Lausanne, 15 October 98 –
France, Australia and Canada join the World League for the 10th edition, which
will be played with a new scoring system: the Rally Point. The Finals are scheduled to
take place in Argentina, July 12-17 1999.
The World League Council, at
its recent meeting in Lausanne, approved a proposal to use the Rally Point system, with 25
points for the first four sets and tiebreak with 15 points for the decider.
The decision followed the results of a circular sent to all
Federations, which were asked to choose from four options. FIVB President Ruben Acosta
told the Council many countries were ready to have the rally point system which was easy
to understand and respect the spirit of volleyball.
The rally point system was more attractive to spectators as it packed
more excitement in a shorter period. It reduced the time difference between the shortest
and the longest matches, with games rarely exceeding two hours, making it easier for TV
packaging.
The system has been successfully tested in some South America
competition and will still be tested by some national federations over a two-year period,
in addition to the 1999 World League try-out.
The 12-nation line-up for 1999 has a different look with Australia
making its debut and France and Canada returning to the fold after several years absence.
Australia is drawn in Pool A alongside Italy, Russia and Poland. Pool B comprises Brazil,
Canada, the Netherlands and Spain while defending champions Cuba head Pool C against the
challenge of Argentina, France and Yugoslavia.
The preliminaries will take place over six week-ends between May 28 and
July 4 with the six-nation finals scheduled to take place in Argentina July 12-17.
Preliminary (May 28 – July 4)
Pool A: Italy, Russia, Poland, Australia
Pool B: Netherlands, Brazil, Spain, Canada
Pool C: Cuba, Yugoslavia, Argentina, France
Final-6 round in Argentina (July 12 – 17)
3-day round robin (2 groups) cross semi-finals and finals
