A release by Volleyball Canada about this summer’s FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Grand Prix hints at changes in format (and name) coming to the event in 2018.
“This will likely be the only chance for Canadians to see this calibre of women’s volleyball on home soil, as the tournament’s format will change and be re-branded in 2018,” the Volleyball Canada release about selling tickets to this year’s event reads.
What was otherwise a casual attempt at inciting local crowds for the tournament quietly leaked news about a rebrand to the tournament next year. When asked, FIVB said that they have no news about a change at this time.
The tournament has been held annually since 1993, and in its current format has 32 teams participating in 3 tiers of play at 25 sites around the world.
Group 1 includes the world’s top 12 teams, Group 2 is home to the next-best 12, and Group 3 is smaller, with 8 teams. Currently, teams promote and demote between groups based on their performance in the previous year.
No other information has been made publicly available yet, but an FIVB spokesperson says that they will reach out to VolleyMob if that changes.
The 2017 Grand Prix will feature play across 5 weekends:
- Week 1, July 7-9: 48 matches
- Week 2, July 14-16: 48 matches
- Week 3, July 21-23: 40 matches (including Group 3 Championship in Australia)
- Week 4, July 28-30: 4 matches (Group 2 Championship in Czech Republic)
- Week 5, August 2-6: 10 matches (Group 1 Championship in China)
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