SWATCH FIVB World Tour Paris Stop kicks off with women's country quota matches

It is still spring time in the French capital and the SWATCH FIVB World Tour has returned to the Champ de Mars site for the fourth-straight year as women's Country Quota matches for teams from Brazil and Germany launched the US$600,000 Henkel Grand Chelem.

Advancing from the four-match playoff schedule on a side court within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower were the Brazilian Salgado sisters (Carolina and Maria Clara) and Jana Kohler/Ilka Semmler of Germany. Both Beach Volleyball tandems will compete in a 32-team Qualification Tournament Tuesday to determine the final eight spots in the women's Henkel Grand Chelem.

The fifth double gender event on the 2008 SWATCH FIVB World Tour calendar, the men's Henkel Grand Chelem Country Quota matches will be played Tuesday followed by a Wednesday qualifier in the midst of the women's pool play schedule where host France will have three teams competing in the "money" rounds.

The men's Henkel Grand Chelem Main Draw starts Thursday as the semi-finals for both genders will be played Saturday to set the schedule for all four medal matches to be played Sunday. The final two teams in each gender will be competing for a share of the $43,500 first-place prizes.

French pairs in the women's Main Draw are Morgane Faure/Virginie Sarpaux, Deborah Giaoui/Eva Hamzaoui and Celine Gemise Fareau/Mathilde Giordano. Faure and Sarpaux are currently 22nd on the qualifying list for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with 1,500 for their best eight finishes on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour since May 2007.

In avenging a Country Quota setback to Maria Antonelli and Le