Rob Heidger

Chip McCaw Photo: Ken Delgado

Barbra Fontana Photo: Ken Delgado

Elaine Youngs Photo: Ken Delgado

Seeded 18th in the men's competition, Heidger (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and McCaw (Tulsa, Okla.) duplicated the results of the AVP women in beach volleyball's second-most prestigious event as second-seeded Barbra Fontana (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (Encinitas, Calif.) placed fourth in the women's FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships.

Both the teams of Heidger/McCaw and Fontana/Youngs are expected to be in the field for the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour's next event August 17-19 in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Michelob Light Open at Santa Barbara, presented by Paul Mitchell, will feature a 32-team men's Main Draw and a 24-team women's Main Draw on Santa Barbara's East Beach.

Prior to The Michelob Light Open at Santa Barbara, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour will have teams competing in a women's FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour stop in Osaka, Japan (August 8-12), while the men will be competing in Ostende, Belgium (August 8-12).

Following the Santa Barbara stop, the AVP will stage its final men's and women's team event August 24-26 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. The 2001 domestic season ends with The Paul Mitchell King and Queen of the Beach competition September 7-9 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev.

Third-seeded Mariano Baracetti and Martin Conde of Argentina claimed the men's $47,000 first-place prize by defeating 10th-seeded Jose Loiola and Ricardo Santos of Brazil 25-23, 12-21 and 20-18 in 69 minutes. Loiola had won the 1999 World Championship with Emanuel Rego, who placed fifth with Tande Ramos this season.

Saturday, top-seeded Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede defended their FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship successfully by defeating Sandra Pires and Tatiana Minello 21-16 and 21-18 in an All-Brazilian final to capture the Gold Medal and the $47,000 first-place prize. The Silver Medallists at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Behar and Bede have now earned three-straight podium finishes in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, including a Bronze Medal in 1997.

Sixth-seeded Jorre Kjemperud and Vegard Hoidalen of Norway, who dropped a 69-minute decision to Loiola and Ricardo (29-31, 21-19 and 15-12) in Sunday's second semi-final, captured the $25,000 Bronze Medal by defeating Heidger and McCaw 21-16 and 21-14 in 37-minutes. Heidger and McCaw shared $15,000 for fourth.

Heidger and McCaw, who eliminated AVP rivals and 11th-seeded Dain Blanton (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Eric Fonoimoana (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) 21-15 and 21-18 in 47 minutes Saturday, saw their "surprising" run through the 32-team single-elimination bracket end in Sunday's first semi-final.

Baracetti and Conde, who have now won three FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour events this season, scored a 21-16 and 21-16 win over Heidger and McCaw in 44 minutes to advance to the Gold Medal Match. "The Argentineans played really well. We didn't really have a chance," said Heidger after the match. "We could not break their rhythm."

Baracetti and Conde had advanced to Sunday's semi-finals with a 16-21, 21-19 and 15-8 win in 60 minutes Saturday over 23rd-seeded Dax Holdren (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara) of the AVP. Holdren and Rogers had advanced to the quarter-finals with a 14-21, 21-13 and 17-15 win over fifth-seeded Stein Metzger (Honolulu, Hi.) and Kevin Wong (Pearl City, Hi.) of the AVP in 58 minutes. By splitting two matches Saturday, Holdren and Rogers placed fifth to share $10,000 for their best international finish together this season.

Metzger and Wong, who captured June's Swiss Open before advancing to the "final fours" the past two weekends in France and Italy, placed ninth to share $6,000. Blanton and Fonoimoana, who placed ninth in the 1999 World Championships in France, shared $10,000 for their fifth-place finish.

Fontana and Youngs dropped a 21-19, 13-21 and 15-13 decision to Pires and Minello to open play Saturday before losing 21-17 and 21-19 to 12th-seeded Eva Celbova and Sona Dosoudilova of the Czech Republic in the Bronze Medal match. Youngs placed third at the 1999 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in France where Fontana was fifth with Lisa Arce.

