Calvin Yang
Lots of sun, loads of sand and definitely plenty of beautiful people at the annual Swatch-FIVB Beach Volley World Tour 2007! For the first time in sporting history, the tour would be making its stop on the sunny island of Singapore.
At a press conference held on 21st March at Cafe Del Mar, it was announced that the internationally-recognized event would be held at Siloso Beach, Sentosa. From the 24th to the 27th of May, visitors to Sentosa would be able to catch volleyball pros such as rising stars Wang Jie and Tian Jia from China and top players Ana Paula Connelly and Leila Gomes de Barros from Brazil.
Mr. Chong Wei Yong, Managing Director of Lemon Labs Pte Ltd revealed that the event, the only international circuit recognized by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) for Olympic Qualification status, would be held at a 5000-seater stadium specially designed for this event.
The competition would be played out over 4 days by 32 top international teams for the total prize money of US $200,000 and qualification points for the 2008 Olympics. Fortunately, as hosts, the Singapore team has been included into the top 32 as a wildcard participant.
Mr. Baey Yam Keng, President of the Volleyball Association of Singapore, was delighted at the fact that this big event is to be held in Singapore shores. He urged sporting associations to build on this and do more.
The press conference also featured a volleyball demostration to show audiences what to expect from this.
Sponsored by Swatch and Sentosa, this event is expected to draw at least 20,000 beach volleyball fans and bring the beachfront to life with a host of great music, good food and thrilling activities. It will be good exposure to Singapore athletes and boost our tourism sector as well.
Tickets are available at $15 to $90 daily and $70 to $400 for season passes. All tickets are sold exclusively by GateCrash online, the Substation, Singapore Post outlets and S.A.M Machines island-wide.
All photos courtesy of Youth.SG.