Gwangju Plays Host to International Professional Volleyball Tournament
By Mary Beth Wims
Photos by Sarah Bosch
Where in Korea can you find people taller than 200 cm (about 6’7”)? Not many places. However, if you happened upon Yeomju Gymnasium in Gwangju between June 22 and 24, you would have seen more tall men than probably exist throughout the rest of the country combined. The screaming teenage girls waiting outside the locker rooms for a glimpse (or even a photo!) were in on this secret.
In explanation: the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (the FIVB) governs high-level volleyball and beach volleyball. Every year, the FIVB organizes the World League Tournament, which is, according to the tournament website, the “premier annual men’s international volleyball tournament.” Started in 1990 and now entering its 23rd year, the World League Tournament pits 16 elite teams from around the world against one another in a pool play format. The squads are divided into pools of four teams each; each team’s country plays host to the other three teams in its pool over the course of several weeks. That’s a lot of travel and a lot of volleyball, giving the players and their sport exposure to fans all over the world.
After each team has had an opportunity to host, the top team in each pool, as well as the first runner-up team (as determined by overall point totals), will travel to Bulgaria for the tournament finals, to be held July 4–8. One of these six teams (Bulgaria, as host, is given an automatic berth) will be crowned the 2012 FIVB World League Tournament champion.
The four teams in Pool C – France, Italy, the Republic of Korea, and the USA – had already played in Florence, Italy and Lyon, France in mid-May and mid-June, respectively. And now it was the ROK’s turn to host. Volleyball is not an overly popular sport in Korea, but the fans at Yeomju over those three days were a spirited bunch. These teams, after all, are among the best in the world, and the speed at which the games are played showcases the athleticism of the players – these guys can jump! Further, two of the teams in Pool C, Italy and the USA, are Olympic qualifiers and are heading to London soon. And since the American men won the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the current gold medalists were even in town, adding an element of celebrity to the event.
Of the six matches played in Gwangju, the Americans emerged victorious, having beaten each of the other teams. France won two matches, the Italian team managed a single victory, and the Korean team was unfortunately shut out on its home turf. The results of the Gwangju matches reflect the overall standings of Pool C to date: at the time of this writing, the USA has won 20 matches; France, 17; Italy, 11; and Korea, 1. On June 29 the teams headed to Dallas, Texas to finish pool play.
After the USA versus Korea match on Sunday the 24th, fans lined up outside the locker rooms to wait for the players to emerge. When an athlete would finally appear, cheers erupted and the throng of people pushed forward. Players, most of them towering over the crowd, obligingly signed volleyballs and posed for photos. Being tall does have its advantages, after all.
For more information on the FIVB and the World League Tournament, visit http://www.fivb.org/.