PUBLIC RELATIONS - The Robbins Group handles the public relations' duties for the AVP Tour (Marcia Robbins, Debbie Rubio and Ann Victor, 818/776-1244, drubio@robbinsgrp.com). PRESS OPERATIONS - Tim Simmons (303/678-8484; e-mail bfishinc@aol.com), Dominic Clark (702/735-7123, dominiccnv@aol.com) and Doug Strauss (303/306-7543, statzman@hotmail.com) are the Press Information Officers for the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour.

FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - August 1-5, 2001 at Klagenfurt, Austria

August 5 Men's Semi-final and Medel Match Results

Single-Elimination, Semi-finals
· Mariano Baracetti/Martin Conde, Argentina ( (4) def. Rob Heidger/Chip McCaw, United States (4), 21-16 and 21-16 (44 minutes),
· Jose Loiola/Ricardo Santos, Brazil (10) def. Jorre Kjemperud/Vegard Hoidalen, Norway, 29-31, 21-19 and 15-12 (69).

Single-Elimination, Bronze Medal Match (winners place third, split $21,000; losers place fourth, split $15,000)
· Kjemperud/Hoidalen, Norway (6) def. Heidger/McCaw, United States (18), 21-16 and 21-14 (37).

Single-Elimination, Gold Medal Match (winners place third, split $47,000; losers place fourth, split $35,000)
· Baracetti/Conde, Argentina (4) def. Loiola/Ricardo, Brazil (10), 25-23, 12-21 and 20-18 (69).

August 4 Women's Medal Match Results

Single-Elimination, Gold Medal Match (winners place third, split $47,000; losers place fourth, split $35,000)
· Adriana Behar/Shelda Bede, Brazil (No. 1-seeded team) def. Sandra Pires/Tatiana Minello, Brazil (3), 21-16 and 21-18 (39).

Single-Elimination, Bronze Medal Match (winners place third, split $21,000; losers place fourth, split $15,000)
· Eva Celbova/Sona Dosoudilova, Czech Republic (12) def. Barbra Fontana/Elaine Youngs, United States (2), 21-17 and 21-19 (39).

FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS "FINAL FOUR" FINISHES

WOMEN'S WORLDS

United States - Los Angeles (September 10-13, 1997)
1. Sandra Pires/Jackie Silva, BRAZIL
2. Lisa Arce/Holly McPeak, UNITED STATES
3. Karolyn Kirby/Nancy Reno, UNITED STATES
3. Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, BRAZIL

France - Marseille (July 21-24, 1999)
1. Bede/Behar, BRAZIL
2. Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan, UNITED STATES
3. Liz Masakayan/Elaine Youngs, UNITED STATES
4. Pires/Adriana Samuel, BRAZIL

Austria - Klagenfurt (August 1-4, 2001)
1. Bede/Behar, BRAZIL
2. Pires/Tatiana Minello, BRAZIL
3. Eva Celbova/Sona Dosoudilova, CZECH REPUBLIC
4. Barbra Fontana/ Youngs, UNITED STATES

MEN'S WORLDS

United States - Los Angeles (September 10-13, 1997)
1. Guilherme Marques/Para Ferreira , BRAZIL
2. Canyon Ceman/Mike Whitmarsh, UNITED STATES
3. Paulao Moreira/Paulo Emilio Silva, BRAZIL
3. Dain Blanton/Kent Steffes, UNITED STATES

France - Marseille (July 22-25, 1999)
1. Emanuel Rego /Jose Loiola, BRAZIL
2. Martin Laciga/Paul Laciga, SWITZERLAND
3. Guilherme/Para, BRAZIL
4. Javier Bosma/Fabio Diez, SPAIN

Austria - Klagenfurt (August 1-5, 2001)
1. Mariano Baracetti/Martin Conde, ARGENTINA
2. Jose Loiola/Ricardo Santos, BRAZIL
3. Jorre Kjemperud/Vegard Hoidalen, NORWAY
4. Rob Heidger/Chip McCaw, UNITED STATES

FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Combined 2001 Calendar - Men & Women, Subject to Change

Dates, Site, 2001 Gold Medallists
· April 4-8, Macau, Macau (women), Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst, Australia
· June 13-17, Tenerife, Canary Island (Spain, men), Emanuel Rego/Tande Ramos, Brazil
· June 13-17, Cagliari, Italy (women), Barbra Fontana/Elaine Youngs, United States
· June 19-23, Gstaad, Switzerland (women), Adriana Behar/Shelda Bede, Brazil
· June 20-24, Gstaad, Switzerland (men), Stein Metzger/Kevin Wong, United States
· June 27-July 1, Berlin, Germany (men), Julien Prosser/Lee Zahner, Australia
· June 29-July 1, Xylokastro, Greece (women challenger), Zi Xiong/Rong Chi, China
· July 4-8, Gran Canaria, Spain (women), Behar/Bede, Brazil
· July 4-8, Stavanger, Norway (men), Emanuel/Tande, Brazil
· July 6-8, Xylokastro, Greece (men challenger), Klepper Feitosa/Murilo Texeira, Brazil
· July 11-15, Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy (men), Mariano Baracetti/Martin Conde, Argentina
· July 13-15, Lebanon, Beirut (men satellite), Dmitri Barsouk/Vladimir Kostioukov, Russia
· July 16-22, Marseille, France (women), Fontana/Youngs, United States
· July 16-22, Marseille, France (men), Baracetti/Conde, Argentina
· July 24-28, Espinho, Portugal (women), Misty May/Kerri Walsh, United States
· July 25-29, Espinho, Portugal (men) - Jose Loiola/Ricardo Santos, Brazil
· July 25-29, Kiev, Ukraine (men challenger), Klepper/Murilo, Brazil
· August 1-4, Klagenfurt, Austria (World Championships - women), Behar/Bede, Brazil
· August 1-5, Klagenfurt, Austria (World Championships - men), Baracetti/Conde, Argentina
· August 8-12, Osaka, Japan (women)
· August 8-12, Ostende, Belgium (men)
· August 15-19, Maoming, China (women)
· August 22-26, Hong Kong (women)
· August 29-September 4, Brisbane (Goodwill Games - men and women)
· September 12-16, Mallorca, Spain (men)
· October 30-November 4, Fortaleza, Brazil (women)
· November 27-December 2, Vitoria, Brazil (men)

AVP ON THE WEB - Information on the AVP Tour and the sport of volleyball can be found at the following web sites:
· AVP Tour (www.avptour.com) - The site is maintained by Nick Cargill (contact@Sniperdev.com).
· Beach Volleyball Data Base (www.bvbinfo.com) - The site is maintained by Dennis Wagner (doctorono@home.com) of Virginia Beach, Va. Dr. Ono has tracked 1,104 events and 2,843 players.
· USA Volleyball (www.usavolleyball.org) - The site is maintained by Brent Buzbee (brent.buzbee@usav.org) at the USA Volleyball Offices in Colorado Springs, Colo.
· FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour (www.fivb.org) - The site is maintained by the FIVB's beach department (beach@mail.fivb.ch) at the FIVB headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

BACK IN CALIFORNIA - After two weekends off, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour returns to California for Michelob Light events in Santa Barbara (August 17-19) and Manhattan Beach (August 24-26). The 2001 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour ends in Las Vegas with the Paul Mitchell King and Queen of the Beach competition at the Hard Rock Hotel September 7-9. Echo Entertainment of Studio City, Calif., will be taping the Michelob Light Open at Santa Barbara action for broadcast September 3 on FOX Sports Net.

2001 AVP SCHEDULE (All dates and venues are subject to change) - A total of five combined men's and women's events highlight the eight-stop schedule for the "new" AVP. Total prize money for the 2001 season is nearly $1 million with individual tournament purses for both men and women ranging from $62,500 to $150,000.

