Like they did while winning six gold medals in 12 events in 2011, Brazil’s Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca dominated the year-end awards for the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour announced here Friday . In voting by players, coaches, referees and official on the popular international beach volleyball circuit, the affable Juliana was selected as the tour’s most outstanding women’s player for the third consecutive season as she and Larissa combined to receive awards in three individual categories as well as being honored as the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour Team of the Year.
Winning the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour season point championship which included the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Championship and a match record of 67-11 (85.9 percent), the gregarious Juliana 28, was recognized as the world tour’s Most Outstanding Player for the third consecutive year as well the Sportsperson of the Year for the 2011 season while the always-intense Larissa, 29, was honored as the tour’s Best Setter for the sixth consecutive year in addition to teaming with Juliana to earn the women’s Team of the Year for the sixth time in the last seven years and third straight..
Leading the other annual women’s award winners were USA’s Kerri Walsh (Best Blocker and Most Inspirational) and April Ross (Best Hitter and Best Server) with two awards each along with single award winners Germany’s Britte Buethe (Top Rookie), Germany’s Laura Ludwig (Best Offensive Player), Italy’s Marta Menegatti (Most Improved Player) and USA’s Misty May-Treanor (Best Defensive Player). While Ross’ award was determined by her top Swatch serve speed of 85.0kmh recorded during this year’s season-ending event in Phuket, Thailand, the others were all selected by the FIVB vote.
For Walsh, it was fifth time honored as the tour’s Best Blocker (first since 2008) and the first time she was selected as the tour’s Most Inspirational while for Ross, she was selected as the Best Hitter for the second time in the last three years and first time to win the Best Server award. Germany’s Buethe and Germany’s Ludwig were both recognized for the first time as was Italy’s Menegatti. USA’s May-Treanor, who teams with Walsh, earned the Best Defensive Player award for the third time. May-Treanor was also honored as the Sportsperson of the Year in 2007 and 2008 while Walsh received the same honor in 2005 and 2006.
After learning of her latest honors, Juliana commented, “Being awarded as the best player of the World Tour for the third straight year is a real surprise for me. Every year is different. In 2009, I faced it as a prize for my return after all I had being through. In 2010, even being a winning season, I also got surprised. And now, I was not expecting it. I did not think this was my best season, but all the things we won helped me win this individual prize, which I would like to share with our sponsor, our staff and Larissa, who made me the best player of the world playing alongside her again.”
Winning their sixth FIVB Swatch World Tour season title in the last seven years, the Juliana/Larissa tandem have played in 96 events together on the FIVB Swatch World Tour where they have earned a record $2,415,150 with 42 gold medals, 19 silver, 14 bronze and 79 total final four finishes. In the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour, Juliana/Larissa won the gold medal in Brasilia, Sanya, the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Championships in Rome, Gstaad, Stare Jablonki and The Hague.
In addition to all world tour events being internationally televised, also on-site at each event, including the 2011 FIVB Swatch Youth and the 2011 FIVB Swatch Junior World Championships was a special production crew from IMG, the company that not only produces the live international telecasts of select matches, but also the weekly FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour highlight show that is syndicated throughout the world.
The 2011 calendar featured 15 women's and 14 men's events within all five FIVB confederations plus one special 24-team single-gender women’s test event held August 9-14 at London’s Horse Guards Parade, the venue for beach volleyball at the 2012 London Olympic Games. The 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour offered $7.64-million in prize money. Twelve of the tournaments were combined men's and women's events, including the World Championships and the six Grand Slam stops. The men’s tour concluded in October in Agadir Morocco.
There have been 271 men’s and 232 women’s events on the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour (open, grand slam, Olympic and Goodwill). The first men’s FIVB Swatch World Tour event was played February 17-22, 1987 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the first women’s event was played August 14-16, 1992 at Almeria, Spain.
For more information on the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour, please visit www.fivb.org.
