Volleyball Grand Prix
Encyclopedia
The FIVB World Grand Prix is a women's volleyball
competition. Played every year since 1993, it is considered the women's version of the FIVB World League. In 2004, it distributed US$ 1.295 million in prizes.
The Grand Prix made women's volleyball very popular in East Asia
; the lack of interest on the part of the audience is nevertheless still significant throughout the world. Today (2004), the competition is maintained mainly with the support of Asian investors.
The budget for prize money has been growing steadily since 1993, but at a rather slow pace. The figures have reached $1.295 million dollars in 2004 - meager when compared to the World League's $13 million.
The predominance of Asian sponsors determined the first major break with the World League's formula. Most of the cities that host preliminary round matches are located in Asia. A host country may or may not have a national volleyball team involved in the competition. A second break was introduced in recent years: in some continents, teams must qualify to participate in the competition.
In 1993, the Cubans padded their already impressive record of a gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games
by winning the first edition of the Grand Prix. They were also running for the gold in 1994, but were defeated by an underranked Brazil: at that time, the Brazilians had never been able to catch a single medal in any major women's volleyball competition.
In the following years, Brazil proved beyond any doubt that its time as underdog was over. It lost the finals in 1995 to USA, but came back in 1996 for a second Grand Prix title, winning all the matches that made up the Final Four round in five sets.
The Brazilians withdrew from the competition in 1997, and the winner was Russia. But they were back in 1998 for another gold. Russia took revenge in 1999, and defeated Brazil in straight sets to win their second Grand Prix title.
Russia's win in 2002 made them, like Brazil, three-time winners. But the South Americans untied the score by conquering the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 editions of the tournament. The winners in 2000, 2001 and 2003 were Cuba, USA and China, respectively. Netherlands won their first trophy in 2007. In 2010 and 2011, USA won two consecutive gold medals.
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
competition. Played every year since 1993, it is considered the women's version of the FIVB World League. In 2004, it distributed US$ 1.295 million in prizes.
Origins
World Grand Prix was created in 1993 as part of the FIVB's marketing strategy to promote the sport of volleyball by establishing annual international competitions. It was modelled after the World League, a successful event for men that had been introduced three years before.The Grand Prix made women's volleyball very popular in East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
; the lack of interest on the part of the audience is nevertheless still significant throughout the world. Today (2004), the competition is maintained mainly with the support of Asian investors.
The budget for prize money has been growing steadily since 1993, but at a rather slow pace. The figures have reached $1.295 million dollars in 2004 - meager when compared to the World League's $13 million.
The predominance of Asian sponsors determined the first major break with the World League's formula. Most of the cities that host preliminary round matches are located in Asia. A host country may or may not have a national volleyball team involved in the competition. A second break was introduced in recent years: in some continents, teams must qualify to participate in the competition.
Winners
The history of Grand Prix's previous winners is a clear indication of how women's volleyball has been dominated, since the early 1990s, by four teams: Cuba, Brazil, Russia and China. Along with two-time winner USA, they are the only ones to hold a title at this competition as of 2005.In 1993, the Cubans padded their already impressive record of a gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games
Volleyball at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Volleyball at the 1992 Summer Olympics was represented by two events: men's team and women's team.-Medal table:-Medal summary:-References:*...
by winning the first edition of the Grand Prix. They were also running for the gold in 1994, but were defeated by an underranked Brazil: at that time, the Brazilians had never been able to catch a single medal in any major women's volleyball competition.
In the following years, Brazil proved beyond any doubt that its time as underdog was over. It lost the finals in 1995 to USA, but came back in 1996 for a second Grand Prix title, winning all the matches that made up the Final Four round in five sets.
The Brazilians withdrew from the competition in 1997, and the winner was Russia. But they were back in 1998 for another gold. Russia took revenge in 1999, and defeated Brazil in straight sets to win their second Grand Prix title.
