Jan BRA 68 1,500.00 500.00 Pará-Guilherme BRA 68 1,500.00 500.00 Olejnik-Dunn CAN 68 1,500.00 500.00 Kubala-Palinek CZE 68 1,500.00 500.00 Pakosta-Dzavoronok CZE 68 1,500.00 500.00 Jodard-Penigaud FRA 68 1,500.00 500.00 Maia-Brenha POR 68 1,500.00 500.00 25 Perez-Guemberena ARG 34 1,000.00 400.00 Blasi-Cadieux CAN 34 1,000.00 400.00 Guissart-Deulofeu FRA 34 1,000.00 400.00 Raffaelli-Pimponi ITA 34 1,000.00 400.00 Kjemperud-Hoidalen NOR 34 1,000.00 400.00 Seuseu-Eade NZL 34 1,000.00 400.00 Velasco-De Jesus PUR 34 1,000.00 400.00 Kouchnerev-Karasev RUS 34 1,000.00 400.00

RESULTS - WOMEN

Rk. Players Country Points Prize (US$) Bonus (US$) 1 Sandra Pires-Adriana Samuel BRA 340 16,000.00 16,000.00 2 Adriana Behar-Shelda BRA 306 10,400.00 12,600.00 3 Arce-McPeak USA 272 6,400.00 8,600.00 4 Fontana-Hanley USA 238 4,800.00 7,200.00 5 Gooley-Sanderson AUS 204 3,600.00 5,400.00 Mônica-Jackie Silva BRA 204 3,600.00 5,400.00 7 Manser-Pottharst AUS 170 2,400.00 3,600.00 Reno-Youngs USA 170 2,400.00 3,600.00 9 Cook-Fenwick AUS 136 2,000.00 2,500.00 Tough-Dumont CAN 136 2,000.00 2,500.00 Gattelli-Perrotta ITA 136 2,000.00 2,500.00 Kirby-Masakayan USA 136 2,000.00 2,500.00 13 Adriana Bento-Ana Richa BRA 102 1,600.00 1,600.00 Dosoudilova-Celbova CZE 102 1,600.00 1,600.00 Takahashi-Teru Saiki JPN 102 1,600.00 1,600.00 Poppinga-Rock USA 102 1,600.00 1,600.00 17 Huygens Tholen-Straton AUS 68 1,200.00 800.00 Hudcova-Tobiasova CZE 68 1,200.00 800.00 Rigaux-Prawerman FRA 68 1,200.00 800.00 Bruschini-Solazzi ITA 68 1,200.00 800.00 Ishizaka-Rii Seike JPN 68 1,200.00 800.00 Mayra-Laura A. MEX 68 1,200.00 800.00 Schoon Kadijk D.-Kadijk R. NED 68 1,200.00 800.00 Maria José-Cristina Pereira POR 68 1,200.00 800.00 25 Broen Ouellette-Lussier CAN 34 800.00 600.00 Drakich-Russo CAN 34 800.00 600.00 Gerochristodoulou-Gougeon CAN 34 800.00 600.00 Larrea Peraza-Quevedo CUB 34 800.00 600.00 Joergensen-Sommer DEN 34 800.00 600.00 Nascimento-De Marinis ITA 34 800.00 600.00 Benoît-Schlaefli SUI 34 800.00 600.00 Enberg-Granström SWE 34 800.00 600.00

PRESS RELEASES

TORONTO, CANADA 21 June 1998 - PRESS RELEASE No. 6

TORONTO, CANADA The City of Toronto has been totally electrified this week by the presence of the Worlds top beach volleyball athletes, who have put on an incredible show here at Ashbridges Bay. Over 4,000 people rocked, sang and ap plauded as the best beach volleyball ever seen in Canada was provided by these o utstanding athletes.

Brazil stole the show on the Womens side with the two top seeds, Adriana Beh ar-Shelda and Sandra Pires-Adriana Samuel meeting in the final match. After a b arn-burning seventy minutes of play, the Pires-Samuel duo squeaked by their coun trywomen by a score of 17-16. The bronze medal match was an all USA affair as L isa Arce and Holly McPeak faced off in centre-court against Barbra Fontana and L inda Hanley, with the Arce-McPeak pair winning 15-4.

