Volleyball events on hold due to SARS<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The fifth Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup Men's Club
\nChampionship, which was scheduled to be held here next month, has
\nbeen postponed indefinitely due to Severe Acute Respiratory
\nSyndrome (SARS), a report said.<\/p>\n
The tournament was to have run from May 20 through May 25 at
\nthe Bung Karno Stadium's Indoor Tennis court, featuring top clubs
\nfrom China, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand
\nand Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Before the official postponement by AVC President Wei Jizhong
\nlate Wednesday, Japan, Qatar and Thailand had already withdrawn
\nfrom the tournament, citing either SARS or the repercussions of
\nIraq war as their reason. South Korea followed suit on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"They (South Korea) said that they could not promise that the
\nteam would make a trip here. I presume that they were not going
\nto participate. Later today (Thursday), the AVC notified us about
\nthe postponement of the tournament,\" said Rita Subowo, chairwoman
\nof the Indonesian Volleyball Association (PBVSI).<\/p>\n
The women's division of the championship, which was to have
\nbeen held concurrently in Thailand, was also put on hold, as was
\nreported in Wei's letter to the PBVSI, copies of which were made
\navailable to the media.<\/p>\n
\"Due to the worldwide SARS threat, and after serious
\nconsideration and consultation, we have decided to postpone the
\n5th AVC Cup Men's and Women's Club Volleyball Tournaments to a
\nlater date.<\/p>\n
\"The new competition dates will be announced if and when the
\nsituation improves,\" Wei said.<\/p>\n
SARS, which first emerged in China and is reported to have
\nclaimed over 200 lives worldwide, has also resulted in the
\npostponement of other Asian volleyball tournaments for an
\nindefinite period of time.<\/p>\n
The postponed tournaments include the Men's Under-19 and
\nWomen's Under-20 World Championship in Thailand, the Men's Under-
\n21 World Championship in Iran, and the Men's and Women's World
\nCup in Japan.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has two additional international competitions to be
\nheld here: the Women's World Grand Prix series in Jakarta between
\nJuly 18 and July 21, and the Beach Volleyball Olympics
\nqualification in Bali from Aug. 20 to Aug. 24.<\/p>\n
Rita said world volleyball governing body FIVB would convene
\nin Lausanne, Switzerland, early this month. Included on their
\nagenda is to decide on which tournaments are to be scrapped and
\nwhich are to be rescheduled.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/volleyball-events-on-hold-due-to-sars-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}