Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 3, 2016 – FIVB President Dr Ary S Graça F° welcomed the officials for the beach volleyball and volleyball tournaments to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Wednesday, explaining that both disciplines are on the “cusp of a golden era” and the Rio Olympics presents a "unique opportunity for volleyball".
In an inspirational speech, President Graça highlighted the importance of the Rio Olympics for volleyball but stressed that with all the experience across the International Technical Officials and the National Technical Officials, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be "a great success".
"This is your moment, this is volleyball's moment,” President Graça said. “We are on the cusp of a golden era for our sport looking ahead to Tokyo 2020.
“Both volleyball and beach volleyball are going to be great spectacles and I know you will all do your best, providing the fans with an unforgettable experience.”
Twenty eight International Technical Officials and 20 volleyball and 16 beach volleyball referees will officiate the matches at the Games, with a whole host of new technology also set to be used for the first time at an Olympics.
Preparation for the referees began as early as 2015, with seminars having been held for both volleyball and beach volleyball at the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World League and 2015 World Cup last year, plus the Rio Grand Slam and Hamburg Major for beach volleyball, and World Olympic Qualification Tournaments in Japan and the World Grand Prix G1 Finals.
The seminars were form part of the FIVB’s vision to continue to develop and improve all aspects of the sport of volleyball and beach volleyball. They were supported by an e-learning platform focused on increasing collaboration between referees around the world and creating new links between different members of the volleyball and beach volleyball family.
The Volleyball House marks the first time the FIVB will have a dedicated base at an Olympic Games, with the venue located right on Copacabana Beach. It will provide an engaging environment for guests including Olympic and FIVB family members, commercial partners, government ministers and officials and broadcasters/media to come together and enjoy the Olympic volleyball experience.