Four different countries were represented in the Mens final four: Emanuel-L oiola (BRA) vs Bosma-Diez (ESP) and Martinez-Conde (ARG) vs Kvalheim-Maaseide (N OR), with the the Spanish Conquistadores (Bosma-Diez) taking the bronze medal aw ay from the Norwegians in a close 15-13 match. The gold medal match was a South -American match-up with top seeds Emanuel-Loiola taking on their neighbours to t he South, Martinez-Conde. The Argentinians came out on top in a match that feat ured superb digging as well as awesome net play, with the Brazilians being on th e losing side by 15-10.

Athletes were very happy with the Canadian welcome that they received, with m any of them thanking Promoter John May personally for the excellent job in putti ng on this, the first FIVB international beach event held in Canada. The many r epresentatives of the corporate partners of the event, Labatt, Ford and Nokia we re in attendance, with one of the latter mentioning, "I had no idea this wa s so amazing". In fact, the packed corporate boxes rocked as much as those in the stadium seats; many of them will be back for this event, which is due ba ck at Ashbridges Bay same time next year.

This beach will never be the same . . . it has seen the best . . . and that i s the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.

TORONTO, CANADA - 20th June 1998 - PRESS RELEASE No. 5

TORONTO, CANADA What an amazing day it has been on this, the fourth day of the Labatt Blue Toronto Open, third stop on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour , where 35 countries have come together to compete on the beaches of Ashbridges Bay.

Brazil is the standout of the tournament, with 3 teams advancing (2 Women, 1 Men) of the eight teams qualified for the tournament, out of a total of 138 team s who have taken part in this prestigious event.

Canadian Womens top seeds, Guylaine Dumont and Kathy Tough have finished 9th , tying the best ever Canadian Womens results in FIVB play, with a w in over their American "mentors" Angela Rock and Kerrie Poppinga. Their eliminat ion from further play came through the hands of fourth seeds, Americans Arce-McP eak. On the Mens side, Canadas Olympic medallists Child-Heese equaled the Wome n with a ninth place finish, winning their first two matches and then losing to Brazilians Loiola and Emanuel, then later to the Spanish duo of Bosma and Diez b y a heart-breaking13-15.

The amazing pair of Brian Gatzke and Dan Lewis took the long route to their 7 ^th place finish, first by having to play four matches in the Qualifie r (4-0) then six matches in the Main Draw, to eventually lose versus the Spaniar d pair of Bosma-Diez. This is a great result for a pair who have just played the ir first tournament together, and the best result here for Canada. It is interes ting to note that Bosma-Diez have effectively been the nemesis for the Canadian Men, eliminating Leinemann-Holden, Child-Heese and Gatzke-Lewis in that order. T hese tour veterans also rebounded from a first round loss vs legendary Sinjin Sm ith and his partner Ricci Luyties to win an impressive six consecutive matches a nd earn their spot in the semi-finals.

The USA and Brazilian Women continue to show their dominance on the world cir cuit by qualifying two teams each for the semi-finals. Americans Fontana-Hanley thrilled the capacity crowd, which included IOC Member Carol Anne Letheren in at tendance, at Ashbridges Bay with their win over Australias surprising duo of G ooley-Sanderson. The latter are considered the cinderella team of the tournament rising from the qualifyer to finish 5^th overall.

The following are the semi-final match-ups for tomorrow morning:

Women Brazil (Adriana-Shelda) vs USA (Arce-McPeak)

Women Brazil (Pires-Samuel) vs USA (Fontana-Hanley)

Men Brazil (Loiola-Emanuel) vs Spain (Bosma-Diez)

Men Argentina (Martinez-Conde) vs Norway (Kvalhein-Maaseide)

Bronze and gold medal matches follow be sure to be there!

Play starts again at Ashbridges Bay at 9:30am on Sunday morning lots of gr eat action and oustanding international beach volleyball for everyone and your last chance to catch the best athletes in the World competing on Canadian sand t his year!

TORONTO, CANADA - 19th June 1998 - PRESS RELEASE No. 4

TORONTO, CANADA Following the first day of competition in the main draw of the Labatt Blue Toronto Open, where 32 Mens and 32 Womens teams played a tota l of 80 matches to earn the honours in this, the third edition of the FIVBs Wor ld Tour, sixteen teams have earned the right to continue. The first two tournam ents of the World Tour were played in Argentina in January and Brazil in Februar y, and Canada hosts the worlds best beach volleyball athletes on the road to a world title.

