Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 11, 2013 – The first FIVB visit of the volleyball and beach volleyball sites of the Olympic Games to be hosted in Rio de Janiero in 2016 was held on Tuesday.

The inspection team, composed of FIVB 1st Executive Vice-President Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz and FIVB Sports Events Director Gabrielle van Zweiten first visited the Maracanãzinho gymnasium and then the Organising Committee headquarters. The Rio 2016 party included Sports and Paralympic Integration Executive Director Agberto Guimarães, Sports Competitions Manager Rodrigo Garcia and Sports Competitions Coordinator Guilherme Marques.

“I’m really satisfied with what I’ve seen here,” said Marte Hoffiz. “The Organising Committee is really well structured and defined, with professionals that understand what they have in their hands. It will allow the event to be organised in the best possible way.”

He was also enthusiastic about the beach volleyball venue at the world-famous Copacabana beach and expressed his hopes that the event would have even greater success than it had seen at the 2012 London Olympics.

“We’ll have a splendorous scenario at the beautiful Copacabana beach. This is a beach volleyball site for excellence. There is no place in the world like this one,” he enthused.

Marte Hoffiz is also confident that Maracanãzinho gymnasium will draw huge crowds for the volleyball matches in Rio. Plans are currently underway to build warm up courts in accordance with the FIVB’s requirements.

“The Maracanãzinho is the home of Brazilian and world volleyball. The gymnasium is ready to host the world-class players in 2016,” said Marte Hoffiz.

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