A ‘beach’ at the Grand Parade to host Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 action.
Excitement is building for the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 happening in Cape Town from 2-6 November, with the grandstand and a ‘beach’ under construction on the Grand Parade to host over 64 elite volleyball athletes at the prestigious international tournament.
The Beach Pro Tour is the worldwide professional beach volleyball tour for both men and women organised by Volleyball World and the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). Winning the Beach Pro Tour is one of the highest honours in international beach volleyball, with only the World Championships and the Olympic Beach Volleyball tournaments considered to be more prestigious.
SPORTING ACTION FROM THE BEST IN THE WORLD
The heroes of international Beach Volleyball worldwide will be in Cape Town next week, amongst them World Champions in both genders, Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Sørum and Brazilians Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa and Ana Patricia Ramos.
Grant Goldschmidt and Leo Williams form the South African team who are entered in the tournament as the Wild Card entry from the host nation. Goldschmidt represented South Africa at the 2012 London Olympics, and with teammate Williams is hoping to qualify for the Paris Olympics in 2024. The pair competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this year.
COME FOR THE SPORT, STAY FOR THE PARTY
Music and entertainment will form part of the festival atmosphere, with Heart FM and other DJs keeping the party going after the volleyball action is finished for the day. A range of food and drink offerings will ensure the party is fuelled, and the vibe will be fun and full of energy.
Hosting the tournament is significant for the City of Cape Town, especially with the matches being broadcast live worldwide to millions of fans. Volleyball has a global audience of 480 million, and was the most watched sport of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Locally, all matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport Variety 2.
PUTTING BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY
As part of the contract with the local promoter for the City of Cape Town to host the event, Volleyball World and FIVB will be investing significantly in a legacy programme to develop the sport in South Africa, including the involvement of local communities in the event itself.
The legacy programme has already seen two beach volleyball tournaments for disadvantaged youth take place at Muizenberg beach recently, and on 29 October a further tournament takes place on the freshly created beach volleyball courts on the Grand Parade - an outing that for some children will be their first-ever trip into the city centre. 500 children will attend the event during the course of the week.
The tournament being held in Cape Town each each year will create awareness around Beach Volleyball and generate interest from local talent, encouraging participation and developing talent to a senior level so that South Africa can be competitive at international level.
For tickets and for further information visit www.beachprotourcapetown.com
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