Russia's win in 2002 made them, like Brazil, three-time winners. But the South Americans untied the score by conquering the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 editions of the tournament. The winners in 2000, 2001 and 2003 were Cuba, USA and China, respectively. Netherlands won their first trophy in 2007. In 2010 and 2011, USA won two consecutive gold medals.
Competition formula
The Grand Prix's competition formula has proved less stable than the World League's. In the following years, major changes are likely to be introduced in an attempt to make women's volleyball more attractive to the audience. Some of the rules that are still in practice as of 2004 are:- The Grand Prix has qualification procedures. They are not the same in every continent: teams may have to play a specific qualification tournament, or may qualify based on the FIVB World RankingsFIVB World RankingsThe FIVB World Rankings is a ranking system for men's and women's national teams in volleyball. The teams of the member nations of FIVB, volleyball's world governing body, are ranked based on their competitions results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...
. - The competition is divided in at least two phases: a preliminary round, with a system of rotating host cities; and one or more final rounds, with one or more host nations.
- The preliminary round is divided in weeks. Each week, the participating teams are organized in pools, and each team plays one match against all other teams in its pool.
- All games in a pool take place over a weekend in the same city. The cities are mostly located in Asia. Pools may be hosted in countries which are not actually involved in the competition.
- When all matches of the preliminary round have been played, the top n teams (overall standings) qualify for the final round(s), and the remaining ones leave the competition. The value of n depends on the number of participating teams and the format that will be employed in the finals, but it is usually five or six.
- If involved in the competition, host nation(s) automatically qualify for the final round(s).
- The FIVB has tried different formats for the final round(s). Originally, it was a round-robin "Top Four" system in which four teams played against each other and the winner was determined by number of wins, set average, point average, direct confrontation. For some years now (2004), the most commonly used is a mixed format: quarter-finalists are organized in two pools, and the top two teams in each pool play semi-finals and finals according to the Olympic format.
- In the preliminary round, a team is usually given the right to work with a list of eighteen players, from which the coach builds the twelve-player line-up that will be employed in a particular weekend. For the final round(s), only twelve players are allowed.
Results
| FIVB World Grand Prix | ||||
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| Year | Host | Champions | Runners-up | 3rd place |
| 1993 Details |
Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... |
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| 1994 Details |
 Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010... |
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| 1995 Details |
Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010... |
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| 1996 Details |
Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010... |
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| 1997 Details |
 Kobe Kobe , pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka... |
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| 1998 Details |
 Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... |
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| 1999 Details |
Yuxi Yuxi Yuxi is a prefecture-level city in the Yunnan province of the People's Republic of China. The administrative center of Yuxi is Hongta District. Yuxi is approximately 90 km south of Kunming.-Geography:... |
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| 2000 Details |
 Manila Manila Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,... |
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| 2001 Details |
 Macau Macau Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China... |
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| 2002 Details |
Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... |
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| 2003 Details |
 Andria Andria, Italy Andria is a city and comune in Apulia . It is an agricultural and service center, producing wine, olives and almonds... |
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| 2004 Details |
Reggio Calabria Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian... |
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| 2005 Details |
Sendai |
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| 2006 Details |
Reggio Calabria Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian... |
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| 2007 Details |
Ningbo Ningbo Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,... |
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| 2008 Details |
Yokohama Yokohama is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu... |
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| 2009 Details |
Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
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| 2010 Details |
Ningbo Ningbo Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,... |
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| 2011 Details |
Macau Macau Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China... |
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| 2012 Details |
TBD | |||
Medal summary
| 1 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 13 | |
| 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 | |
| 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | |
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 19 | 19 | 19 | 57 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MVP by edition
- 1993 – – Mireya LuisMireya LuisAlejandrina Mireya Luis Hernández, often referred to as Mireya is a retired Cuban volleyball player....
- 1994 – – Fernanda Venturini
- 1995 – – Tara Cross-BattleTara Cross-BattleTara Cross-Battle is a retired female volleyball player from the United States, who won the bronze medal with the USA National Women's Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain...
