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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – News coming out of Rio de Janeiro includes beach volleyball tickets going on sale, adjustments to the Copacabana venue and the addition of a U.S. location to the FIVB World Tour.

American teams are in their final month out of FIVB competition, training and rehabbing ahead of a February World Tour start date.

The 2016 season begins in late February and the U.S. has three teams in both genders in the tops of rankings vying for an Olympic bid via the provisional Olympic rankings. The men’s rankings have Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson at sixth, John Hyden/Tri Bourne at 11th and Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena at 18th. In the women’s rankings, Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat lead at 12th, Jennifer Kessy/Emily Day are 15th and April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings are 22nd. The top 17 teams by June 13, 2016 will earn a quota spot for their country.

2016 WORLD TOUR SCHEDULE UPDATE
The much awaited second-half of Olympic qualification will begin on Feb. 15 in Kish Island, Iran, at a men’s only Open. It is the first World Tour event in the country and is one of only two men’s only events left on the schedule (Doha Open).

U.S. fans will be pleased to see a second U.S. city on the World Tour schedule this season. The Cincinnati Open will mark the debut for the city as a FIVB host, the event will take place at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, from May 17-22.

The Hamburg Grand Slam is the final Tour event before the June 13 Olympic rankings cutoff. The rankings will determine 15 of 24 spots for each gender that will compete in the 2016 Olympic Games. Brazil earned the first two quotas by winning the 2015 Beach World Championships, and a second quota spot as the host country. Teams and countries that don’t earn two quota spots by this date will have two more chances through Continental Cup play.

UPCOMING RIO OLYMPIC DATES TO WATCH

  • The 2016 Olympics are less than 200 days out, as organizers and athletes celebrated the benchmark on Jan. 18.
  • Beach and indoor volleyball tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 22.
  • In February, Olympic Games tickets will be printed. Tickets have been on sale for months, beach tickets especially have been selling quickly in Brazil.
  • On April 21, the Olympic flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece.
  • April 27 will mark 100 days out!
  • 50 days out, June 16, fans that purchased tickets will start to receive them through the mail.
  • The Olympic Village will open its doors on July 24.
  • Aug. 5, the Olympic cauldron will be lit, marking the beginning of the XXXI Olympiad

    • COPACABANA OLYMPIC VENUE CUTS DOWN SEATING
    The beach volleyball venue for the 2016 Games was expected to hold 12,000 people but according to a recent article by Reuters, organizers have scaled back seating in hopes to keep the Games within budget.

    (Jan. 22, 2016 update) There are conflicting reports on adjustments to the seating at the venue. Details will be published here as more information becomes available.

    Beach volleyball is touted as one of the most sought-after tickets for the games, the location and view of iconic Copacabana beach one of the major reasons.

    BEACH ASSEMBLY OF USA VOLLEYBALL MEETING JAN. 29
    The annual meeting of the Beach Assembly will take place on Jan. 29 at the DoubleTree LAX – El Segundo from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Pt at 1985 E. Grand Ave., El Segundo, CA, 90245-5015.

    This is a general announcement. The annual meeting of the Beach Assembly is designed to ensure that relevant and important Beach Volleyball related information is shared in an all-inclusive, open assembly atmosphere. The telephone for the meeting is 310-322-0999.

    UPCOMING EVENTS

    Feb. 15-19 Kish Island Open, Iran (Men only)
    Feb. 23-28 Maceio Open, Brazil
    March 8-13 Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam, Brazil
    March 15-20 Vitoria Open, Brazil
    April 4-8 Doha Open, Qatar (Men only)