The Hague

The Hague (/ðə ˈheɪɡ/; Dutch: Den Haag pronounced [dɛnˈɦaːx] or 's-Gravenhage pronounced [ˈsxraːvə(n)ˌɦaːɣə]) is the seat of government in the Netherlands, and the capital city of the province of South Holland. With a population of 515,880 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2015) and more than one million inhabitants including the suburbs, it is the third-largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 12th-largest in the European Union and the most populous in the country. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation.

The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which constitutionally is Amsterdam. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands plans to live at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, together with Queen Máxima. Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands and 150 international organisations are located in the city, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which makes The Hague one of the major cities hosting the United Nations, along with New York, Geneva, Vienna, Rome and Addis Ababa.

Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net. It has been an Olympic discipline since the 1996 Games.

As in indoor volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent. A team is allowed up to three touches to return the ball across the net. The ball is put in play with a serve —a hit by the server from behind the rear court boundary over the net to the opponents. The rally continues until the ball is grounded on the playing court, goes "out", or is not returned properly.

The team winning a rally scores a point and serves to start the following rally. The four players serve in the same sequence throughout the match, changing server each time a rally is won by the receiving team. Beach volleyball Originated at the Outrigger Canoe Club, on the shores of Waikiki Beach, and has achieved worldwide popularity.

History

The true "birth" of "beach volleyball" apparently began on the beaches of Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, at the Outrigger Canoe Club in 1915. From the moment that this first recorded game in Hawaii took place, this outdoor game of volleyball has continued to be played and known as "beach volleyball" rather than just "volleyball." The Outrigger Canoe Club was founded in 1908 by a small group of Honolulu’s business and professional community. The Club’s original mission was to help perpetuate traditional Hawaiian sports. They began so that they could make sure "the native and small-boy" could "doff their duds and mount their surf boards at will" as they enjoyed the waves of Waikiki. It became a place where man could commune with the sun, the sand and the sea, along with good fellowship and the aloha spirit.

FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour is an intercontinental beach volleyball tour.

The tour was previously known as the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour (2003–2012) where the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) signed a sponsorship deal with Swatch.

Award winners

Men's FIVB World Tour Points Champions

Women's FIVB World Tour Points Champions

Men's FIVB World Tour award winners

Women's FIVB World Tour award winners

References

External links

World Tour

World Tour may refer to:

Sports

International sports world tours and series

Music

Tours