U.S. still not sure for Bali beach volleyball tourney
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.