Tijuana prepared to welcome Men’s Pan Am Cup

The preparations for the IX Men's Pan American Volleyball Cup are ongoing and the Organizing Committee has held coordination meetings and working towards the event expected to have nine top teams the continent.

Operational, logistical and preparation in the technical aspects were recently analyzed in the facilities of High Performance Center, with the presence of personnel in the areas of High Level Competition, Talent Development, Computing and Public Relations, as well as Sports Medicine.

The most recent meeting was chaired by the Director of High Level Competition César Osuna, who was accompanied by the director of Talent Development, Javier Medina to analyze the operation of the event scheduled from August 9-17.

The Senior Men's Cup returns to the state where it was born eight years ago, when in 2006, the first male competition was played, following the success of women's editions also born in the first decade of the XXI century at the border region.

Given the experience of the organizing committee, a big event is expected to take place in the city of Tijuana, with the High Performance Center as the official venue. In addition, the competition will be a test one year away from the U21 Men’s World Championship in 2015.

Special flavor

The Men's Pan American Cup will also be special for the fans around the border as it will be the last chance to watch the national senior team in action before they leave to participate in the FIVB World Championship to be held in Poland from August 30 to September 21.

The national team will have a dual purpose in the cup, first as preparation for the world event and second to seek its permanency in the FIVB World League, where they reached last year as runner-ups in the Pan American event after finishing second in the continent and the best of NORCECA Confederation in the event.

The event also will serve to promote the Mexican reappearance in a world men’s event for second edition in a row.

The Worlds Road 

Four years ago and after almost two decades of absence, a Mexican team qualified to the world championship held in Italy in 2010.

At the time, the squad was coached by Jorge Azair, now in charge of the women's senior team, also qualified to the 2014 world event to be held in Italy.

The last time Mexico participated in the world championship in both genders was in 1982, with the men's team in Argentina and the women's in Peru. It would take 28 years for a male team to make a comeback in Italy 2010, and 20 years for the ladies in 2002.

Also, to top it off, this year it is the 40th anniversary of the 1974 Volleyball World Championships held in Mexico.

Forty years ago, the world championships were played in both genders, with the women earning a ninth place and the men finishing tenth. The worlds were played ​​in six cities, these being Mexico City (with the National Auditorium as stage), Puebla, Toluca, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Tijuana (at Fausto Gutierrez Moreno Auditorium).