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Dubai: Beijing Olympic champion Kerri Walsh will team up with new partner Nicole Branagh at the Swatch FIVB Beach Volley World Tour that gets under way today in Dubai.
It is the first time such a competition involving both men and women has been held in the Middle East. The matches will be held at Jumeirah Beach Park until October 11.
Kerri Walsh lined up alongside Misty May, also of the US, to win the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Walsh and May have entered the history books of women's beach volley for the number of tournaments and prize money they have won since they came together in 2001.
Strong teams
"Walsh and Branagh may get the top seeding here and we are expecting to have a few more strong teams from Brazil and Europe," Dirk Decher, FIVB's technical supervisor said at a press conference held to announce the event.
"The season has been long and tiring, but players are very excited to be travelling to Dubai," he added.
The week-long event is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.
"We are honoured to organise such a tournament in Dubai as this is the first time ever that such a competition has been held in the Middle East region," said Mohammad Abdul Karim Al Julfar, President of the UAE Volleyball Association.
"We always believe that if we need to start something then we need to start big and that is the idea behind bringing such a prestigious competition here."
Both categories will have a prize fund of $175,000 (Dh642,826) each. The competition will get under way at 4pm today.
Fact file
What: Swatch FIVB Beach Volley World Tour Dubai Open
When: Starts today; finals on October 11
Where: Jumeirah Beach Park
Who: More than 250 players from over 40 countries
Total prize money of $350,000
Entryfree for all
All information on: www.dubaibeachvolley.com or www.fivb.org
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