Puerto Rico host of the 2011 Men´s NORCECA Continental Championship

MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico, August 27, 2011 - Puerto Rico is set to host the 2011 Men’s NORCECA Continental Championship, at the city of Mayagüez, from August 29 to September 3, qualifying event to the FIVB Volleyball World Cup.

The top-eight teams of the region will take part in the competition that will qualify the winner to the FIVB Volleyball World Cup to take place in Japan in November, the first step in the qualification process for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The program includes the preliminary inquiry and technical meeting on Sunday 28 and actions begin on Monday 29 with the preliminary round matches.

Teams are divided in 2 groups. Pool A includes host country Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and St. Lucia, while Pool B consists of NORCECA’s champions Cuba, along with United States, Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica.

This is the fourth time the Puerto Rico organizes a Men´s Continental Championship; first time was in 1989 at San Juan, followed by Caguas in 1997 and the last edition in 2009 at Bayamon.

Nelson Perez Cruz, President of Puerto Rico’s Volleyball Federation, said: “It is an honor to present this monumental event, which opens the 2012 Olympic preparation; we are confident for a successful outcome, despite that part of the island has been without electricity and water for some days due to the Hurricane Irene.”

Year by Year Results

Year    Gold    Silver  Bronze

1969     CUB      MEX      USA

1971     CUB      USA      MEX

1973     USA      CUB      CAN

1975     CUB      MEX      USA

1977     CUB      MEX      USA

1979     CUB      CAN      MEX

1981     CUB      USA      CAN

1983     USA      CAN      CUB

1985     USA      CUB      CAN

1987     CUB      USA      CAN

1989     CUB      CAN      USA

1991     CUB      USA      CAN

1993     CUB      USA      CAN

1995     CUB      USA      CAN

1997     CUB      USA      CAN

1999     USA      CUB      CAN

2001     CUB      USA      CAN

2003     USA      CAN      CUB

2005     USA      CUB      CAN

2007     USA      PUR      CUB

2009     CUB      USA      PUR