Weymouth RAF Careers Beach Volleyball Classic 2009

2009 Sky TV Coverage

EVENT DATES: THURSDAY 23RD JULY TO SUNDAY 26TH JULY

This will be the 27th Weymouth Beach Volleyball Classic and promises to be better than ever. Voted ‘event of the year’ in 2008 it once again will be a major stop on Volleyball England’s Beach tour.

It is expected that all the top British sides will compete, including players from the GB squads who are currently playing on the World Tour. We are also hope to attract a few quality teams from Europe or beyond

The title sponsor will be RAF Careers, a sponsorship deal which is now in its third year. Other associate sponsors are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

The event will again be filmed by SGTV for 2 x 1 hour programmes to be shown on Sky Sports.

For the first time for many years there will be prize money in both mens and womens competitions ( amounts to be announced).

There will also be a change to the format of the tournament which will be announced shortly. There will still be a qualifying event on Friday and some teams going straight into Saturday’s draw.

For the first time a junior competition for Under 16, 18 will take place on 4 courts on Sunday and after the success of last year’s corporate event this will continue on the Thursday evening.

ENTRY

Entry is through the Volleyball England website, see links page.

Cost & Entry Deadline:

• Standard entries: £33 per team, available up to 12noon Monday 20 July.
• Late entries: £40 per team, available after the standard entry deadline, up to the Thursday before the event at the tournament promoter's sole discretion.

Entries: There is a limit of 48 men's and 32 women's teams able to enter the tournament. Teams shall be seeded in accordance with the VEBT seeding system. Wild Cards may apply at the discretion of the Beach Commission and the Tournament Organisers.

START TIMES
Friday (Qualifiers) - 1pm Player Check-In
Saturday (Main Draw) - 8.15am Player Check-In
Sunday play begins 9.30am

FORMAT

The format will change in 2009 from previous years in an attempt to give everyone a more competitive experience.

For instance in the mens competition 8 teams will pre qualify for the main draw on Saturday. The remainder ( upto 40 teams)  will compete in the qualifier on Friday. This will be double elimination with the last 8 going on to the main draw . The first 16 teams knocked out will play in a C series and the the other 16 will compete in a B series. The womens event will follow the same set up but exact numbers will decide on size of entry.