Tough day for the Canadians, who started with 9 teams still in contention, bu t ended the day with four teams still in the tournament. On the Womens side, t he only team to advance is the duo of Guylaine Dumont and Kathy Tough, who were able to resist Portugals Maria Josee and Christine Pereira, winning 15-8 in 48 minutes. After a heart-breaking loss against the strong American team of Nancy Reno and Elaine Youngs, where they were leading 7-1 to eventually lose 15-11, t hey were able to overcome the tough defense of Japans Ishizaka-Rii Seike and wi n by a score of 15-11.

On the Mens side, the Canadians were very successful, with three of the five teams participating in the main draw advancing to round of sixteen. Olympic me dallists John Child and Mark Heese easily made it to the next round by defeating the Norwegians Kjemperud-Hoidalen 15-10 as well as the American team of Blanton -Fonoimoana by the same score. Canadas second highest ranked team of Conrad Le ineman and Jody Holden were also able to stay in the medal race by defeating Jod ard-Penigaud of France 15-13, and 15-7 versus Maia-Brenha of Portugal. Their onl y loss was a 15-11 heartbreaker to Australias Zahner-Prosser. Brian Gatzke and Dan Lewis are Canadas only Mens team to accede to the Main Draw, and are stil l in the running among the big teams, with their two wins against Seuseu-Eade of New Zealand (15-9) and Kubala-Palinek of the Czech Republic (15-10) and their o ne loss against #1 seed Emanuel-Loiola of Brazil.

The major surprise of the tournament so far is the elimination of the recent World Champions, Brazilians Para and Guihlerme who lost first to the Germans (15 -11) and the Spaniards (15-6), while their compatriots Emanuel-Loiola and Paulo Emilio-Paulao continue to dominate. The first of these two duos will meet Canad as favourites, Child and Heese tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9:00am. On the W omens side, all three top-seeded Brazilian teams have advanced to tomorrows pl ay undefeated.

TORONTO, CANAD A The sun shone brightly today at Ashbridges Bay as the eight Mens and Women s teams to qualify for the Main Draw of the Labatt Blue Toronto Open were deter mined. The 32 final Teams for the Main Draw of the tournament are now confirmed, with official play beginning tomorrow morning (Friday) at 9:00am.

Brazil holds the top three seeds in the Womens Tournament, with a fourth tea m from the beaches of Rio advancing to the Main Draw. Defending Olympic and Worl d Champions Jackie Silva and Sandra Pires are taking part but are playing with n ew partners; each has taken on a member of the Olympic silver medallist team fro m Atlanta, Brazilians Rodrigues and Ramos. Canada will also have four teams in t he main event, now that Broen-Ouellette/Lussier have advanced to join previously qualified Tough/Dumont, the highest Canadian seeds, as well as Drakich/Russo an d Gerochristodoulou/Gougeon in the big show. The USA will be well represented w ith five teams making to the Main Draw, led by Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak, World Championship silver medallists.

Canada holds the most spots in the Mens main event, with a total of five tea ms participating. Brian Gatzke and Dan Lewis went 4-0 in the Qualifier to earn their spot among the big teams. Canadas highest seeded Team is the Olympic bro nze medallist Child/Heese, who are accompanied in the Main Draw by Leinemann/Hol den, Olejnick/Dunn and Blasi/Cadieux.

People to look for as play resumes tomorrow morning are the USAs Sinjin Smit h, international beach legend and President of the World Beach Council, as he ta kes on the Worlds best with partner Ricci Luyties. Current World Champions Par a and Guilherme from Brazil will also be a team to watch, as they work to establ ish their dominance on the World circuit.

Local fans will also be excited by the play of Guylaine Dumont and Kathy Toug h, both former Canadian National Team members, Tough being the captain of the &q uot;indoor" Olympic Team in Atlanta. Their main opposition will come from the top-seeded Brazilians, powerful Americans and other Canadians wanting to tak e over the top Canadian spot on the FIVB circuit.

One big surprise now that the Qualifier is over is the non-qualification of B razils Ze Marco/Ricardo, winners of the FIVB event held in Brazil last February .

