2008 Swatch FIVB World Tour |
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| Host nation | Various |
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| Dates | March - November, 2008 |
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The Swatch FIVB World Tour 2008 is an international beach volleyball competition.
The tour consists of 15 tournaments with both genders and 9 separate gender tournaments.[1]
The top eight finishes that a team has from January 1, 2007 to July 20, 2008, on the Swatch FIVB World Tour (2007 and 2008), SWATCH FIVB World Championships (2007) and on FIVB recognised Continental Championship Finals, counts towards Olympic qualification for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.[2][3] The top 24 teams of each gender will compete in the Beijing Games. There can be a maximum of two teams per country.[2][4]
Grand Slam
There are six Grand Slam tournaments. These events give a higher number of points and more money than the rest of the tournaments.[5]
- Berlin, Germany – Smart Grand Slam, June 10–15, 2008
- Paris, France – Henkel Grand Chelem, June 16–22, 2008
- Stavanger, Norway – ConocoPhillips Grand Slam Stavanger, June 24–29, 2008
- Moscow, Russia – Moscow Grand Slam, July 1–6, 2008
- Gstaad, Switzerland – 1 to 1 Energy Grand Slam 2008, July 22–27, 2008
- Klagenfurt, Austria – A1 Beach Volleyball Grand Slam presented by Nokia, July 28 - August 2, 2008
Records
The Russian player Igor Kolodinsky shot the fastest serve in the Swatch FIVB World Tour history, when he served at 114.0 km/h at the Italian Open presented by Abruzzo in Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy.[9]
American player Elaine Youngs, became the oldest women to win an "open" FIVB event, when she was 38 years, three months and 16 days old, when she won the Hyundai Open Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain.[10]
