The venue for the Visa FIVB Beach Volleyball International, the test event for the London 2012 Olympic Games, is nearing completion in Horse Guards Parade in the UK capital.
As this stunning shot taken last weekend shows, the temporary 1,500 capacity stands are up around the main court as well as the two practice courts and training courts ready for the competition, which will run from August 9 to 14. Come 2012 the venue will be much larger with a 15,000 seat temporary stadium set to be erected.
The bird’s-eye view of the venue in Horse Guards Parade sees Trafalgar Square to the right, St James’ Park (which is where the training courts will be based during the Olympic Games) and Buckingham Palace towards the top left.
The event is already gaining attention in the UK and last Friday British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the site.
A number of world class teams will attend the competition in a week’s time, including 2009 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch world champions Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross as well as bronze medallists from the most recent World Championship and the Beijing Olympic Games China’s Chen Xue and Xi Zhang.
First Results
| Pool F | |||||||
| 36 | 11-Aug | 12:45 | C | Zhang CH. N.-Ding Jingjing CHN [18] | Lili-Vieira BRA [19] | ||
| 35 | 11-Aug | 11:50 | C | Candelas-Garcia MEX [6] | Hochevar-Rutledge USA [7] | ||
| 24 | 10-Aug | 14:35 | C | Hochevar-Rutledge USA [7] | Lili-Vieira BRA [19] | 1-2 (18-21, 21-19, 11-15) | 0:52 |
| 23 | 10-Aug | 11:50 | C | Candelas-Garcia MEX [6] | Zhang CH. N.-Ding Jingjing CHN [18] | 2-0 (21-10, 21-17) | 0:30 |
| 12 | 09-Aug | 11:23 | C | Hochevar-Rutledge USA [7] | Zhang CH. N.-Ding Jingjing CHN [18] | 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) | 0:33 |
| 11 | 09-Aug | 10:00 | C | Candelas-Garcia MEX [6] | Lili-Vieira BRA [19] | 2-1 (21-19, 26-28, 16-14) | 1:05 |
| Pool E | |||||||
| 34 | 11-Aug | 10:55 | C | Bansley-Maloney CAN [5] | Cook-Hinchley AUS [8] | ||
| 33 | 11-Aug | 10:00 | C | Simon-Andrea ESP [17] | Shun Thing-Teck Hua MAS [20] | ||
| 22 | 10-Aug | 17:25 | C | Cook-Hinchley AUS [8] | Shun Thing-Teck Hua MAS [20] | 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) | 0:30 |
| 21 | 10-Aug | 12:45 | C | Bansley-Maloney CAN [5] | Simon-Andrea ESP [17] | 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) | 0:43 |
| 10 | 09-Aug | 12:45 | C | Cook-Hinchley AUS [8] | Simon-Andrea ESP [17] | 2-0 (21-8, 21-16) | 0:33 |
| 9 | 09-Aug | 11:50 | C | Bansley-Maloney CAN [5] | Shun Thing-Teck Hua MAS [20] | 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) | 0:36 |
| Pool D | |||||||
| 32 | 11-Aug | 20:10 | C | Vivian-Lima BRA [4] | Boulton-Johns GBR [9] | ||
| 31 | 11-Aug | 20:10 | 1 | Broder-Voth CAN [16] | Hunkus-Lowe USA [21] | ||
| 20 | 10-Aug | 19:15 | C | Vivian-Lima BRA [4] | Broder-Voth CAN [16] | 2-0 (21-12, 21-18) | 0:31 |
| 19 | 10-Aug | 16:30 | C | Boulton-Johns GBR [9] | Hunkus-Lowe USA [21] | 2-0 (21-19, 21-14) | 0:37 |
| 8 | 09-Aug | 18:00 | 1 | Vivian-Lima BRA [4] | Hunkus-Lowe USA [21] | 2-0 (21-13, 21-17) | 0:31 |
| 7 | 09-Aug | 16:30 | C | Boulton-Johns GBR [9] | Broder-Voth CAN [16] | 2-0 (21-10, 21-11) | 0:29 |
| Pool C | |||||||
| 30 | 11-Aug | 19:15 | C | Kessy-Ross USA [3] | MacTavish-Rodrigue CAN [10] | ||
| 29 | 11-Aug | 18:20 | C | Graumann-Anu EST [15] | Nammanda-Alice UGA [22] | ||
| 18 | 10-Aug | 20:10 | C | Kessy-Ross USA [3] | Graumann-Anu EST [15] | 2-0 (21-15, 21-11) | 0:30 |
| 17 | 10-Aug | 18:20 | C | MacTavish-Rodrigue CAN [10] | Nammanda-Alice UGA [22] | 2-0 (21-15, 21-5) | 0:23 |
| 6 | 09-Aug | 18:20 | 1 | Kessy-Ross USA [3] | Nammanda-Alice UGA [22] | 2-0 (21-6, 21-8) | 0:24 |
| 5 | 09-Aug | 16:30 | 1 | MacTavish-Rodrigue CAN [10] | Graumann-Anu EST [15] | 0-2 (17-21, 19-21) | 0:37 |
| Pool B | |||||||
| 28 | 11-Aug | 14:35 | C | Xue-Zhang Xi CHN [2] | Elwin-Matauatu VAN [11] | ||
| 27 | 11-Aug | 13:40 | C | Roubanis-Papageorgiou GRE [14] | Sinnema-Wiltens NED [23] | ||
| 16 | 10-Aug | 10:55 | C | Elwin-Matauatu VAN [11] | Sinnema-Wiltens NED [23] | 2-0 (21-14, 23-21) | 0:34 |
| 15 | 10-Aug | 10:00 | C | Xue-Zhang Xi CHN [2] | Roubanis-Papageorgiou GRE [14] | 2-0 (21-16, 21-11) | 0:29 |
| 4 | 09-Aug | 14:35 | C | Xue-Zhang Xi CHN [2] | Sinnema-Wiltens NED [23] | 2-0 (21-15, 21-8) | 0:27 |
| 3 | 09-Aug | 13:40 | C | Elwin-Matauatu VAN [11] | Roubanis-Papageorgiou GRE [14] | 2-0 (21-13, 23-21) | 0:36 |
| Pool A | |||||||
| 26 | 11-Aug | 17:25 | C | Santiago-Acevedo PUR [13] | Clancy-Hynes AUS [24] | ||
| 25 | 11-Aug | 16:30 | C | Mullin-Dampney GBR [1] | Wang Fan-Y.Y. Ma CHN [12] | ||
| 14 | 10-Aug | 21:05 | C | Mullin-Dampney GBR [1] | Santiago-Acevedo PUR [13] | ||
| 13 | 10-Aug | 13:40 | C | Wang Fan-Y.Y. Ma CHN [12] | Clancy-Hynes AUS [24] | 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) | 0:32 |
| 2 | 09-Aug | 18:20 | C | Mullin-Dampney GBR [1] | Clancy-Hynes AUS [24] | 2-0 (21-10, 21-13) | 0:30 |
| 1 | 09-Aug | 17:25 | C | Wang Fan-Y.Y. Ma CHN [12] | Santiago-Acevedo PUR [13] | 2-0 (21-10, 21-17) | 0:28 |