TORONTO, CANADA - 17th June 1998 - PRESS RELEASE No. 2

TORONTO, CANADA - The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour rolled into Toronto big time today, with the Labatt Blue Toronto Open staging its first day of competition. Ashbridge's Bay has literally been taken over by an international beach village, featuring a 5,000 seat stadium, secondary stadium court, six other competition courts, and a variety of other attractions. It is a sight not to be missed a relative "Rio de Janeiro North".

At the beginning of the day today, 53 Men's Teams and 37 Women's Teams were vying for the precious 8 spots available in the main draw, which begins Friday June 19th. Following a full day of spectacular beach volleyball action, a total of 16 Men's and Women's Teams remain in contention.

The eight Canadian Men's Teams in the Qualifier started the day with great hopes and anticipation, but only one team remains alive; former Canadian Team stand-out Brian Gatzke and his partner Dan Lewis play New Zealand's Seuseu and Eade at 9:00 tomorrow. On the Women's side, three Canadian teams are still in the hunt for a maximum of two Canadian spots to join the Main Draw. Thursday will therefore be a big day for Lesage/Harkness, who will play France's Rigaux/Prawman, Broen-Ouellette/Lussier against the powerhouse Americans Kirby/Masakayan and finally Malowney/Rasmussen against Sweden's Enberg/Granstrom, the surprising upset winners over Brazil's Bento/Richa.

The USA Women also have three teams still in contention, but have only one potential spot in the Main Draw to join their three already qualified counterparts. The Russians are the big news on the Men's side as they advance three teams to the final 16 on Thursday, hoping to qualify all three for the Main Draw. Three Brazilian Teams also advance, but have only one spot available in the Main Draw, due to three of their countrymen having pre-qualified.

Action in the Labatt Blue Toronto Open resumes Thursday morning at 9:00am, and the forecast calls for sun with cloudy periods and a high of 27 C degrees.


TORONTO, CANADA - 16th June 1998 The city the United Nations calls the most "ethnically diverse" in the world welcomes 35 countries taking part in the Labatt Blue Toronto Open, the first FIVB World Tour event to come to Canada. Providing an unprecedented $340,000 US in prize money, equally divided between Men and Women, the Labatt Blue Toronto Open is breaking new ground in Canadian beach volleyball.

Following the draw held at the Technical Meeting today, a total of 53 Men's Teams and 37 Women's Teams have been seeded for the Qualification Tournament to begin tomorrow morning. Ze Marco and Ricardo are surprise participants in the Qualification Tournament, being seeded first, after having won the FIVB World Tour event held in Brazil last February, but three other Brazilian teams have more FIVB points. Tande and Giovane, also from Brazil, are seeded 16^th, but as gold medallists from the Olympic Volleyball Tournament in Barcelona, they could provide some surprise upsets in the Qualifier.

On the Women's side, the top-ranked WPVA team of Masakayan/Kirby and current Goodwill Games Champions are seeded first, and strong contenders to go on to the Main Draw. The big question in the Women's Qualifier is which of the strong three teams entered from the USA will advance to the Main Draw.

Ireland takes part in the FIVB World Tour event for the first time ever, with its team of Flynn/Brennan making sport history in that country.

Canada has a strong presence in this tournament, and will provide the more than 5,000 fans at Ashbridge's Bay with much excitement and spectacular play. Atlanta Olympic bronze medallists Child/Heese are in the Main Draw, but will definitely cheer on their Canadian Team counterparts taking part in the Qualifier, 8 Men's and 8 Women's Teams in all. Former Canadian National Team members Brian Gatzke and John Barrett are excited about their move to beach volleyball. Another team to watch from the home country is Ljubicic/Slean, seeded highest of the Canadians in the Men's Qualifier. Barry/Goodfellow take the highest Canadian seed on the Women's side (4), while former Beach Olympian Barb Broen-Ouellette tackles this new FIVB season with a new partner, Christine Lussier, and is seeded 8th.

The weather expected at Ashbridge's Bay for the start of the tournament on June 17^th is hot, humid sunshine, 26 C, with perhaps some showers late in the afternoon.

MENS

The Participating Teams

Main Draw ( 19-21 June)

Qualification Tournament (17-18 June)