Date, City, State, Site, Competition
· June 8-10, Hermosa Beach, Calif., The Pier, Men (Dax Holdren/Todd Rogers) and Women (Lisa Arce/Holly McPeak)
· June 15-17, Huntington Beach, Calif., The Pier, Men (Scott Ayakatubby/Eduardo Bacil)
· July 13-15, Muskegon, Mich., Pere Marquette Park, Men (Brent Doble/LeGrande) and Women (Linda Hanley/Sarah Straton)
· July 20-22, Belmar, N.J., Belmar Beach, Men (Doble/LeGrande)
· July 27-29, Virginia Beach, Va., 4th Street Beach, Men (Aaron Boss/Collin Smith)
· August 17-19, Santa Barbara, Calif., East Beach, Men and Women
· August 24-26, Manhattan Beach, Calif., The Pier, Men and Women
· September 7-9, Las Vegas, Nev. (King/Queen of the Beach), Hard Rock Hotel, Men and Women

FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS NOTES

2002 & GRAND SLAM EVENTS - The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour is to be expanded in 2002. At this stage, 16 men's and 14 women's events are planned for next year's Tour. Klagenfurt will be a fixed event on the calendar for both men and women. In 2002, the FIVB will launch three or four Grand Slam tournaments that will have a higher status than the regular World Tour tournaments in terms of worldwide media exposure, event requirements and prize money. Australia and Canada will be back on the calendar, while Sweden and the United Arabic Emirates will make their debut on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. "We have decided to include three or four Grand Slam tournaments in next year's World Tour program," Dr. Acosta said. "And I am sure that Klagenfurt will be one of them." Other possible Grand Slam locations are Berlin, Rio de Janeiro and Marseilles, he said.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2003 - The FIVB announced that the Beach Volleyball World Championships 2003 will be held in Brazil. The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships are held every two years. There are five candidates for the 2005 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships.

ATHENS 2004 - During the last FIVB Board of Administration Meeting (May 2001), the FIVB announced the qualification procedure for the 2004 Olympic Games to be played in Athens, Greece. For both the men´s and women´s competition, the FIVB has submitted a request to the IOC president to allow Beach Volleyball to use a complete tournament format with 32 pairs in both genders. In Sydney, 24 teams were allowed to participate in both the men's and women's competition. The eight best results on the World Tour and World Championships, taken from the period from January 1, 2003 until July 13, 2004, will count to determine Olympic ranking. Each country may qualify with a maximum of two teams, while one berth is guaranteed to the host country Greece, regardless of ranking.

BEIJING 2008 - The 2008 Olympic Games, now awarded by the IOC to Beijing, will be another spectacular milestone in beach volleyball's history. The competition site proposed by the FIVB will be on one of the world's most famous locations, Tianmen Square.

KLAGENFURT - The 2001 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships attracted an estimated 100,000 spectators for five days of competition featuring 96 teams from 28 countries at the Klagenfurt stadium and the court facilities at Velden and Maria Worth. The event was broadcast to more than 100 countries. More than 300 journalists from all over the world traveled to Austria to cover the championships.

FANATICAL FANS - While swans and swimmers drifted across the idyllic mirrored surface of Lake Worther, it was a different scene inside the Klagenfurt Centre Court Stadium. More than 5,000 spectators were inside the stadium two hours before Sunday's first match, and when the matches started, more than 8,000 fans packed the stands and another 5,000 were searching for a seat. Long before the public address system had been switched on, Austrian "Beach" fans were already singing, cheering and enthusiastically performing "The Wave." Dr. Ruben Acosta, President of the FIVB, declared that the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2001 held at this picturesque Austrian lakeside venue were a milestone in the history of this upstart Olympic sport.

"BEACH" PLAYERS OF THE DECADE - The FIVB decided to continue the tradition of the recently awarded Indoors "Best Players of the Century" awards, by honoring the world's elite "Beach" players as "Best Beach Volleyball Players of the Decade." The awards will be handed out to sport's pioneers Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos of the United States, and Brazil's Jose Loiola and Emanuel Rego in a ceremony in Buenos Aires October 5. The women's awards will be presented September 21 in Berlin to Brazil's Jackie Silva and Sandra Pires of Brazil, and Australians Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst.

