Olympic Volleyball Poised for Perfection, Says FIVB

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(ATR) FIVB sport director Piero Rebaudengo tells Around the Rings London 2012’s lack of a legacy volleyball venue is one of his only criticisms after the sport’s successful Olympic test event.

Held in the Earls Court arena where volleyball will be staged next summer, the five-day International Invitational consisted of 15 matches in a round-robin format.

Competition ended Sunday with an exciting climax as the Brazilian team beat Olympic champions USA in the week’s final match, taking revenge for its loss in Beijing.

Team Great Britain also finished its Olympic dress rehearsal in style with a win over Egypt, while Serbia took the overall title on points.

Despite the event running without any major problems, Rebaudengo said he still believes there was room for improvement.

"Everything has to be on time from the beginning until the end. The Olympics is not a normal tournament. All communication has to run a perfect way," he told ATR.

"Here we didn’t have an Olympic standard on all the departments and in all the people involved."

However, the bulk of preparations on display at Earls Court satisfied Rebaudengo, who won a bronze medal in volleyball at the 1984 Summer Games as part of Italy’s team.

"All the things we tested such as field of play, warm-up courts, changing rooms and athletes’ areas went well. We didn’t test TV or other issues but we hope everything will run in a good way. It’s impossible a year before to be 100% ready and we are looking for the next few months in order to achieve this goal," he said.

"LOCOG has 12 months and more to define all the small details and I am quite optimistic we will reach perfection."

When asked if he was disappointed that volleyball would not leave behind a permanent venue after the Games, Rebaudengo expressed his regret.

"One of the goals of the Olympics in general is to leave a legacy on the country," he explained.

"One of the legacies that we are expecting is that volleyball in the UK will be developed. To reach this goal, the venue is fundamental. If you have no venue to play in, it’s difficult to play a sport."

Rebaudengo’s comments were echoed by Team GB volleyball vice-captain Andy Pink.

"We’re disappointed that we are not going to be left with a venue after the Olympics. They’ve built a handball arena, for example, and something like that for volleyball, the world’s most popular sport, is desperately needed in this country," he told ATR.

"But putting those gripes aside, it’s a fantastic venue, and it’s going to be absolutely full every single day and it’s going to be rocking – we can’t wait."

LOCOG volleyball manager Bob Clarke also praised the historic Earls Court venue and spoke proudly about the organization of the test event.

"We are in a great venue. It was an Olympic venue in 1948, and here we are again playing in an Olympic venue. In a very short space of time we have 3 courts, the athlete changing areas – everything went up without any problem at all," he told ATR.

"What we wanted to test was the athlete flow and the protocol as they would be during the Olympic Games, so it’s a familiarization for the workforce. We have to get used to those protocols and strict guidelines that happen during the Games in terms of conducting a match. So to be having this tournament with such high-caliber teams proved beneficial to us. It provided some good learning."

Clarke also dismissed the fear that no permanent volleyball venue would be left after the Games.

"A lot of the main stadiums that had volleyball in previous Olympic Games actually don’t exist today because it’s a huge facility," he said.

"So it’s OK for an Olympic Games, but it might not be OK for just an everyday volleyball match."

An Olympic venue back in 1948, Earls Court now plays host to music concerts, conventions and other events throughout the year. It’s no stranger to large crowds who next year will sit in the stands looking down on the well-lit court.

Team GB volleyball player Dan Hunter spoke of his excitement about playing in the spacious arena and said the home support will definitely have an impact on the team’s performance come 2012.

"It’s pretty big, isn’t it?" he said.

"I think it’s phenomenal. I can’t wait to play in it. It’s really motivating us. If we have 15,000 people out here screaming for GB, it’s like having another man out there on the court. We’ve got something to prove. With a year to go, who knows what we could do?"

Written in London by Christian Radnedge.