COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 11, 2009) – Eight USA Volleyball beach teams are among the 96 pairs that have been seeded for the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships presented by ConocoPhillips to be held June 25-July 5 in Stavanger, Norway.
The U.S. women’s teams that will head to Norway are 2008 Olympians Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (El Toro, Calif.); Jen Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.); Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Tyra Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.) and the team of Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Ashley Ivy (Arlington, Texas).
The United States’ Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.) are the three-time defending women’s world champions, but will not compete this year. May-Treanor continues to recover from the torn Achilles tendon she suffered last year on Dancing with the Stars and Walsh recently had a baby.
A total of 96 teams from 32 countries and all five confederations have been seeded for the world championships.
“We are looking forward to the competition with a world class field competing for the prestigious gold medals on the unique dock-side setting in Norway,” said FIVB President Jizhong Wei.
Featuring US$1-million in prize money, the 2009 world championships will have 48 men’s and 48 women’s teams competing on the courts on the Vaagen Harbour docks.
The event features pool play matches June 25-July 1 to set the field for the 32-team single-elimination brackets that begin July 2. The women’s medal matches will be July 4 followed by the men’s podium placement matches July 5. The winning teams will share $60,000.
More information and a complete list of entries are available on the FIVB beach volleyball web site at www.fivb.org/en/BeachVolleyball/index.asp.
