International Volleyball Fact Sheet Introduction: Volleyball has major international competitions every year and, at its highest level, is a physically demanding sport played by some of the world’s most elite athletes. Of course, volleyball is also a popular recreational activity enjoyed by more than 38 million persons in the United States (more than any team sport but basketball) and more than 800 million persons globally, making it the world’s most popular participant sport. This fact sheet is designed to provide more understanding about international volleyball and its major competitions, including the Olympic Games.
World Rankings: Following the decision of the FIVB Board of Administration, a new system of point attribution based on a new scale has been implemented for the FIVB World Ranking of Volleyball National Teams. The following competitions are now included:
International Governing Body: The international governing body for volleyball is the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The FIVB is the world’s largest sports federation, with more than 200 member nations. Under the direction of its president, Dr. Ruben Acosta of Mexico, the FIVB oversees the administration of volleyball throughout the world and is responsible for producing several major events, including the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, World League and World Grand Prix.
• Olympic Games included for four years - 25 percent reduction each year. Points are also granted for the qualification matches, to the best nonqualified teams.
National Governing Body: The national governing body (NGB) for volleyball in the United States is USA Volleyball, formerly known as the United States Volleyball Association. Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is responsible for the administration of all forms of volleyball in the United States, including producing the annual USA Open Volleyball Championships, Junior Olympic Championships and the USA Outdoor National Championships. As mandated by the 1978 Amateur Sports Act, USA Volleyball is responsible to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and the FIVB for training and nominating the teams which represent the United States in the Olympic Games and other important volleyball competitions worldwide. Major Competitions: The four major events on the international volleyball calendar are the Olympic Games (men and women, indoor and beach), World Championships (men and women, indoor and beach), World Cup (men and women, indoor), World League (men, indoor) and World Grand Prix (women, indoor). All events are conducted quadrennially, with the exceptions of the annual World League/Grand Prix and the biennial Beach World Championships.
• Senior World Championships included for four years - 25 percent reduction each year. Points are also granted for the qualification matches, to the best non-qualified teams.
• year.
World Cup included for two years - 50 percent reduction the second
• Senior Continental Championships included for two years - 50 percent reduction the second year; points are also granted for the qualification matches to the best non-qualified teams. • year.
Men’s World League / Women’s World Grand Prix included for one
Women (Points) - as of 1/23/2013 1. USA (330) 2. Brazil (315) 3. Japan (266) 4. Italy (238) 5. China (226) 6. Russia (160) 7. Turkey (148) 8. Germany (133) 9. Serbia (132) 10. Dominican Republic (127) 11. Korea (125) 12. Thailand (81) 13. Cuba (80) 14. Algeria (71) 15. Poland (69) 16. Kenya (58) 17. Peru (50) 18. Puerto Rico (44) 19. Argentina (42) 20. Netherlands (38) 21. Great Britain (37) 22T. Egypt (32) 22T. Canada (32) 24. Czech Republic (30) 25. Mexico (29) 26T. Colombia (26) 26T. Costa Rica (26) 28T. Chinese Taipei (25) 28T. Senegal (25) 30. Kazakhstan (23) 31. Croatia (22) 32T. Uruguay (20) 32T. Trinidad & Tobago (20) 32. Camerron (20) 35T. Tunisia (18) 35T. Romania (18) 35T. Azerbaijan (18) 38T. Chile (16) 38T. Belgium (16) 38T. Belarus (16)
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Men (Points) as of 1/23/2013 1. Brazil (325) 2. Russia (292) 3. Italy (253) 4. Poland (237) 5. USA (217) 6. Cuba (213) 7. Serbia (175) 8. Bulgaria (165) 9. Argentina (154) 10. Germany (127) 11. Australia (68) 12. Egypt (63) 13. Tunisia (62) 14. Iran (58) 15. France (56) 16T. China (53) 16T. Cameroon (53) 18. Canada (51) 19. Japan (48) 20T. Venezuela (45) 20T. Puerto Rico (45) 22. Czech Republic (41) 23. Mexico (40) 24. Korea (39) 25. Spain (32) 26T. Algeria (30) 26T. Slovakia (30) 28. Colombia (29) 29. Great Britain (26) 30T. India (25) 30T. Finland (25) 32. Chile (22) 33T. Trinidad & Tobago (19) 33T. Morocco (19) 33T. Paraguay (19) 36. Slovenia (17) 37T. Portugual (16) 37T. Estonia (16) 37T. Netherlands (16) 37T. Romania (16)