[edit] Beach volleyball Olympic test to kick off

GSTAAD, Switzerland, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The beach volleyball official test event for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will take place from 13th to 19th on August, the volleyball world governing body FIVB announced on Friday. The event, by name of "Good Luck Beijing 2007 FIVB Beach Volleyball Women's Challenger", will be held as general rehearsal for the Beijing Olympic beach volleyball event with real and tough competition running, according to a FIVB press release.

The main court will be the 12,000-seats Olympic venue in Chaoyang Park, where 24 teams will compete seven days following exactly the Olympic formula, testing each organizing detail which will be repeated one year later on the Olympic Beach Volleyball day, from 9th to 22nd on August, 2008.

The event will offer an opportunity for players, media and spectators to discover for the very first time all the features of the Chaoyang Park brand new arena, built in place of a former industrial area.

The sand is another key factor for the competition. 22 trucks of sand has been unloaded at the end of June and the sand had been checked by FIVB experts.

Then a second batch of 7,000 tons of the same sand arrived days ago, to be poured on the main court and on two side grounds in different layers in time for the Challenger free training which will start on 11th August, two days before the official start of the competition.

Entertainment, always twinned with Beach Volleyball, is under testing at the same time, stressing the organizers' initiative and their will to be in line with the FIVB requests for the best sport ever.

As one of the most famous parks for recreation, Chaoyang Park has many modern projects to accommodate the Olympic Beach Volleyball Tournament. The Sun Park Wheel is one of the wonders. Standing 208 meters high, northeast to the Olympic Beach Volleyball Ground, it will become the world's largest observation wheel.

With the "Good Luck Beijing" 2007 FIVB Beach Volleyball Women's Challenger approaching, rehearsals for cheerleaders are also taking place. Different cheerleader's teams have started their training sessions on the main court this week.

While the final choice of the cheerleaders' team will be announced in the near future on www.chinaddup.com, the FIVB eventually will give its approval of a detailed plan concerning the dancers, announcers, DJs, music and all the entertainment program that has to be perfectly fitted with the sport schedule of the Olympic matches program.