SMITH & STOKLES - Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos formed the winningest team in beach volleyball history. The pair captured 113 events from 1982 through 1993, including 10 of the first 19 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour titles (1987-1992). The first event title for Smith and Stoklos was July 26, 1982 in Laguna Beach, Calif., and their final title was March 28, 1993 in Fort Myers, Fla. Smith and Stoklos won the first-ever FIVB-sanctioned beach event in Rio de Janeiro (February 22, 1987) where they defeated Karch Kiraly and Pat Powers in the finals. Here's a list of the teams with the most beach titles in pro history.

Partnerships Tournaments Final Four Pct. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Earnings Sinjin Smith/Randy Stokles (1982-93) 225 90.7% 113 59 23 9 $1,599,588 Karch Kiraly/Kent Steffes (1990-96) 117 91.5% 75 18 10 4 $2,880,112 Mike Dodd/Tim Hovalnd (1981-1993) 163 88.3% 52 43 37 12 $781,278

PLAYERS OF THE CENTURY - Announced, last December, Karch Kiraly of the United States and Cuba's Regla Torres, were been selected as the best Volleyball players of the 20th Century.
· Best volleyball player of the 20th century, men - Karch Kiraly (United States, 1984-1996)
· Special 20th century award - Konstantin Reva (USSR, 1949-1956) and Katsutoshi Nekoda (Japan, 1965-1974).
· Best volleyball player of the 20th century, women - Regla Torres (Cuba ,1992-2000)
· Special 20th century award - Ina Riskal (USSR, 1964-1976) and Lang Ping (China, 1981-1985)
· Best men's volleyball team of the 20th century - Italy (1990-1998)
· Special 20th century award - United States men's team (1984-1988)
· Best women's volleyball team of the 20th century - Japan (1960-1965)
· Special 20th century award - China women's team (1981-1986)
· Best men's team volleyball coach of the 20th century - Matsudaira Yasutaka (Japan, 1964-1974)
· Special 20th century award - Vyacheslav Platonov (USSR, 1978-1982) and Julio Velasco (Italy, 1990-1996)
· Best women's team volleyball coach of the 20th century - George Eugenio (Cuba, 1990-2000)
· Special 20th century award - Hirofumi Daimatsu (Japan, 1960-1964) and Givi Akhvlediani (USSR, 1960-1972)

KARCH KIRALY - Karch Kiraly was recognized by the FIVB for his performances and courage in leading the United States National Men's team to the following:
· The Olympic Gold Medal in Los Angeles 1984;
· The World Cup title in Tokyo 1985p
· The World Championship title in Paris 1986;
· The Olympic Gold Medal in Seoul 1988;
· The Gold Medal of the inaugural FIVB Olympic Event Beach Volleyball in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games with Ken Steffes.

NEW RULES - The FIVB is testing two rules during the 2001 Beach Volleyball season. First, the dimension of the court is now 8 meters by 16 meters instead of the former 9 meters by 18 meters. The second is a rally score system that is similar to the FIVB's system for indoor volleyball (introduced for the 1999 season). Spectators, media and players have already noticed the new rule changes, but an extensive evaluation will be carried out before new rules are drafted and formalized.

PLAYERS REPRESENTATIVES - Jackie Silva of Brazil and Vegard Hoidalen of Norway have been elected seats on the FIVB World Beach Volleyball Council and on the Beach Volleyball Permanent Committee. Silva, a Gold Medallists at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games with Sandra Pires, and Hoidalen, a Sydney 2000 Olympian, will take up the positions as players representatives for the 2001-2002 competition period. The two will act as a liaison between the World Council and the players, bringing to the attention of the FIVB and its organizers any players proposals that will improve their situation and satisfy their needs.

~Tim Simmons