- 1996 – – Leila BarrosLeila BarrosLeila Gomes de Barros is a Brazilian female volleyball player. She often played as opposite hitter and attacker...
- 1997 – – Elena Tyurina-Batukhtina
- 1998 – – Leila BarrosLeila BarrosLeila Gomes de Barros is a Brazilian female volleyball player. She often played as opposite hitter and attacker...
- 1999 – – Virna DiasVirna DiasVirna Cristine Dantas Dias is a retired volleyball player from Brazil. She represented her native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia...
- 2000 – – Ana FernándezAna FernándezAna Ivis Fernández Valle is a Cuban volleyball player, and three times Olympic Champion as a member of the Cuban winning team in 1992, 1996 and 2000.-Individual awards:* 1998 World Championship "Best Spiker"-References:...
- 2001 – – Danielle Scott-ArrudaDanielle Scott-ArrudaDanielle Racquel Scott-Arruda is an American indoor volleyball player. She has played at the 1996, 2000, 2004 and the 2008 Summer Olympics, tying a U.S. female volleyball athlete record for Olympic appearances. She's currently playing professionally for Brazilian league São Bernardo...
- 2002 – – Yevgeniya Artamonova
- 2003 – – Paola CardulloPaola CardulloPaola Cardullo is a female volleyball player from Italy, who was a member of the Women's National Team that won the gold medal at the 2007 European Championship in Belgium and Luxembourg...
- 2004 – – Logan TomLogan TomLogan Maile Lei Tom is an American indoor volleyball and beach volleyball player who plays for Fenerbahçe Universal. At age 19, Tom made her Olympic debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She also competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics...
- 2005 – – Paula PequenoPaula PequenoPaula Renata Marques Pequeno, better known as Paula Pequeno , is a female volleyball player from Brazil. She was born in Brasília.-Career:...
- 2006 – – Sheilla CastroSheilla CastroSheilla Tavares de Castro is a female volleyball player from Brazil, who represented her native country at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, in Beijing, China, in which the Brazilian national team won gold medal.-Career:...
- 2007 – – Manon FlierManon FlierManon Flier is a female volleyball player from the Netherlands, who plays as a wing-spiker for Toray Arrows.-Career:...
- 2008 – – Marianne SteinbrecherMarianne SteinbrecherMarianne Steinbrecher, known as Mari , is a female volleyball player from Brazil, who plays as a wing spiker...
- 2009 – – Sheilla CastroSheilla CastroSheilla Tavares de Castro is a female volleyball player from Brazil, who represented her native country at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, in Beijing, China, in which the Brazilian national team won gold medal.-Career:...
- 2010 – – Foluke AkinradewoFoluke AkinradewoFoluke Atinuke Akinradewo is a member of the U.S. national volleyball team. She played college women'svolleyball at Stanford University. She was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. From February to July 2008, she trained with the U.S...
- 2011 – – Destinee HookerDestinee HookerDestinee Hooker is an American indoor volleyball player. She is 6'4" opposite attacker. Hooker is a current member of the United States women's national volleyball team...
See also
- FIVB World League
- Volleyball World ChampionshipVolleyball World ChampionshipThe FIVB World Championship is an international men's and women's indoor volleyball competition. It is the oldest and most important of all the international events organized by the FIVB and must not be confused with the FIVB World Cup or the FIVB World League/FIVB World Grand Prix.-Origins:The...
- Volleyball World CupVolleyball World CupThe FIVB World Cup is a men's and women's volleyball competition. Created in 1965 and 1973 , it is an international qualification event for the Olympic Games...
- List of indoor volleyball world title winners
External links
- FIVB official website
- Brazilian National Volleyball Federation official website
- Russian National Volleyball Federation official website
- Bulgarian National Volleyball Federation non-official website