The FIVB announced that it is adding a sixth three-star event to the 2018 slate, a stop in Haiyang, China from July 18-22.
The new event will feature a purse of $150,000 for the gold medalist in each gender, bumping the overall World Tour money to over $6.7 million.
The Haiyang three-star will be played at a permanent beach volleyball venue on Haiyang Beach, slated to hold 2000 spectators with the possibility of future expansion. This is not the first major event to be played in the city, as it was the site of the 2012 Asian Beach Games.
The addition of Haiyang ups the total of tour stops in China to seven, including two-star events in Jinjiang, Nantong and Nanjing, the three-star in Qinzhou from October 2017, and the four-star in Xiamen set for April 18-22.
The Haiyang three-star is among 12 FIVB World Tour events slated for the month of July, and the first of two three-star stops, alongside Agadir, Morocco (July 25-29). The event will run concurrent to a one-star tournament in Ulsan, Korea.
Of note is that a number of European teams may miss the Haiyang three-star due to an arrangement between the FIVB and European Volleyball Confederation (CEV). European players/teams qualified for the CEV Championships slated for July 15-22, will not be eligible to register for the Chinese stop.
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