U.S. still not sure for Bali beach volleyball tourney
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia will have two wild cards at next month's Swatch Women's Beach Volleyball World Tour in Bali, while teams from the United States are still unsure about their participation due to government travel warnings.
Siti Nurjanah/Ni Putu Timy Yudhani and Niniek Nuraidah/Minarni will be among the more than 60 teams from 30 countries taking part in the competition, which will be held at Petitenget Beach in Seminyak, Bali, between Aug. 20 and Aug. 24.
Nurjanah/Timy will be included in the main draw while Niniek/Minarni will have to go through the qualifying stage.
The Bali Open is one of 12 Volleyball World Tour Series, which provide qualifying points for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
However, the Bali tournament, with total cash prizes of US$150,000, could be marred by the absence of the Americans, who are traditionally among the strongest teams.
The organizers have already made a compromise on the deadline registration to increase the chances that the American players will make it to the tournament.
"The registration deadline was July 25, but we think the presence of the American teams is crucial to the competitiveness of the tournament," Cahya Aziz, the tournament director, said during a media conference here on Wednesday.
"Therefore, we have decided to extend the deadline for the Americans until just before the tournament."
Four American teams are currently ranked among the top 20 in the world, including reigning world champions Kerri Walsh/Misty May who are ranked second, behind Ana Paula/Sandra Pires of Brazil.
The other U.S. teams are Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs (ranked fourth), Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan (8) and Dianne DeNecochea/Nancy Mason (13).
Other familiar faces on the beach volleyball tour that will take part in the Bali event are 2002 Olympic gold medalist Kelly Pottharst of Australia and 2001 world champions Adriana Behar/Shelda of Brazil.
Aziz said the organizers had arranged all the facilities to meet the requirements of an international tournament.
"We have prepared six courts in total, one main court, three supporting courts and two training courts. We have also put an emphasis on security at and around the venue.
"We will also put up stands around the main court with a capacity of 3,000 spectators. The stands are expected to be completed by Aug. 12, right on schedule. The FIVB (the world volleyball governing body) is due to conduct an inspection of the facilities," he said.