All-Time Women's FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Award Winners
Most Outstanding
2011 - Juliana Felisberta Silva, Brazil
2010 - Juliana Felisberta Silva, Brazil
2009 – Juliana Felisberta, Brazil
2008 - Xi Zhang, China & Misty May-Treanor, USA
2007 - Kerri Walsh, United States
2006 - Larissa Franca, Brazil
2005 - May-Treanor, United States
Best Blocker
2011 – Kerri Walsh, United States
2010 – Juliana Felisberta Silva, Brazil
2009 – Juliana Felisberta Silva, Brazil
2008 – Kerri Walsh, United States
2007 – Kerri Walsh, United States
2006 – Kerri Walsh, United States
2005 – Kerri Walsh, United States
Best Defensive Player
2011 – Misty May-Treanor, United States
2010 – Xi Zhang, China
2009 – Larissa Felisberta Silva, Brazil
2008 - Misty May-Treanor, United States
2007 – Misty May-Treanor, United States
2006 - Shelda Bede, Brazil
2005 – Shelda Bede, Brazil
Best Hitter
2011 - April Ross, United States
2010 – Larissa Franca, Brazil
2009 - April Ross, United States
2008 – Larissa Franca, Brazil
2007 – Kerri Walsh, United States
2006 – Kerri Walsh, United States
2005 – Kerri Walsh, United States
Best Offensive Player
2011 – Laura Ludwig, Germany
2010 – Juliana Felisberta Silva, Brazil
2009 – April Ross, United States
2008 – Misty May-Treanor, United States
2007 - Walsh & May-Treanor, United States
2006 – Juliana Felisberta Silva, Brazil
2005 – Misty May-Treanor, United States
Best Server
2011 – April Ross, United States
2010 - Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands
2009 - Maria Clara Salgado, Brazil
2008 - Maria Clara Salgado, Brazil
2007 - Ana Paula Connelly, Brazil
2006 - Ana Paula Connelly, Brazil
2005 - Ana Paula Connelly, Brazil
2004 - Ana Paula Connelly, Brazil
2003 - Ana Paula Connelly, Brazil
Best Setter
2011 – Larissa Franca, Brazil
2010 – Larissa Franca, Brazil
2009 – Larissa Franca, Brazil
2008 – Larissa Franca, Brazil & Vasso Karadassiou, Greece
2007 – Larissa Franca, Brazil
2006 – Larissa Franca, Brazil
2005 – Misty May-Treanor, United States
Most Improved Player
2011 – Marta Menegatti, Italy
2010 - Taiana Lima, Brazil
2009 – Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands
2008 - Nicole Branagh, United States
2007 - Tamsin Barnett, Australia & Laura Ludwig, Germany
2006 - Leila Barros, Brazil
2005 - Vassiliki Arvaniti, Greece
Most Inspirational
2011 – Kerri Walsh, United States
2010 - Denise Johns, England
2009 – Shelda Bede, Brazil
2008 – Shelda Bede, Brazil
2007 – Shelda Bede, Brazil
2006 – Shelda Bede, Brazil
2005 – Shelda Bede, Brazil
Sportsperson(s)
2011 – Juliana Felisberta Silva, Brazil
2010 – Misty May-Treanor, United States
2009 – Shelda Bede, Brazil
2008 - May-Treanor & Walsh, United States
2007 - May-Treanor & Walsh, United States
2006 – Kerri Walsh, United States
2005 – Kerri Walsh, United States
Top Rookie
2011 – Britte Buethe, Germany
2010 - Marketa Slukova & Kristyna Kolocova, Czech Republic
2009 - Angie Akers, USA & Louise Bawden, Australia
2008 - Bibiana Candelas, Mexico
2007 - April Ross, United States
2006 - Chen Xue, China
2005 - Talita Antunes, Brazil
Team of the Year
2011 - Juliana Felisberta Silva & Larissa Franca, Brazil
2010 – Juliana Felisberta Silva & Larissa Franca, Brazil
2009 - Juliana Felisberta Silva & Larissa Franca, Brazil
2008 - Ana Paula Connelly & Shelda Bede, Brazil
2007 - Juliana Felisberta Silva & Larissa Franca, Brazil
2006 - Juliana Felisberta Silva & Larissa Franca, Brazil
2005 - Juliana Felisberta Silva & Larissa Franca, Brazil
All-Time Women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Point Champions
Season Team, Country
1992-93 Karolyn Kirby/Nancy Reno, United States
1993-94 Kirby/Liz Masakayan, United States
1994-95 Monica Rodrigues/Adriana Samuel, Brazil
1995-96 Sandra Pires/Jackie Silva, Brazil
1996 Sandra Pires/Jackie Silva, Brazil
1997 Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, Brazil
1998 Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, Brazil
1999 SheldaBede/Adriana Behar, Brazil
2000 Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, Brazil
2001 Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, Brazil
2002 Misty May/Kerri Walsh, United States
2003 Ana Paula Connelly/Sandra Pires, Brazil
2004 Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, Brazil
2005 Juliana Felisberta Silva/Larissa Franca, Brazil
2006 Juliana/Larissa, Brazil
2007 Juliana/Larissa, Brazil
2008 Shelda/Ana Paula, Brazil
2009 Juliana/Larissa, Brazil
2010 Juliana/Larissa, Brazil
2011 Juliana/Larissa, Brazil
