The next beach volleyball world championships, originally scheduled for Rome in summer 2021, has been postponed to June 2022 in the Italian capital.
The move was made in light of the Tokyo Olympics postponement to July-August 2021, and in respect of the international sports calendar and agenda, Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago said in a press release.
Beach volleyball worlds have been held officially in odd years dating to 1997. The first worlds were held in Los Angeles. European nations hosted the last eight editions, including in Hamburg, Germany, last year.
A U.S. women’s team has reached the semifinals of every worlds. Last year, April Ross and Alix Klineman earned silver, falling to Canadians Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes in the final.
That tournament carried the most points in Olympic qualification, putting Ross and Klineman in prime position to earn one of two U.S. spots. Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat lead a race for the second spot, ahead of Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil.
With sports halted and the Olympics pushed to 2021, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) must decide how it will alter Olympic qualifying. The original format was to take each pair’s 12 best results in international events from Sept. 1, 2018 to June 14, 2020.
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