China, Australia, and Czech Republic to Host 2017 Grand Prix Finals

  0 Braden Keith | December 22nd, 2016 | FIVB World Grand Prix, News

China, the Czech Republic, and Australia will play host to the final rounds of the 2017 FIVB Women’s World Grand Prix Tournament for their respective groups 1, 2, and 3, FIVB has confirmed. The tournament is the major global women’s indoor event on the 2017 calendar.

Group 1 – Top Tier

China will host Group 1, the top tier of teams, were drawn into 9 pools of 4 teams each (or, 3 rounds of 3 pools). After all 54 of those pool games are played, all teams will be lumped into one big rankings table, from which the top 5 teams will advance to play in the final round in China. China, as the host of that final round, gets an automatic berth. The last-ranked team could be relegated to group 2 for next year, if the team that wins group 2 this year meets the FIVB’s criteria.

In the final rounds, teams will be drawn into 2 pools using a serpentine system. In other words, the 1st, 4th, and 5th best teams from pool play will be a group; while 2nd, 3rd, and 6th will be a group – with the host team automatically getting the top seed.

Brazil landed in the top spot in 2016, finishing with a 3-2 victory over the United States in the final.

Pools will be hosted throughout the month of June at different sites around the world – sometimes those by teams participating, and sometimes not.

  • 1st round – June 7th-9th in Turkey, China, and the Netherlands.
  • 2nd round – June 16th-18th in Japan, Russia, and Macau.
  • 3rd round – June 21st-June 23rd, with hosting sites in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Brazil.
  • Final round – August 2nd-6th in Nanjing, China

Teams in this group:

  • Belgium
  • Brazil
  • China (finals hosts)
  • Dominican Republic
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Netherlands
  • Russia
  • Serbia
  • Thailand
  • Turkey
  • United States
Week 1
Pool A1
Turkey
Pool B1
China
Pool C1
Netherlands
 Brazil
 Belgium
 Turkey
 Serbia
 United States
 Russia
 Italy
 China
 Netherlands
 Dominican Republic
 Japan
 Thailand
Week 2
Pool D1
Japan
Pool E1
Macau
Pool F1
Russia
 Brazil
 Thailand
 Japan
 Serbia
 United States
 Turkey
 Italy
 China
 Netherlands
 Dominican Republic
 Russia
 Belgium
Week 3
Pool G1
Hong Kong
Pool H1
Thailand
Pool I1
Brazil
 Japan
 Russia
 China
 Serbia
 Italy
 Dominican Republic
 Turkey
 Thailand
 Netherlands
 Belgium
 United States
 Brazil

Group 2 – Middle Tier

Group 2 will follow a nearly-identical format to group 1 in pool play, except that only 4 teams (the top 3 teams not the hosts, plus the Czech hosts). In Group 2, there won’t be a week off between the 3rd round of pool play and the finals, and again the top team gets the #1 seed automatically. In this group, the Czech Republic will receive the free pass to the finals and the top seed, with the next 5 best teams joining them in late June.

The Dominican Republic won the title last year and advanced to the top tier with a 3-2 win over Poland.

Pools will be held on the same weekends as Group 1:

  • 1st round – June 7th-9th in Bulgaria, Argentina, and Peru
  • 2nd round – June 16th-18th in Kazakhstan, Poland, and Puerto Rico
  • 3rd round – June 21st-June 23rd, with hosting sites in Richmond, Canada; South Korea, Croatia
  • Final round – Dates TBD in Czech Republic

Teams in this group:

  • Argentina
  • Bulgaria
  • Canada
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic (finals hosts)
  • Germany
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Peru
  • Poland
  • Puerto Rico
  • South Korea
Week 1
Pool A2
Bulgaria
Pool B2
Argentina
Pool C2
Peru
 Germany
 Bulgaria
 South Korea
 Kazakhstan
 Poland
 Canada
 Argentina
 Croatia
 Puerto Rico
 Czech Republic
 Peru
 Kenya
Week 2
Pool D2
Kazakhstan
Pool E2
Poland
Pool F2
Puerto Rico
 Germany
 Kenya
 Croatia
 Kazakhstan
 Poland
 South Korea
 Argentina
 Peru
 Puerto Rico
 Czech Republic
 Canada
 Bulgaria
Week 3
Pool G2
Canada
Pool H2
South Korea
Pool I2
Croatia
 Germany
 Canada
 Peru
 Czech Republic
 Poland
 Kenya
 South Korea
 Kazakhstan
 Puerto Rico
 Bulgaria
 Argentina
 Croatia

Group 3 – Bottom Tier

With only 8 teams in group 3, the format is a little different. The winning team still has the chance to advance to group 2 next year, and the 4-team final round format will be the same as Group 2, but instead of 9 pools of 4 teams, there will be 4 pools of 4 teams that play across two weeks in June. Then, while Groups 1 and 2 are playing their 3rd round of pool play, Group 3 will have its championship in Australia.

Croatia won the group last year and qualified to advance to Group 2. Kazakhstan, the runners-up, and Colombia, the 3rd-place finishers, also advanced after other countries pulled out.

  • 1st round – June 7th-9th in Mexico and Cameroon
  • 2nd round – June 16th-18th in Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago
  • Final round – July 29-30th in Canberra, Australia

Teams in this group:

  • Algeria
  • Austraila (finals hosts)
  • Cameroon
  • Colombia
  • Hungary
  • Mexico
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Venezuela (replacing Azerbaijan)

Group 3[edit]

Week 1
Pool A3
Mexico
Pool B3
Cameroon
 Australia
 Trinidad and Tobago
 Mexico
 Hungary
 Colombia
 Algeria
 Cameroon
 Venezuela
Week 2
Pool C3
Venezuela
Pool D3
Trinidad and Tobago
 Hungary
 Algeria
 Mexico
 Venezuela
 Colombia
 Trinidad and Tobago
 Cameroon
 Australia

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About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of VolleyMob.com. Braden's first foray into sports journalism came in 2010, when he launched a swimming website called The Swimmers' Circle. Two years later, he joined SwimSwam.com as a co-founder. Long huge fans of volleyball, when Braden and the SwimSwam partners sought an opportunity to …

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